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WINNERS! Two Bergen County Powerball Players Get Big Bucks WINNERS! Two Bergen County Powerball Players Get Big Bucks
Winners! Two Bergen County Powerball Players Get Big Bucks It was a sensational Saturday for two Bergen County Powerball players. The two Bergen County Powerball players matched four of the five numbers plus the red Powerball in the drawing held on Saturday, Feb. 24. The tickets were sold at BJ's Wholesale Club in Paramus and 7-Eleven in Cliffside Park. The winning numbers were 3, 8, 40, 53, 58 and the red Powerball was 3. 

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
GOTCHA (x2)! Paramus Officer Chases Down Separate Suspects From Same Mall Incident GOTCHA (x2)! Paramus Officer Chases Down Separate Suspects From Same Mall Incident
Gotcha (x2)! Paramus Officer Chases Down Separate Suspects From Same Mall Incident A Paramus police officer chased down two separate suspects who fled the Bergen Towne Center, authorities said. Two men and a woman all bolted from the Nordstrom Rack, then ran in different directions, after stealing Burberry and Givenchy apparel and a Reaction wristwatch worth nearly $667 combined, Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. Officer Kevin Grady, who was among the responders, ran after Yerbinson Zapata-Zus as he fled east on Route 4 near Forest Avenue, the chief said. Zapata-Zus resisted after Grady grabbed him, Guidetti said, but he was quickly subdued. Grady was driving him back …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen Doc Who Said He Treated Medicaid Patients When He Was Not Even In The U.S. Pays Up Bergen Doc Who Said He Treated Medicaid Patients When He Was Not Even In The U.S. Pays Up
Bergen Doc Who Said He Treated Medicaid Patients When He Was Not Even In The U.S. Pays Up A Bergen County doctor and former medical director of the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus busted for "up-coding" and lying about care provided has agreed to pay $700,000, federal authorities said. Arun Sehgal and his Ramsey practice, Preventive & Diagnostic Medical Center P.A., violated the "False Claims Act" by billing patients for more service than they could possibly provide in a single day, or for services that they never provided, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Thursday, Feb. 22. Sehgal and his practice agreed to pay $693,490 plus interest to resolve the three …

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Lili Maali, Bergen Interior Designer Who Sought Better Life Amid Iranian Revolution, Dies Lili Maali, Bergen Interior Designer Who Sought Better Life Amid Iranian Revolution, Dies
Lili Maali, Bergen Interior Designer Who Sought Better Life Amid Iranian Revolution, Dies Lili Maali, a longtime interior designer died on Monday, Feb. 12, according to her obituary on the Vander Plaat Memorial Home website. Maali was born in Iran and grew up in Tehran, her obituary reads. She married her husband, Farzin, before fleeing to France amidst the Iranian Revolution in 1979, according to her obituary.  She moved to Los Angeles and later settled in the tri-state area with their son, Sherwin, her obituary reads. As an interior designer based in Franklin Lakes, Maali designed office space at Merrill Lynch and apartments at Trump Tower, according to her obituary. She…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Paramus Man Who Stabbed Dad Dead Tried Burning Body To Destroy Evidence, Detectives Say Paramus Man Who Stabbed Dad Dead Tried Burning Body To Destroy Evidence, Detectives Say
Paramus Man Who Stabbed Dad Dead Tried Burning Body To Destroy Evidence, Detectives Say UPDATE: A Paramus man who’d just stabbed his father to death dragged the body to a bathroom and tried to set it on fire last week as part of an attempt to conceal what he’d done, authorities said. Melvin Thomas repeatedly stabbed his father, 61-year-old Manuel Thomas, in the chest with a kitchen knife on Valentine’s Day, a criminal complaint says. He then dragged the bloody corpse to a bathroom where he tried igniting it with a lighter, according to the complaint filed by Paramus Police Detective Justin Sicari. “This attempt failed,” the detective wrote. Melvin Thomas wiped off the bloody…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paramus Murder: Man Stabbed Dad Dead, Left Him In Home Two Days, Sources Say Paramus Murder: Man Stabbed Dad Dead, Left Him In Home Two Days, Sources Say
Paramus Murder: Man Stabbed Dad Dead, Left Him In Home Two Days, Sources Say UPDATE: A Paramus man who’d just stabbed his father to death dragged the body to a bathroom and tried to set it on fire last week as part of an attempt to conceal what he’d done, authorities said. Melvin Thomas repeatedly stabbed his father, 61-year-old Manuel Thomas, in the chest with a kitchen knife on Valentine’s Day, a criminal complaint says. He then dragged the bloody corpse to a bathroom where he tried igniting it with a lighter, according to the complaint filed by Paramus Police Detective Justin Sicari. “This attempt failed,” the detective wrote. Melvin Thomas wiped off the b…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paramus Man Stabbed Dead By Son, Left For Two Days: Authorities Paramus Man Stabbed Dead By Son, Left For Two Days: Authorities
Paramus Man Stabbed Dead By Son, Left For Two Days: Authorities UPDATE: A Paramus man who’d just stabbed his father to death dragged the body to a bathroom and tried to set it on fire last week as part of an attempt to conceal what he’d done, authorities said. Melvin Thomas repeatedly stabbed his father, 61-year-old Manuel Thomas, in the chest with a kitchen knife on Valentine’s Day, a criminal complaint says. He then dragged the bloody corpse to a bathroom where he tried igniting it with a lighter, according to the complaint filed by Paramus Police Detective Justin Sicari. “This attempt failed,” the detective wrote. Melvin Thomas wiped off …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
WILD CHASE: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires WILD CHASE: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires
Wild Chase: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires A wild police pursuit through several Bergen County towns ended with the arrest of a 62-year-old former repeat offender from Fair Lawn who authorities said stole the car from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. Daniel McKay at one point tried fleeing on two flat tires before the stolen sedan broke down and he was arrested on Franklin Turnpike in Allendale, witnesses said. Upper Saddle River Detective Capt. Edward Kane said the Valentine's Day pursuit began after McKay pulled over on Lake Street and asked officers out on another call for directions shortly before noon. One of the officer…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Dad, Sons Busted By Mahwah PD For Selling THC Products To Minors At Route 17 Gas Station Dad, Sons Busted By Mahwah PD For Selling THC Products To Minors At Route 17 Gas Station
Dad, Sons Busted By Mahwah PD For Selling THC Products To Minors At Route 17 Gas Station A business owner and his two sons were busted by Mahwah police who said they found them selling THC products to underage teens at their Route 17 gas station. Undercover buys led to the discovery in plain view of 360 THC products during a raid at the BP station on the southbound highway just past the Route 202 interchange, Mahwah Police Capt. Guido Bussinelli said. Police arrested the owners -- Murat Ozen, 54, of Paramus, and his sons, Selim Devia, 32, of East Rutherford and Muhammed Ozen, 24 of Paramus -- he said. All three were charged with multiple counts of possession with intent to dis…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paramus Officer Nabs Teens In Route 17 Stop With Nearly Two Dozen Pieces Of Stolen Mail Paramus Officer Nabs Teens In Route 17 Stop With Nearly Two Dozen Pieces Of Stolen Mail
Paramus Officer Nabs Teens In Route 17 Stop With Nearly Two Dozen Pieces Of Stolen Mail A Paramus police officer caught a trio of teens with nearly two dozen pieces of mail -- tax-related paperwork, utility payments and such from Saddle River and Upper Saddle River -- during a traffic stop, authorities said. Officer Nicholas Tanelli stopped their speeding Toyota Highlander near Midland Avenue on southbound Route 17 shortly after 2:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5, Police Chief Robert M. Guidetti said. The driver, Robert Marte-Nunez, 18, of Queens didn't have a license, registration or insurance for the vehicle, the chief said. Tanelli was talking with Marte-Nunez when he spotted the un…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
FOUND: Missing Paramus Man, 19, Turns Up Overnight Near Home FOUND: Missing Paramus Man, 19, Turns Up Overnight Near Home
Found: Missing Paramus Man, 19, Turns Up Overnight Near Home UPDATE: A 19-year-old man reported missing late Tuesday was found at the Hackensack shopping center commonly known as the Riverside Square Mall, authorities said. Security officers found Jonathan Chen at the Shops at Riverside just off Route 4 and called Paramus police around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. "We thank all agencies and the assistance we received from the public who reached out on our social media accounts to assist," the chief said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
CLOSE CALL: Parents' Frightening Moments End When Police Find Troubled Teen Near Train Tracks CLOSE CALL: Parents' Frightening Moments End When Police Find Troubled Teen Near Train Tracks
Close CALL: Parents' Frightening Moments End When Police Find Troubled Teen Near Train Tracks HEROES: NJ Transit trains were stopped moments before swift-moving police rescued a troubled teen in Ridgewood, authorities said. The boy's frightened mother called Paramus police Wednesday morning, Jan. 31, after he reportedly threatened to take his own life, they said. Paramus Police Officer Diego Cruz alerted headquarters to get the trains stopped. Meanwhile, Paramus police flooded the area with all available officers and detectives. They pinged the teen's cell phone, got a local result and relayed it to their Ridgewood colleagues. Village police quickly found the teen between Oak Stre…

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by Jerry DeMarco