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Police & Fire
Man Who Rammed Cop Car On Garden State Parkway Sought: Police Man Who Rammed Cop Car On Garden State Parkway Sought: Police
Man Who Rammed Cop Car On Garden State Parkway Sought: Police Newark police are trying to track down a 51-year-old East Orange man wanted for crashing into a police car during a pursuit on the Garden State Parkway after being suspected of breaking into a a vehicle in January, authorities said. On Friday, Jan. 19, at 11:10 a.m., a woman reported her vehicle was broken into while parked at the 200 block of Springfield Ave, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said.  The front passenger side window was broken and her purse, containing $60, two credit cards and a debit card were stolen, Fragé said. The victim's debit card was later use…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Wheelman Admits Role In Carjacking Of Montclair Woman In Her Driveway: Feds Wheelman Admits Role In Carjacking Of Montclair Woman In Her Driveway: Feds
Wheelman Admits Role In Carjacking Of Montclair Woman In Her Driveway: Feds An Essex County man admitted his role in carjacking a Montclair woman at gunpoint in her driveway, federal authorities said. Andy Cook, 24, of Newark was with an armed man who pointed a gun at the victim, ordered her to leave her purse, phone and keys behind and get out of her 2021 Porsche Cayenne on Melrose Place in the township's Estate section on Dec. 6, 2021, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Cook then got behind the wheel and drove off, he said. Essex County sheriff's officers spotted the Porsche on Route 280 in East Orange a short time later and pursued it. Cook soon hit heavy…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
CEO In Bergen Sold $35M Worth Of Banned Chinese Surveillance Cams To Police, Others In NJ: Feds CEO In Bergen Sold $35M Worth Of Banned Chinese Surveillance Cams To Police, Others In NJ: Feds
CEO In Bergen Sold $35M Worth Of Banned Chinese Surveillance Cams To Police, Others In NJ: Feds A Jersey Shore businessman conned state and local law enforcement agencies and others into buying nearly $35 million worth of surveillance cameras that were made in China and then illegally rebranded for sale by his Bergen County company, federal authorities charged. Tamer Zakhary, 49, of Toms River, modified license-plate readers and other cameras, then removed the original company’s logo, an FBI complaint says. He then told the police departments, prosecutor's offices and other buyers throughout the state that they were compliant with the National Defense Authorization Act, U.S. Atto…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Cons Nabbed In Elizabeth Taxi Driver Shooting Sent To Federal Prison Ex-Cons Nabbed In Elizabeth Taxi Driver Shooting Sent To Federal Prison
Ex-Cons Nabbed In Elizabeth Taxi Driver Shooting Sent To Federal Prison One ex-con was sentenced to a plea-bargained 8½ years in federal prison and another a little more than seven -- both without parole -- for shooting a taxi driver during a late-night robbery in Elizabeth. City police nabbed Naeem Jackson, 24, of East Orange, and Walter Williams-Lang, 22, of Elizabeth, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark took the case because of the government’s ability to secure much harsher penalties than under state law. There's also no parole in the federal prison system, which means both men must serve out their entire terms. Jackson and Williams-Lang were wearing …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Three-Time NJ Bank Robber Who Held Up Cellphone Store After Release Gets 27½ Years This Time Three-Time NJ Bank Robber Who Held Up Cellphone Store After Release Gets 27½ Years This Time
Three-Time NJ Bank Robber Who Held Up Cellphone Store After Release Gets 27½ Years This Time An ex-con from Essex County who robbed an East Orange cellphone store after he'd just served 13½ years for holding up banks in Fair Lawn, Clifton and Belleville is headed back to federal prison for more than twice as much time. Kenneth Graham, who has diabetes, received a “compassionate release” into home confinement in November 2020 after serving 13½ years of a 17-year sentence for the trio of bank holdups. Graham, 50, of Newark, had been free all of two months, authorities said, when he walked into a Boost Mobile store in downtown East Orange and announced a robbery in the middle of the a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teen Thieves In Stolen Car Bail Out On Garden State Parkway, Nabbed By Mahwah, Paramus Police Teen Thieves In Stolen Car Bail Out On Garden State Parkway, Nabbed By Mahwah, Paramus Police
Teen Thieves In Stolen Car Bail Out On Garden State Parkway, Nabbed By Mahwah, Paramus Police A trio of teenagers bailed out of a stolen car on the Garden State Parkway during an overnight chase and were quickly captured by police from Mahwah and Paramus. Mahwah Police Officer Brian Doolittle was on pro-active patrol in the township’s Scotch Hills area when he spotted the 2023 Honda Civic moving slowly along McIntosh Drive shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, Capt. Guido Bussinelli said. An instant license plate check showed the Civic had been reported stolen out of Orange on Sept. 29, Bussinelli said. Doolittle called for backups and activated his vehicle’s overhead lights, the …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Gang Member Admits Planning Murder, Committing Gunpoint Robbery: NJ Feds Gang Member Admits Planning Murder, Committing Gunpoint Robbery: NJ Feds
Gang Member Admits Planning Murder, Committing Gunpoint Robbery: NJ Feds A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang admitted his role in planning a murder and robbing a victim at gunpoint, federal authorities said. Federal prosecutors used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law to charge Tre Byrd, 22, and dozens of other reputed gang bangers rounded up by a collection of crime-fighting “supergroups.” Byrd, they said, belonged to the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips – a violent drug-selling gang -- for seven years. He was in on planning the rubout of a rival who was shot dead in March 2019 in Irvington, then more than a year later r…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge UPDATE: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge
Update: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge The number of alleged victims of a paroled sex trafficker from New Jersey has reached four, federal authorities said. Amin Sharif, 48, of Newark had been free for a year after serving nearly a decade in federal prison when he returned to pimping women and girls, authorities said. Federal agents seized Sharif on sex trafficking charges in January 2022, and have held him since then, while continuing an ongoing investigation that produced an indictment that cites the additional victims. Sharif "used several social media platforms and profiles to recruit women and minors to engage in sex acts…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
DRUG FRAUD: Crimebusters Smash Statewide NJ Ring That Stole, Forged Prescriptions For Codeine DRUG FRAUD: Crimebusters Smash Statewide NJ Ring That Stole, Forged Prescriptions For Codeine
Drug Fraud: Crimebusters Smash Statewide NJ Ring That Stole, Forged Prescriptions For Codeine An elaborate drug fraud ring operating in more than half the counties in New Jersey stole doctors’ prescription pads as part of a scheme to stock up on opioid-boosted cough syrup, authorities charged. Medical offices in various parts of the state – including Wayne, Morristown and Bridgewater – were broken into by Divinete Jeffries, 30, of East Orange, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Jefferies snatched prescription pads that were then forged and given to accomplices who submitted them to various pharmacies using stolen IDs and bogus driver’s licenses, according to an indictment return…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department 27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department Boston Market stores across New Jersey owe its workers thousands of dollars in back wages, and the state's labor department is taking action. The NJDOL issued 27 stop-work orders to Boston Market locations throughout the state on Monday, Aug. 14 saying the rotisserie chicken franchise owes more than $600,000 in back wages to 314 employees. The investigation began after the NJDOL received a complaint from an employee at a restaurant in Hamilton last November. Since then, almost three dozen people have come forward, naming several other locations. Citations were issued for unpaid/late pa…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Funeral Arrangements, Viewing Set For Lt. Gov. Oliver Funeral Arrangements, Viewing Set For Lt. Gov. Oliver
Funeral Arrangements, Viewing Set For Lt. Gov. Oliver New Jersey is preparing to honor Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who died on Tuesday, August 1, at the age of 71. Gov. Phil Murphy announced the official New Jersey State Funeral and Memorial Service for Oliver will take place at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark on Saturday, August 12. The public is invited to attend. Prior to her funeral, Oliver will lie in state in the Rotunda of the State Capital on Thursday, August 10 and the Essex County Courthouse on Friday, August 11, accompanied by a full honor guard, Murphy said. "Together, we will honor and celebrate her remarkable co…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Band Of Brazen Burglars Who Blew Through Bergen, Elsewhere Charged in Crime Spree: Prosecutor Band Of Brazen Burglars Who Blew Through Bergen, Elsewhere Charged in Crime Spree: Prosecutor
Band Of Brazen Burglars Who Blew Through Bergen, Elsewhere Charged in Crime Spree: Prosecutor A band of brazen burglars who broke into homes and stole vehicles in Bergen County and elsewhere in the state – sometimes while the owners were home – was derailed by a group of crime fighters from various jurisdictions. The theft of a BMW SUV from an Alpine home last Christmas brought the crew to the attention of detectives in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. The vehicle was used in other burglaries and attempts in Cresskill, Montville, and Rumson, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Thursday, Aug.. 3. Three of them returned to Alpine on Dec. 27 and had broken into a home, th…

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by Jerry DeMarco