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‘Stolen Valor’: Former NJ EMT Who Fabricated 9/11 Involvement Smoked Out On Social Media ‘Stolen Valor’: Former NJ EMT Who Fabricated 9/11 Involvement Smoked Out On Social Media
‘Stolen Valor’: Former NJ EMT Who Fabricated 9/11 Involvement Smoked Out On Social Media A former North Bergen and Jersey City Medical Center EMT was removed as a guest speaker at a 9/11 memorial event amid a social media uproar over bogus claims that he’d been at Ground Zero as a New York City firefighter. August Johansen, 45, had his photo published along with a story about his participation in a 9/11 fundraiser in a Tennessee town that’s coincidentally named Union City. In the photo, Johansen is wearing an FDNY patch on his polo shirt. Johansen was outed by NYC Fire Wire, an online news service that also participates in fundraisers and assistance efforts for emergency respo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Fierce Passaic County House Fire Kills Two, Authorities Confirm UPDATE: Fierce Passaic County House Fire Kills Two, Authorities Confirm
Update: Fierce Passaic County House Fire Kills Two, Authorities Confirm Two women died in a fierce Passaic County house fire, authorities confirmed. The three-alarm fire broke out in the basement of two-story, wood-frame home at the top of a long, steep driveway across Hamburg Turnpike from the Stumble Inn in Bloomingdale around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30. One victim was found moments after firefighters arrived. The other was discovered shortly before the fire was declared under control around 9:30 a.m., responders at the scene said. A cause hadn't yet been officially determined. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, Bloomingdale Police Chief Joseph B…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Fire Destroys One Prospect Park Home, Ravages Another Fire Destroys One Prospect Park Home, Ravages Another
Fire Destroys One Prospect Park Home, Ravages Another Firefighters from surrounding towns rushed to aid their colleagues in Prospect Park after a noontime house fire spread to a neighboring home. Initial reports of an occupant possibly trapped thankfully proved unfounded after the fire broke out on the second floor of the primary North 11 Street home, off Fairview Avenue, around 11:30 a.m. Council President Anand Shah called for prayers for those who lost their homes and belongings in the destructive blaze, which topped out at five alarms for coverage. Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah praised the first responders who braved not only the fire itse…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Elementary School Fire In Passaic County Quickly Doused Elementary School Fire In Passaic County Quickly Doused
Elementary School Fire In Passaic County Quickly Doused No injuries were reported in a pre-dawn classroom fire Tuesday at the Haskell Elementary School. No children were in the building when the blaze broke out in a classroom at the Ringwood Avenue school shortly before 7 a.m. and was quickly extinguished, responders said. It caused a significant amount of smoke damage in the building, they said. A cause wasn't immediately disclosed. Mutual aid responders included firefighters from Ringwood, Pompton Lakes, Bloomingdale and Oakland, as well as local police and EMS. Both the Haskell and Wanaque elementary schools were closed as a result. Before …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
POSTAGE SCAM: Brothers Who Co-Owned Bergen E-Commerce Company Admit Cheating Gov't Out Of $3M POSTAGE SCAM: Brothers Who Co-Owned Bergen E-Commerce Company Admit Cheating Gov't Out Of $3M
Postage Scam: Brothers Who Co-Owned Bergen E-Commerce Company Admit Cheating Gov't Out Of $3M Two brothers who co-owned a Bergen County e-commerce company admitted short-changing the government by more than $3 million in postage by altering hundreds of thousands of labels intended for envelopes and slapping them on outbound packages. Jack Koch, 44, of Elmwood Park, and Steven Koch, 43, of Pompton Lakes, owned Fresh N Clear, a high-volume business that sold various household items online that were shipped o customers via the Postal Service, federal authorities said. Over the course of several months in 2020, the company bought 240,471 USPS Priority Mail postage labels, “almost all fo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ex-Pompton Lakes Police Officer Admits Exchanging Nude Pics With Underage Teen Ex-Pompton Lakes Police Officer Admits Exchanging Nude Pics With Underage Teen
Ex-Pompton Lakes Police Officer Admits Exchanging Nude Pics With Underage Teen A now-former Pompton Lakes police officer avoided potential prison time by pleading guilty to exchanging nude photos online with an underage teenager, authorities said. Mark Stinnard, 37, engaged in the relationship with the Riverdale youngster on his own time 3½ years ago and not while he was on the clock, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Stinnard was arrested in late September and charged with “engaging in sexual conduct with a child” and endangerment for manufacturing child pornography and “causing harm to a child,” the prosecutor said. No sexual assault charges were fi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Body Of Suicidal Woman Recovered From North Jersey Dam, Police Say Body Of Suicidal Woman Recovered From North Jersey Dam, Police Say
Body Of Suicidal Woman Recovered From North Jersey Dam, Police Say The body of an 18-year-old woman was recovered from the Monksville Dam in what authorities have deemed a suicide. The woman's backpack was initially called in as a suspicious package on Oct. 29 around 7:45 p.m., Ringwood police said. Further investigation revealed that the backpack was left by a woman who had jumped over the barrier on the south side of the dam.  The Pompton Lakes resident's body was recovered Nov. 3 around 6 p.m., and turned over to the New Jersey Regional Medical Examiner's Office, local police said. Her identity was not released. The recovery effort was thanks to …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Pompton Lakes Police Officer Charged With Child Sex Offenses Pompton Lakes Police Officer Charged With Child Sex Offenses
Pompton Lakes Police Officer Charged With Child Sex Offenses A Pompton Lakes police officer was arrested Monday and charged with having an illegal sexual relationship nearly 3½ years ago with an underage teenager whom authorities said he had take and send him nude videos and photos. Mark Stinnard, 37, is charged with “engaging in sexual conduct with a child” and endangerment for manufacturing child pornography and “causing harm to a child,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. No sexual assault charges were filed, indicating that physical contact wasn't made. Valdes didn’t disclose the gender or exact age of the alleged victim, other th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Jersey Ex-Con ID'd As Fleeing Route 287 Stolen Car Driver Who Crashed On NY State Thruway Jersey Ex-Con ID'd As Fleeing Route 287 Stolen Car Driver Who Crashed On NY State Thruway
Jersey Ex-Con ID'd As Fleeing Route 287 Stolen Car Driver Who Crashed On NY State Thruway UPDATE: A driver chased by police more than 40 miles from New Jersey into New York State before crashing a stolen car was identified as an ex-con who’s been involved in previous pursuits and has an arrest record that numbers in the dozens. Dustin Jeandron, 37, recently of Keyport and Trenton, gave New York State troopers a Hell’s Kitchen address after they took him into custody following Wednesday afternoon’s chase. Jeandron was driving a Hyundai sedan reported stolen out of Harrison when a Wayne police officer "spotted the vehicle in Wayne with fictitious plates and attempted to make a sto…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
WILD CHASE: NJ Route 287 Pursuit Ends With Crash, Two In Custody On NY State Thruway WILD CHASE: NJ Route 287 Pursuit Ends With Crash, Two In Custody On NY State Thruway
Wild Chase: NJ Route 287 Pursuit Ends With Crash, Two In Custody On NY State Thruway UPDATE: A driver chased by police more than 40 miles from New Jersey into New York State before crashing a stolen car was identified as an ex-con who’s been involved in previous pursuits and has an arrest record that numbers in the dozens. Dustin Jeandron, 37, recently of Keyport and Trenton, gave New York State troopers a Hell’s Kitchen address after they took him into custody following Wednesday afternoon’s chase. Jeandron was driving a Hyundai sedan reported stolen out of Harrison when a Wayne police officer "spotted the vehicle in Wayne with fictitious plates and attempted to make a st…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hardly Bonnie And Clyde: Passaic County Couple Nabbed In Convenience Store Robbery Hardly Bonnie And Clyde: Passaic County Couple Nabbed In Convenience Store Robbery
Hardly Bonnie And Clyde: Passaic County Couple Nabbed In Convenience Store Robbery Pompton Lakes police captured a known ex-con and his female companion, both from town, moments after they robbed a local convenience store at knifepoint, authorities said. Brian Tagliaferro, 32, robbed the Ringwood Avenue store around 4 p.m. Friday, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Pompton Lakes Police Chief Derek Clark said in a joint release. It didn’t take long for Clark’s officers to find him and his alleged accomplice, Simone Greco, 29, in the area of Willard Street and Ackerman Place just off Ringwood Avenue, they said. Tagliaferro is charged with robbery, conspiracy a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Authorities: Armed Intruder With Handcuffs Holds Women Hostage In West Milford Authorities: Armed Intruder With Handcuffs Holds Women Hostage In West Milford
Authorities: Armed Intruder With Handcuffs Holds Women Hostage In West Milford West Milford police nabbed a Pompton Lakes man as he fled a local home with handcuffs after holding two women at gunpoint Sunday afternoon, authorities said. Initial details were sketchy, however. Andrew Canning, 31, had stolen an item from a nearby residence when he confronted the women – one 45 and the other 20 – at a home off Beacon Hill Road and Manchester Lane, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and West Milford Police Chief James DeVore said in a joint release on Monday. They didn’t say much else about the crime or Canning other than that he was charged with armed robbery, k…

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by Jerry DeMarco