Traffic Stop Near GWB Turns Up Loaded Gun, Sends NYC Carpenter To Jail

A carpenter from Manhattan had a loaded gun in his new BMW when Fort Lee police stopped him near the George Washington Bridge, authorities said.

Dennis Morenzi
Photo Credit: *Fort Lee PD / INSET: BCJ*

Jerry DeMarco

05/22/2023 5:44 p.m.

Detective Sgt. Cory Horton and Detective Nicole Busanic stopped the 2023 X3 driven by Dennis Morenzi, 41, for several violations near the corner of Bridge Plaza South and Park Avenue, Deputy Police Chief Edward Young said.

Cocaine and prescription pills prompted a search that turned up the handgun, which was loaded with ammo that included a hollow-point bullet, the deputy chief said.

Morenzi, of Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Park section, and his passenger, Marlene Bissoon, 44, of Queens, were both taken into custody following the 12:40 p.m. stop on Thursday, May 18.

Bissoon was charged for the drugs and released on a summons.

Morenzi, who Young said has a record that prohibits him from carrying a firearm, was charged with:

Unlawful possession of a handgun;
Violating the “certain persons” handgun prohibition;
Possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine;
Possession of a handgun while committing a drug offense;
Possession of hollow-point ammunition;
Various drug offenses, including possession with the intent to distribute.

Morenzi remained held in the Bergen County Jail on Monday, May 22.

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