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Police & Fire
Authorities: Fugitive Leader Of Crew That Burglarized Homes In NJ, Long Island, CT Captured Authorities: Fugitive Leader Of Crew That Burglarized Homes In NJ, Long Island, CT Captured
Authorities: Fugitive Leader Of Crew That Burglarized Homes In NJ, Long Island, CT Captured The accused leader of a burglary ring that stole more than $1 million in cash, jewelry, electronics and more from homes in North Jersey, Connecticut and on Long Island was captured at a Jersey City motel, authorities confirmed. Bryan Leandro Herrera Maldonado, 24, fought with his captors before being subdued, they said. Authorities in January arrested three other accused members of the elaborate Queens-based Chilean burglary crew, who they said targeted luxury homes from Long Island’s North Shore to Miami and California. They were identified as Boneek Alexander Quintero-Baeza, 33, Levy Fra…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Authorities seized more than $6.5 million in cash and virtual currency, as well as more than half a ton of drugs, in the largest dark web bust ever in the U.S., the Justice Department announced Tuesday. A total of 179 buyers and sellers were charged worldwide by law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe as part of Operation DisrupTor, named for the heavily-encrypted private web browser (Tor) most often used to access the dark web, authorities said. More than 600 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, other opioids and cocaine were seized in the U.S. alone. Authorities charged 121 peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hackensack Man, 60, Charged With Raping Pre-Teen Hackensack Man, 60, Charged With Raping Pre-Teen
Hackensack Man, 60, Charged With Raping Pre-Teen An unemployed Hackensack man was charged with raping a pre-teen. Luis Gonzalez, 60, remained held Monday in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said members of his Special Victims Unit and Hackensack police arrested Gonzalez, of Holt Street, on Friday after city police “received information that [he] engaged in sexual penetration with a juvenile under the age of 13 in Hackensack.” He’s charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and child endangerment. Court records show t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
New Brunswick Woman Kidnapped, Beaten: Guatemalan National Captured, Jailed in Bergen New Brunswick Woman Kidnapped, Beaten: Guatemalan National Captured, Jailed in Bergen
New Brunswick Woman Kidnapped, Beaten: Guatemalan National Captured, Jailed in Bergen A Guatemalan national abducted his ex-girlfriend in New Brunswick, beat and tried to choke her and then stole her cellphone before dumping her in Wallington, authorities said. A good Samaritan flagged down a passing Wallington police officer, who found the frantic woman at the 7-Eleven on Main Avenue speaking only Spanish, Capt. Shawn Kudlacik said. A Passaic police officer responded to translate for the 38-year-old victim, who told police that Miguel Anton Perez, 47, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into his car in New Brunswick. Perez “punched her in the back and put his hands aro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Detention Center May Close: Landlord Moves To End Lease With ICE Contractor NJ Detention Center May Close: Landlord Moves To End Lease With ICE Contractor
NJ Detention Center May Close: Landlord Moves To End Lease With ICE Contractor The federal immigrant detention center in Elizabeth may be closing as the building's owner is moving to end a lease with the company that has housed ICE detainees at the site for decades. The Elberton Development group said it hopes to end its contract with Evans Street tenant CoreCivic, a company that manages private prison and detention centers, as soon as possible. The detention center and others like it have come under scrutiny in recent years from many who view the treatment of the detainees as inhumane and urged Elberton to end the agreement. "As supporters of many important educatio…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Bergen Sheriff: More Staffers Cleared To Return, Three Weeks Since Last COVID-19 Positive Bergen Sheriff: More Staffers Cleared To Return, Three Weeks Since Last COVID-19 Positive
Bergen Sheriff: More Staffers Cleared To Return, Three Weeks Since Last Covid-19 Positive Eight more members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office have received medical clearance to return to work after being quarantined, including one corrections officer who recovered from COVID-19, Sheriff Anthony Cureton said Tuesday. It’s been three weeks since any of his staff has tested positive for COVID-19, the sheriff said. A total of nine corrections officer, a sheriff's officer and a member of the nursing staff are considered currently positive, Cureton said. One correction officer in the group remained in quarantine, he said. Of those who employees who previously tested positive fo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Sheriff: 23 County Jail Staffers, ICE Detainee Medically Cleared Bergen Sheriff: 23 County Jail Staffers, ICE Detainee Medically Cleared
Bergen Sheriff: 23 County Jail Staffers, ICE Detainee Medically Cleared Several Bergen County Jail staffers have been medically cleared to return to work after testing positive or quarantining at home for being in close contact with someone COVID-19 positive, Sheriff Anthony Cureton said. A total of 13 corrections officers, nine sheriff's officers and one nursing staff member have or are returning, the sheriff said Tuesday. An ICE detainee who tested positive for COVID-19 also was cleared to return to general population, he said, adding that four ICE detainees remained in isolation.  No county inmates are any longer in isolation, the sheriff noted. Cureton a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Sheriff: Only One Bergen County Jail Inmate, 2 ICE Detainees Test Positive Since Pandemic Began Sheriff: Only One Bergen County Jail Inmate, 2 ICE Detainees Test Positive Since Pandemic Began
Sheriff: Only One Bergen County Jail Inmate, 2 ICE Detainees Test Positive Since Pandemic Began The Bergen County Jail has had only one county inmate and two ICE detainees test positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, Sheriff Anthony Cureton reported Tuesday. Other county jails in North Jersey have reported much higher numbers of inmates and staff infected with the virus, along with several deaths. At the Bergen County Jail, Cureton reported: A 54-year-old BCJ inmate tested positive on March 28; A 40-year-old Salvadorian national in ICE custody tested positive on March 26; A 31-year-old Mexican national was released by ICE on March 26, three days after the detaine…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Sheriff: Two More Bergen County Jail Inmates Test Positive For Coronavirus Sheriff: Two More Bergen County Jail Inmates Test Positive For Coronavirus
Sheriff: Two More Bergen County Jail Inmates Test Positive For Coronavirus Two more inmates at the Bergen County Jail recently tested positive for the coronavirus, one of whom was hospitalized and another who was receiving medical care in an isolation unit at the lockup, Sheriff Anthony Cureton said Monday. The 40-year-old Salvadoran national in ICE custody and a 54-year-old county inmate brought the total number of inmates who tested positive to three, the sheriff said. The first positive case, a 31-year-old ICE detainee, was released by federal authorities last Thursday, he said. The 40-year-old detainee was sent for medical evaluation after displaying symptoms…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: ICE Employee At Immigrant Detention Center In Elizabeth Tests Positive For COVID-19 Feds: ICE Employee At Immigrant Detention Center In Elizabeth Tests Positive For COVID-19
Feds: ICE Employee At Immigrant Detention Center In Elizabeth Tests Positive For Covid-19 An ICE employee at the immigrant detention facility in Elizabeth tested positive for the coronavirus and was under self-quarantine, federal authorities said Thursday. "The staff member is currently receiving treatment,'' a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement. "Currently, no ICE detainees or other staff are symptomatic for COVID-19 at this facility." Any detainees at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility who become infected would be placed in isolation, while those with moderate or severe symptoms would be taken to hospitals, the agency said. The…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
VIDEO: Four Charged With Assaulting Police In Passaic Apartment Building Brawl VIDEO: Four Charged With Assaulting Police In Passaic Apartment Building Brawl
Video: Four Charged With Assaulting Police In Passaic Apartment Building Brawl Three women and a man were all charged with assaulting police while resisting arrest during a video-recorded brawl outside a Passaic apartment. Family members said they'd been having a party in their Vreeland Avenue apartment on March 1 when police arrived. Responding officers responding to a noise complaint said they heard a loud bang, then got into a scuffle with the group while trying to investigate it, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Passaic Police Chief Luis A. Guzman said Tuesday. All four also were charged with obstruction, they said in a brief joint statement. The …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Englewood Man, 63, Repeatedly Molested 10-Year-Old Child Prosecutor: Englewood Man, 63, Repeatedly Molested 10-Year-Old Child
Prosecutor: Englewood Man, 63, Repeatedly Molested 10-Year-Old Child A 63-year-old unemployed Colombian national living in Englewood repeatedly molested a 10-year-old child, authorities charged. Luis G. Ocampo remained held Friday in the Bergen County Jail following his arrest the day before, records show. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said his Special Victims Unit and Englewood police investigated a report that led to Ocampo’s arrest “regarding the sexual assault of a ten year-old juvenile on multiple occasions.” Ocampo will remain held until a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on charges of sexual assault and chil…

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by Jerry DeMarco