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Snapped Utility Line Ignites Overnight Lodi Fire Snapped Utility Line Ignites Overnight Lodi Fire
Snapped Utility Line Ignites Overnight Lodi Fire A snapped power line and transformer ignited a pre-dawn fire in a Lodi garden apartment complex. Several smaller fires were also reported on the same block after the initial blaze broke out at Cynthia Gardens on Garibaldi Avenue around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10. All were doused within a half hour. Multiple apartments were affected. Two raccoons were the suspected culprits. Firefighters respond to blaze on Garibaldi Avenue in Lodi.Jo Fehl for DAILY VOICE Mutual aid was provided at the scene by firefighters from Hasbrouck Heights, Rochelle Park and Wallington and in coverage by Saddle …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Swatting' Forces Passaic Grandma, 95, From Her Home As Tactical Units Respond To Bogus Call 'Swatting' Forces Passaic Grandma, 95, From Her Home As Tactical Units Respond To Bogus Call
'Swatting' Forces Passaic Grandma, 95, From Her Home As Tactical Units Respond To Bogus Call A 95-year-old grandmother and a woman in her 60s had to be temporarily removed from their Passaic home on a frigid night because of a bogus "swatting" call to police, authorities said. The call came in shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, from someone who "stated that he harmed his wife and child and had his neighbor hostage" at the Poplar Street home, Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said. Police set up a perimeter and eventually escorted the two women to an ambulance to keep them warm, the mayor said. Neighbors also had to spend some time outside as members of the Emergency Respons…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
CRACKDOWN: 10 Busted, Guns, Drugs Seized, 350 Tickets Written, Cars Towed In Paterson PD Blitz CRACKDOWN: 10 Busted, Guns, Drugs Seized, 350 Tickets Written, Cars Towed In Paterson PD Blitz
Crackdown: 10 Busted, Guns, Drugs Seized, 350 Tickets Written, Cars Towed In Paterson PD Blitz Paterson police blitzed the city over the weekend, arresting 10 people, seizing two guns and nearly 1,000 heroin folds, among other drugs, and writing 349 traffic tickets as part of a crackdown on rising crime. The special ops detail “was deployed in our continued strategic response to an uptick in violent crime nationally,” city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. A total of 50 criminal complaints were filed, all but two of them for drug-related offenses, Speziale said. Detectives and officers from the Ceasefire, Street Crimes, Narcotics /ABC and Traffic units were deployed along …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bethlehem Police Officer Matthew Ragusa Who Died By Suicide Gave Others Hope Bethlehem Police Officer Matthew Ragusa Who Died By Suicide Gave Others Hope
Bethlehem Police Officer Matthew Ragusa Who Died By Suicide Gave Others Hope The Lehigh Valley community is mourning the loss of a Bethlehem police officer who died by suicide on July 4. Matthew Ragusa was "a beckon of light to countless citizens who needed hope in their darkest hour," wrote Robert Corsi. Corsi organized a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses and other needs for his wife Stephanie, and three sons, Xavier, 13, Braxton, 10, and Lex, 6. The campaign had raised more than $33,000 as of Thursday evening. Matthew RagusaGoFundMe photo Prior to joining the Bethlehem Police Department in 2015, Ragusa served as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Cor…

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by Nicole Acosta
Police & Fire
Paterson Police Seize Loaded Handgun, Shotgun Blocks Apart Paterson Police Seize Loaded Handgun, Shotgun Blocks Apart
Paterson Police Seize Loaded Handgun, Shotgun Blocks Apart Paterson police seized a pair of loaded guns barely an hour and a dozen blocks apart. Uniformed officers and Detectives Yamil Pimienta and Mohammad Bashir approached 15 or so people drinking and playing loud music near several double-parked vehicles on Lawrence Street outside Montgomery Park shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. A man in the crowd identified as city resident Rodney Alston, 25, turned away from the detectives and stuffed what turned out to be a 9mm SCCY handgun in the front pocket of his hoodie, Speziale said. Alston was arrested and sent to th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police Converge On Ex-Con At Lyndhurst Motel After Lengthy Pursuit Police Converge On Ex-Con At Lyndhurst Motel After Lengthy Pursuit
Police Converge On Ex-Con At Lyndhurst Motel After Lengthy Pursuit A recent parolee with a lengthy rap sheet was chased by police and then taken into custody by tactical officers after he barricaded himself in a Lyndhurst motel before dawn Wednesday, authorities said. Sgt. Rick Pizzuti was on patrol around midnight when he found a Toyota Camry with an expired temporary registration tag in the parking lot of the Winslow Motor Inn on Rutherford Avenue, Detective Sgt. Vincent Auteri said. Eventually, 30-year-old Quaire Wilson of Bloomfield got into the Camry and pulled out of the lot, he said. Pizzutti then tried to pull him over, but Wilson hit the gas and …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson PD: Ex-Con, 27, Bolts Traffic Stop With Loaded Handgun Paterson PD: Ex-Con, 27, Bolts Traffic Stop With Loaded Handgun
Paterson PD: Ex-Con, 27, Bolts Traffic Stop With Loaded Handgun An ex-con who ran from a traffic stop was carrying a loaded handgun, said Paterson police who chased him down. Officers James Iandoli and Joseph Rodriguez of their department’s Emergency Response Team stopped the Honda minivan, which had a brake light out, shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday in the area of Carroll and Fair streets, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. A computer check showed the van’s registration expired, he added. Iandoli smelled burnt marijuana as he spoke with the driver, 31-year-old Stanley Avent of Paterson – who, it turned out, had two outstanding warrants out of Ha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Street Work: Same Paterson Police Officer Seizes Last Gun In 2018, First One This Year Street Work: Same Paterson Police Officer Seizes Last Gun In 2018, First One This Year
Street Work: Same Paterson Police Officer Seizes Last Gun In 2018, First One This Year The last gun seized by Paterson police in 2018 and the first this year were found by the same officer, authorities said. Emergency Response Team Officer Mohammad Bashir was investigating an armed robbery report in the 200 block of Carroll Street when he approached a silver Saturn parked on Pearl Street around 1:30 a.m. Monday, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. The driver, 33-year-old Courtney Douglas of Paterson, “reached quickly into the center of the vehicle and then attempted to hide something in the side of the door while watching the officer and reacting nervously to his presence,” …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pre-Dawn Paterson Police Raid Produces Eight Pounds Of Pot, 2½ Ounces Of Cocaine, 72 THC Tubes Pre-Dawn Paterson Police Raid Produces Eight Pounds Of Pot, 2½ Ounces Of Cocaine, 72 THC Tubes
Pre-Dawn Paterson Police Raid Produces Eight Pounds Of Pot, 2½ Ounces Of Cocaine, 72 THC Tubes A pre-dawn apartment raid led to the arrest of an ex-con who Paterson police said had more than eight pounds of pot, 2½ ounces of cocaine and 72 THC oil cartridges for sale. Nicco G. Lago, 28, was charged with various possession with intent counts after finding the cocaine packaged in 52 individual bags and the marijuana packaged in 63 bags and five jars, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. Lago also had the THC tubes, eight Xanax pills and drug paraphernalia in his Camden Street home during the raid by members of the Narcotics Division -- assisted by the Emergency Response Team – followin…

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by Jerry DeMarco