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29°
Thursday, dec 26
Tag:
Ecuador
Obituaries
Gabriela Ayala-Cortes, Essex County Mom, Dies At 45
Gabriela Ayala-Cortes, a mom and Verona resident, died on Thursday, Oct. 10 at the age of 45 of cancer, according to her obituary on the Shooks Cedar Grove Funeral Home. Born in Ecuador, Ayala-Cortes emigrated to the United States in 2003, her obituary reads. She worked as the director of regulatory affairs operations for Organon and Company in Jersey City, according to her obituary. She is survived her husband, Carlos, her children, Camila and Isabella, her parents Rodrigo and Marcia, and numerous other family members and friends, her obituary reads. A fundraiser has been created to suppo…
Politics
Hackensack Councilman Stepping Down After Soccer Game Scandal
The Hackensack councilman who refused to apologize to a club coach after making derogatory racial comments about him and slamming his goalkeeper during a game will be stepping down. In an email to Daily Voice on Friday, Oct. 11, Leo Battaglia — who was elected in 2013 — said he feels he has no other choice but to resign from the city council. "This evening, I, Councilman Leo Battaglia, along with two individuals who participated in the conversation that took place on Monday, September 16th, visited the homes of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor," Battaglia said. "This was an opportunity to provide…
Obituaries
Patty Alarcon Cinardo Of North Arlington Dies, 39
Patricia "Patty" Alarcon Cinardo died on Tuesday, Sept. 10, according to her obituary on the Nazare Memorial website. She was 39 years old. Born in Ecuador, Patty came to the United States at 9 years old with her family and lived in Brooklyn, then Kearny and Harrison, her obituary says. She most recently lived in North Arlington, having married her husband, Nicholas, in 2023. Patty's Facebook page shows she studied math at Hunter College. She is survived by her husband, Nicholas Cinardo; parents, Carlos Alarcon and Mercedes Garcia; her brothers, Kevin and Carlos Alarcon; and her a…
Police & Fire
Authorities ID Cabbie, Fare Killed In Elizabeth Police Chase Crash
Authorities officially identified a cab driver and passenger who were both killed when a sedan driven by a suspect fleeing police crashed head-on into the taxi at an Elizabeth intersection. Juan Carlos Albear, 54, who was behind the wheel, and Ysabell Gonzalez, 63, were killed in the violent collision at Grand Street and Routes 1&9 shortly before 6 a.m. last Dec 10. Elizabeth police had responded to a report of gunfire minutes earlier in the area of Fourth Avenue and Center Street, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Officer Michael White ended up following a Hyundai …
Business
American Dream: Pizza Chefs From Italy Open Bergen County Restaurant
Five immigrants, three of whom are pizza chefs from Italy, have opened a Bergen County restaurant in pursuit of the American Dream. Culto Italiano, or the Italian vibe, opened on Dec. 1 at 49 W. Church Street in Bergenfield.The three pizza chefs are 31-year-old Corrado Cervelli, 23-year-old Angelo Riccio, Gianni Massaro. The other two owners are Tammy Castellanos and her husband, Ariel Castellanos, of Rutherford. Tammy and Ariel Castellanos with Corrado Cervelli, Angelo Riccio, and Gianni Massaro at their new restaurant, Culto Italiano. Courtesy of Tammy Castellanos …
News
Retired Bank Exec Struck In DWI Hit-And-Run In Closter Dies, Charges Against Driver Upgraded
A 75-year-old retired bank vice president from Closter who authorities said was struck by a drunk hit-and-run driver as he walked down a local street has died. Charges have been upgraded as a result against the driver, Jesus T. Yunganaula Tenempaguay, a 36-year-old Ecuadorian national living in Hackensack. Tenempaguay was intoxicated when his 2007 Honda CRV struck Alan Friedman on Durie Avenue near Legion Place at 3:25 p.m. Sunday, March 26, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Friedman, who'd worked for The Bank of New York Mellon for 35 years, was unresponsive but breathing, with …
News
Driver In DWI Hit-And-Run That Severely Injured Closter Pedestrian, 75, Works Nearby: Sources
UPDATE: A 75-year-old retired bank vice president from Closter who was struck by a drunk hit-and-run driver on a local street has died. Charges have been upgraded against the driver, a 36-year-old Ecuadorian national and father of four living in Hackensack. SEE: Retired Bank Exec Struck In DWI Hit-And-Run In Closter Dies, Charges Against Driver Upgraded ****** UPDATE: An Ecuadorian national living in Hackensack who police said fled the scene after severely injuring a 75-year-old former bank vice president in Closter was drunk at the time, authorities said on Monday. Jesus T. Yunganaula Te…
News
Ecuadorian National Pleads Guilty To Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef
A Jersey City man who brutally stabbed a well-known chef to death during a party at the victim’s Little Ferry home cut a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in exchange for a lesser sentence. Ray Edwardo Arcentales Sanchez, 24, could still get a minimum sentence of 10 years in state prison for the plea, entered in Superior Court in Hackensack earlier this week. Then there’s the matter of his citizenship. Police at the time said the Ecuadorian national was sitting on a curb, spattered with blood, when officers responding to a 911 call found a mortally wounded …
News
Maywood Pre-Teen Sexually Assaulted By Former Liquor Store Employee, Authorities Charge
A Maywood pre-teen was sexually assaulted more than a decade ago by a now-28-year-old Ecuadorian national, authorities charged. Luis Aucancela Barbecho, who lives in the borough, became the target of an investigation in March 2022 after Maywood police received a complaint, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday, Sept. 16. According to zoominfo and LinkedIn, Aucancela Barbecho had worked as an assistant team leader with Total Wine & More, which has a store in nearby River Edge. He previously worked at Olivia's Cafe and Bagels in Fair Lawn, according to his LinkedIn r…
Police & Fire
Ex-NJ Priest Wanted For Teen Boy's Rape Kills Teaching Partner, Himself In Ecuador: Reports
A 59-year-old former Union County priest indicted for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy shot three people and his pet before turning the gun on himself last week in Ecuador, various news reports say. Manuel Gallo Espinoza killed his partner in an English language school, Byron Carreño, and wounded two more partners on July 2, LaHora.com reports. Espinoza killed his pet and then himself, the outlet said. Nota de pesar.✝️ Posted by WEI English Institute - Formar on Saturday, July 2, 2022 According to NJ Advance Media, Gallo Espinoza had fled to Ecuador in 2003 after an alleged vict…
News
Daughter: Hard-Working Hawthorne Couple Sees Home 'Go Up In Ashes'
A Hawthorne woman was asleep alone in her parents' home when she heard her dog bark and awoke to the smell of smoke. Finding the backyard on fire, Jazmin Mendoza-Ortega grabbed Stella, ran out the door and dialed 911. Firefighters got there quickly, but fire, smoke and water damage pulverized the home where her hard-working parents, Washington Mendoza and Betty Ortega, had lived for 17 years. Several chickens died and some pet birds were rescued -- along with Stella -- from the house at Lafayette and Llewellyn avenues on Monday. Gone is the hub upon which a tight-knit group of relative…
News
ICE Puts Hold On Hudson Man Jailed In Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef
UPDATE: Federal authorities have placed an immigration detainer on a 22-year-old Jersey City man accused of brutally stabbing a well-known chef to death during a party at the victim’s Little Ferry home. ICE issued the detainer amid questions over the immigration status of Ray Edwardo Arcentales Sanchez, who is listed in Bergen County Jail records as an Ecuadoran national. Sanchez was sitting on a curb, spattered with blood, when police responding to a 911 call before dawn Thursday found a mortally wounded Yuryin Herrera, 36, on the backyard steps of his Abend Street home, responders said.…
News
Deportee Who Raped Paterson Girl, 15, After Illegally Re-Entering US Gets 7¾ Years
UPDATE: A deportee who snuck back into the U.S. and was living illegally in Paterson was sentenced Tuesday to 95 months in federal prison for raping a 15-year-old city girl. Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, a 35-year-old Mexican citizen who was born in Ecuador, had been deported in 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. He'd re-entered the United States when he approached the girl in Passaic County in April 2019, had sex with her, then took her with him on a planned trip to Chicago, Honig said. They never made it that far, however. An Ohio state trooper pulled Morales-Pedraza’s 201…
News
Aspiring NJ Attorney Found Dead In PA Was 'Trying To Figure Out Way To Change The World'
Support is surging for the family of a 26-year-old aspiring attorney from New Jersey who was found dead in Pennsylvania last week. Funeral services for Kevin Rosero will be at the Judkins Colonial Home in Plainfield from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 26. Rosero's body was found in a wooded area of Richland Township, Pennsylvania last week. Brothers Anthony Gamble, 19, and Joshua Gamble, 17, of Franklin Township (Somerset County) have been charged in Rosero's death. As of Wednesday, more than $12,400 had been raised on a GoFundMe page for Rosero's family. A Plainfield High School and…
News
Family Of Ridgefield Mom Killed By Pickup Settles Lawsuit Against Driver For $1.25 Million
The family of a Ridgefield mom who was struck and killed by a pickup truck has settled a wrongful death suit against the driver for $1,250,000, their attorney said Monday. The driver of a 2016 Dodge Ram was turning left from northbound Shaler Boulevard onto westbound Banta Place last Feb. 15 when the pickup struck Maria Gabriela Andino as she crossed a street near the supermarket where she worked . The mother of two remained at Hackensack University Medical Center before loved ones made the agonizing decision to remove her from a respirator on Feb. 17, a day before her 40th birthday. A wro…
Police & Fire
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…
Police & Fire
Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Admits Scamming Victims Out Of $5 Million
A Bergen County lending company founder from Wayne who promised to help desperate, low-income customers pay off crushing loans admitted Thursday that he pushed them even further into debt while pocketing more than $5 million. Edward Espinal, 44, of Wayne, who pleaded guilty videoconference to securities fraud and conspiracy in exchange for leniency at sentencing, is “the quintessential con artist,” Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski said. “He played a shell game with other people’s hard-earned money, making promises he never intended to keep, and walking away with ill-gott…
Police & Fire
Pedestrian Struck In Ridgefield Dies
A Ridgefield woman who was struck by a pickup truck while crossing the street near the supermarket where she worked was declared brain dead by doctors on Monday, loved ones and authorities confirmed. A Dodge Ram was turning left from northbound Shaler Boulevard onto westbound Banta Place when it struck Maria Gabriela Andino, a mother of two, in the crosswalk early Saturday afternoon, they said. The driver, who is in his mid 20s, said he didn't see the victim. She was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where doctors pronounced her brain dead at 5:25 p.m. Monday, a day before her…
Police & Fire
Bail
Reform
: Immigrant In Cliffside Park Sex Assault Caught With Good Samaritans' Help Released
A good Samaritan couple helped catch an assailant who grabbed a woman between the legs and then threw her down on a Cliffside Park street, authorities said. A judge in Hackensack released him less than 24 hours later, records show. The victim was on her cellphone on Day Avenue when Dario Camey Curruchichi, 29, came up behind her on Saturday, borough police Capt. Vincent Capano said. Curruchichi -- listed in jail records as an Ecuadoran citizen -- put his hands between her legs and grabbed the woman's vagina, Capano said. The startled victim turned and was thrown to the ground, he said. Cu…
Obituaries
Kearny Little League Coach Norman Arcos, 46, Leaves Behind 3 Children
Norman Arcos, a father of three and volunteer with Kearny's baseball program, died suddenly on July 2. He was 46. A lifelong New Jersey resident, he was born in Ecuador and worked in the IT department at Colgate-Palmolive in Piscataway for the last 15 years. He was an assistant coach with the Kearny U-8 Little League Rec and All Star Baseball programs. He was the father of Giovanni, aged 8, as well as Sarah Espinel and Chris Dodd. He is also survived by his wife Tina Dodd, parents Carlos and Beatriz Arcos, siblings Carlos Arcos, Beatriz Aquino, and Ana Paton, a…
News
13 Illegal Immigrants Arrested By ICE In 4-Day New Jersey Operation
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 13 immigration violators in New Jersey during a four-day surge effort, the agency said. The operation targeted aliens who have been issued a final order of removal in the past five years, have failed to depart the United States, and have received criminal convictions or have pending criminal charges. “As this operation clearly demonstrates, ICE continues to focus its efforts first on public safety threats,” ERO Newark Field Office Director John Tsoukaris said. “The vast majority of the individuals targeted in this effort ha…
Police & Fire
South Hackensack Handyman Charged With Molesting Pre-Teenage Girl
An undocumented 52-year-old handyman living in South Hackensack molested a pre-teenage girl over the course of a couple of years, authorities charged. ICE put a detainer on Segundo Calle-Calle, an Ecuadoran national who remained held in the Bergen County Jail following his April 1 arrest. Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo Hackensack police contacted his Special Victims Unit after receiving a report that Calle-Calle “engaged in sexual acts with a juvenile under the age of thirteen in South Hackensack.” Detectives from the unit arrested Calle-Calle on charges of sexual assault by c…
News
ICE Arrests 60 Immigrants With Criminal History In North Jersey
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 123 people during a monthlong New Jersey sweep targeting immigrants with criminal records or DUI convictions, the agency announced Monday. Individuals were arrested from Bergen (4), Burlington (4), Camden (4), Cumberland (9), Essex (13), Hudson(8), Mercer (10), Middlesex (14), Monmouth (12), Morris (10), Ocean (3), Passaic (2), Somerset (6), and Union (23) -- a total of 60 in North Jersey. One person was also arrested in Pennslyvania. Some of the arrests include: In Red Bank, a 30-year-old Mexican n…
Police & Fire
Update
: Garfield Train Death, Roommate Slaying 'Totally' Murder-Suicide, Authorities Say
UPDATE: A man who committed suicide by running in front of a commuter train in Garfield on Saturday hours after law enforcement officials said he beat his roommate to death in their illegal basement apartment was identified Monday, along with the murder victim. Manuel Ortega-Pimentel, 55, "ran into the path" of an NJ Transit train on Saturday and was killed, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said. "During an attempt to locate next of kin for Ortega-Pimentel, a check of his last known address was conducted and the basement apartment was checked by a resident of the first floor," th…
Police & Fire
Update
: Garfield Train Suicide Victim, Slain Roommate Identified
UPDATE: A man who committed suicide by running in front of a commuter train in Garfield on Saturday hours after law enforcement officials said he beat his roommate to death in their illegal basement apartment was identified Monday, along with the murder victim. Manuel Ortega-Pimentel, 55, "ran into the path" of an NJ Transit train on Saturday and was killed, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said. "During an attempt to locate next of kin for Ortega-Pimentel, a check of his last known address was conducted and the basement apartment was checked by a resident of the first floor," th…
Politics
Report: NJ State Investigators Probing Harassment, Immigration Fraud Claims At Trump Golf Club
State authorities were reviewing harassment and immigration-fraud claims raised by former and current undocumented housekeepers at President Trump’s Garden State golf club in Bedminster, the Daily News reported Friday. Attorney Anibal Romero of Newark told the newspaper that investigators from New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal’s office contacted him about claims by five of his clients that they’d been “routinely threatened and called racial slurs” while working at the club, the Daily News report says. Romero told the News he also contacted federal authorities. All five claim tha…
Police & Fire
ICE Places Detainer On Hackensack Day Laborer Charged With Sexually Assaulting Youngster
A day laborer living in Hackensack was charged with having sex with a young teen. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on Hugo Remache, a 41-year-old Ecuadoran national, prohibiting a judge from releasing him and calling his immigration status into question. Remache was taken into custody by Hackensack police on Friday following a call for assistance, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said. He “had engaged in sexual activity with a juvenile under the age of sixteen,” Calo said Tuesday, following an investigation by city police and his Special Victi…
Obituaries
Midland Park Student-Athlete Samuel Sullivan Dies, 16
Samuel Joseph Hoon Raphael Sullivan of Midland Park died on Feb. 6. He was 16 years old. Sam was born on Oct. 9, 2001 in South Korea and became part of his family on June 1, 2004 by adoption. Sam was a scholar-athlete at Midland Park High School. He loved fast sports, cars and especially meeting new people. He was the “mayor” of any social event and loved greeting people with enthusiasm and a genuine interest in their lives. Sam was a Star Scout and Den Chief with Midland Park Boy Scout Troop 157, an award winning skipper with the Highland Lakes Sailing Club, varsity runner with the Midlan…
Police & Fire
ICE Puts Detainers On East Rutherford Restaurant Trio Charged In Gang Rape
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – ICE has placed detainers on three restaurant workers charged with sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman in East Rutherford. Records show that dishwasher Rene Jimenez, 29, and kitchen helper Emeterio Castelan, 25, are both Mexican citizens sharing an East Rutherford apartment across from the borough post office and a day-care center. The third defendant, 20-year-old Luis Tenecela, is an Ecuadoran citizen living in Hackensack. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers allow federal authorities to take custody of the trio for deportation purposes if a loc…
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