Fair 42°
Police & Fire
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer UPDATE: A Teaneck con man who was captured after trying to flee the country must spend the next three years in state prison for running a Ponzi scheme with family and friends that fleeced dozens of unwitting investors out of $4.7 million. Chander Singh, 46, reshaped a failed company into an unscrupulous criminal venture by soliciting loans from investors to buy distressed properties, authorities said. Singh promised double-digit returns from what would be renovations of the ratholes, which he found with the help of his parents and brother, all of whom worked as real estate agents, they said…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Motorcyclist, 71, Could Lose Leg From Emerson Crash: Responders Motorcyclist, 71, Could Lose Leg From Emerson Crash: Responders
Motorcyclist, 71, Could Lose Leg From Emerson Crash: Responders A 71-year-old motorcyclist was in serious condition following a collision Monday morning in Emerson, authorities and responders said. Responding Emerson police officers swiftly applied a tourniquet to the Lyndhurst motorcyclist's right leg just about the ankle following the crash at the corner of Forest and Revere avenues outside Beth El Cedar Park Cemetery around 9 a.m. May 8. He nonetheless could lose the rest of his leg, responders said. His other leg was broken, as well, and he suffered internal injuries, they said. The 51-year-old driver of the other vehicle, from Washington Town…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Kitchen Candle Fire Blows Through Roof Of Old Tappan Home Kitchen Candle Fire Blows Through Roof Of Old Tappan Home
Kitchen Candle Fire Blows Through Roof Of Old Tappan Home UPDATE: A candle ignited a blaze that ravaged an Old Tappan home near the Rockland County border on Friday, bringing firefighters from both sides of the state line, authorities said. The three-alarm blaze broke out in the kitchen of the 2½-story wood-frame home on Cheryll Lane near Old Tappan Road -- a little under a half-mile from Tappan, NY -- and quickly blew through the roof around 1:30 p.m. April 7, responders told Daily Voice. Firefighters had it knocked down in under an hour. Overhaul was completed by 3 p.m. Flames quickly spread, then blew through the roof of the home on Cheryl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Siblings Open Haworth Eatery Siblings Open Haworth Eatery
Siblings Open Haworth Eatery No sibling rivalry here: A brother and sister duo each with extensive culinary backgrounds have opened a restaurant together in Bergen County. Monique and James Rugile held the grand opening of Rugile's Kitchen in Haworth on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Photos of the Rugiles in Rugile's Kitchen.Cecilia Levine Walk inside the 147 Terrace St. restaurant and you'll see pictures of the siblings at various stages of life on the walls. You'll see James peeling potatoes and Monique at an outdoor market.  The siblings' passion for cooking began at an early age, growing up in Colorado. They both went on t…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Firefighters Contain Destructive Kitchen Fire At Westwood Restaurant Firefighters Contain Destructive Kitchen Fire At Westwood Restaurant
Firefighters Contain Destructive Kitchen Fire At Westwood Restaurant Firefighters kept a blaze that severely damaged a Guatemalan restaurant from spreading to the rest of a small shopping center in Westwood. The fire broke out in the kitchen and extended to the cockloft of Mi Flor Latin Cafe on Kinderkamack Road across from Kingsberry Avenue shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Firefighters quickly climbed up and opened the roof as part of an aggressive attack that kept the blaze in check and was over in minutes. Their colleagues from Emerson and River Vale provided mutual aid. Fire inspectors were investigating the cause. The fire broke out in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Toddler Struck In Emerson Toddler Struck In Emerson
Toddler Struck In Emerson A tragedy was avoided when a 2-year-old child playing on a scooter in the street was struck in Emerson by a vehicle backing out of a driveway, responders said. A neighbor on Dogwood Lane shouted, getting the driver to stop, shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, Police Chief Michael Mazzeo said. The child had cuts and bruises on her head, face, chest and arms but was conscious and alert when taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, responders said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen County Native With Terminal Cancer Works Through Living List Of Dreams Bergen County Native With Terminal Cancer Works Through Living List Of Dreams
Bergen County Native With Terminal Cancer Works Through Living List Of Dreams Support is on the rise for a courageous Bergen County woman diagnosed with a terminal and incurable form of breast cancer as she works through a living list of dreams. Cassie Romano of Emerson — a behavior therapist who worked with children with autism — was initially diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in January 2020, according to a GoFundMe that documents her difficult journey. Romano was recovering after undergoing a double mastectomy when her father was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer himself, called Burkitt’s Lymphoma, she says. “So while he was going through intensive chemot…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Woman Helped Friend Hide Fetus In Wayne Home: Authorities Woman Helped Friend Hide Fetus In Wayne Home: Authorities
Woman Helped Friend Hide Fetus In Wayne Home: Authorities A woman and the friend who helped her hide a fetus in a storage container of a Wayne home are both facing criminal charges, authorities said. Nicole Tsentas, 33, of Emerson, gave birth to the baby who was not breathing in July 2020, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. She brought it home, wrapped it in a blanket and placed it in her closet, Valdes said. Sometime thereafter, Tsentas confided told Amanda Walker, 36, of Wayne, about the baby, and she helped her move it to a  home in Wayne, putting it in a storage container in the basement, Valdes said. I…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Pre-Dawn DWI Driver Registers .25 BAC In Fiery Garbage Truck Crash Pre-Dawn DWI Driver Registers .25 BAC In Fiery Garbage Truck Crash
Pre-Dawn DWI Driver Registers .25 BAC In Fiery Garbage Truck Crash A drunk driver whose car burst into flames after slamming into a garbage truck overnight in Emerson registered a preliminary blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit, authorities said. The 41-year-old Paterson driver told police he was heading home from work when his Nissan Altima slammed into the driver's side of the truck outside the Old Hook Farm on Old Hook Road at 4:15 a.m. Friday, April 22, Police Chief Michael Mazzeo said. The Altima's engine ignited, and flames quickly spread to the car's cabin and onto the truck, the chief said. The truck driver was OK, but the in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
A Life Full But Too Brief: Beloved NJ Firefighter, IT Whiz, Dies At 57 A Life Full But Too Brief: Beloved NJ Firefighter, IT Whiz, Dies At 57
A Life Full But Too Brief: Beloved NJ Firefighter, IT Whiz, Dies At 57 TRIBUTE: The holiday season at the Emerson Fire Department won't be the same without Mark Brackenbury. Little else in town will be, either. The lifelong firefighter died peacefully at his Jersey Shore home surrounded by loved ones on Sunday, March 13, following a battle with cancer. He was 57. A Queens native, Brackenbury earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken before becoming an accomplished IT director. He began his professional career in 1993 as an IT manager with Health Management Systems in New York before joining Pfizer in 2002. Bracke…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
SWAT STANDOFF: Emerson Officer Talks Troubled Man, 27, Out SWAT STANDOFF: Emerson Officer Talks Troubled Man, 27, Out
SWAT Standoff: Emerson Officer Talks Troubled Man, 27, Out An Emerson police officer backed by a SWAT team and county negotiator talked a barricaded man out of his home. What originally came in as the possibility of weapons in the troubled 27-year-old man's home prompted borough police to summon Bergen County Regional SWAT team members and crisis negotiators just after 5:30 p.m. Monday. Officer Sean Croal got a rapport going with the man, said Police Chief Michael Mazzeo, who was among the other responding officers. Counseled by the negotiator, Croal convinced the troubled resident to come out of his room without incident about three hours later,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
ICY MORNING (UPDATE): One Dead, Highways Closed, Dozens Injured In North Jersey Crashes ICY MORNING (UPDATE): One Dead, Highways Closed, Dozens Injured In North Jersey Crashes
ICY Morning (Update): One Dead, Highways Closed, Dozens Injured In North Jersey Crashes UPDATE: One victim was confirmed dead and westbound Route 3 in East Rutherford was temporarily closed Wednesday morning following what was the most serious in a series of crashes on icy North Jersey roads. Here's a listing of incidents. Mark Kolta, 31, of North Bergen had been involved in an earlier chain-reaction crash on the Hackensack River bridge on westbound Route 3 shortly after 6:30 a.m., East Rutherford Deputy Police Chief Phillip Taormina said. He was struck in another pileup after getting out of his vehicle, the deputy chief said. Kolta was pronounced dead at a local hospital a …

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by Jerry DeMarco