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NJ 'Rabbi' Accused Of Living Double Life In Israel As Secret Christian Missionary NJ 'Rabbi' Accused Of Living Double Life In Israel As Secret Christian Missionary
NJ 'Rabbi' Accused Of Living Double Life In Israel As Secret Christian Missionary A New Jersey man living in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel has been accused of faking his religion to hide the fact that he is really a Christian missionary. Rabbi Michael Elkohen dressed in strictly-Orthodox clothes and had been living in French Hill with his five children and wife, Amanda, who recently died after a cancer battle, the Times of Israel says. Elkohen's family had reportedly been under surveillance for at least seven years, but it all came crumbling down last week, when his teen daughter told a classmate that Jesus  "accepts everyone, even if they are wr…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
COVID-19: Here's Number Of Americans Infected Despite Being Vaccinated, CDC Says COVID-19: Here's Number Of Americans Infected Despite Being Vaccinated, CDC Says
Covid-19: Here's Number Of Americans Infected Despite Being Vaccinated, CDC Says The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has released the first data on so-called "breakthrough" COVID-19 cases, meaning individuals who have become infected -- despite being fully vaccinated. So far, there have been about 5,800 such cases, the CDC told CNN.  At the time that data was collected, 77 million American adults had been fully vaccinated, meaning 99.992 percent had dodged the disease. The efficacy rates of the double-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are both around 95 percent. "To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or v…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
'Firefighting Royalty': NJ Legend Larry Rauch Dies 'Firefighting Royalty': NJ Legend Larry Rauch Dies
'Firefighting Royalty': NJ Legend Larry Rauch Dies He was the very definition of “class act,” a father figure and mentor to a multitude who made protecting others their mission. You couldn't help but love him. “Firefighting royalty” one colleague said Monday after learning that retired veteran fire chief and academy instructor Larry Rauch had died a week and a half shy of his 79th birthday. Rauch, the Bergen County Fire Academy’s head instructor for several decades, fought fires for nearly 50 years in Upper Saddle River. He lived there most of his life before moving to Manchester in 2019 with his beloved wife of 58 years, Sherry, who died…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds Charge Jersey Shore Pain Management Doc With Massive $24.6M Billing Fraud Feds Charge Jersey Shore Pain Management Doc With Massive $24.6M Billing Fraud
Feds Charge Jersey Shore Pain Management Doc With Massive $24.6M Billing Fraud A Jersey Shore pain management doctor accused of running a $24.6 million fraud scheme billed insurance plans for more than 24 hours worth of services in a single day no fewer than 900 times, federal authorities said Monday. Morris Antebi, 68, of Long Branch, also billed Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies frequently on dates when travel records show he was overseas -- including trips to China, Israel, Turkey, the Dominican Republic and across Europe – and at other times when he was otherwise out of state, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Antebi, who specializes in pain ma…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Lawsuit: Bergen County Jewish Day School Wrongly Accused Boy Of Sex Assault Lawsuit: Bergen County Jewish Day School Wrongly Accused Boy Of Sex Assault
Lawsuit: Bergen County Jewish Day School Wrongly Accused Boy Of Sex Assault A Jewish day school in Bergen County is facing a lawsuit for wrongfully accusing a boy of sexually assaulting a student and banning him from graduation, NorthJersey.com reports. Solomon Schechter Day School in New Milford pressured the 14-year-old boy to make a confession without his parents present after he was accused of touching a student inappropriately on a bus during a class trip to Israel in May 2019, the report says. The boy, identified in the suit as Carl, expressed thoughts of self-harm over trip chaperone's presumption of guilt, NorthJersey.com said. His father subsequently broke…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lakewood Man In $8 Million Credit Card Reward Points Scheme Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lakewood Man In $8 Million Credit Card Reward Points Scheme
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lakewood Man In $8 Million Credit Card Reward Points Scheme A Lakewood man who's currently believed to be in Israel orchestrated a rewards points resale scheme that cost credit card companies more than $8 million, an indictment returned Friday by a federal grand jury in Newark alleges. Aharon Lev, 33, had help from co-defendant Timothy Gibson, 43, of Lehi, Utah, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said after both were named in an indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lev also is charged with separate wire fraud and aggravated identity theft counts. Lev used a string of aliases – among them, “Aaron Lev,” “David Gold” and “David Mo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs
Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs Israel’s largest bank and a Swiss subsidiary agreed in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday to pay $874.27 million to the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the New York State Department of Financial Services to settle offshore tax-evasion charges. At the same time, Bank Hapoalim B.M. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., agreed to pay more than $30 million to the United States to resolve a federal investigation into their roles in laundering bribes and kickbacks to the world governing body for soccer. As part of the tax-evasion settlement, Bank Hapoalim B.M.&…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Grandfather, 75, Struck Outside Synagogue Dies Teaneck Grandfather, 75, Struck Outside Synagogue Dies
Teaneck Grandfather, 75, Struck Outside Synagogue Dies One of two men critically injured when they were struck crossing the street outside a Teaneck synagogue Thursday night died Saturday. Sheldon Mermelstein, 75, passed away around 2 p.m. Saturday, Deputy Mayor Elie Katz said. “Our hearts are broken,” his daughter-in-law, Ayelet Schwartz Mermelstein, wrote in tribute. “May his memory be a blessing.” Mermelstein and Micah Kaufman, 41, both members of congregation Beth Aron on Queen Anne Road, were coming from Congregation Bnai Yeshurun when they were struck by a sedan while crossing West Englewood Avenue around 6:20 p.m. Thursday, authorities …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Native Gets 7½ Years In Russian Pot Bust, Becomes Pawn In Proposed Prisoner Swap Fair Lawn Native Gets 7½ Years In Russian Pot Bust, Becomes Pawn In Proposed Prisoner Swap
Fair Lawn Native Gets 7½ Years In Russian Pot Bust, Becomes Pawn In Proposed Prisoner Swap A 26-year-old Fair Lawn native was sentenced in Russia to 7½ years in prison for having a third of an ounce of pot in her bag, in what has become an international incident involving an alleged hacker held for the United States by authorities in Israel. Naama Issachar, who was born and raised in Fair Lawn before moving to Israel when she was 16, was returning there after a three-month trip to India this past April when police at the Moscow airport grabbed her as she boarded a connecting flight to Tel Aviv. Russian authorities prosecuted her on drug smuggling charges -- rather than simple pos…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: Rabbi Dad Of 7 Drowns Trying To Save Kids In Greenwood Lake Authorities: Rabbi Dad Of 7 Drowns Trying To Save Kids In Greenwood Lake
Authorities: Rabbi Dad Of 7 Drowns Trying To Save Kids In Greenwood Lake UPDATE: The body of a Ramapo rabbi who drowned trying to help two of his seven children into a boat on Greenwood Lake was recovered Monday, authorities said. Two children wearing life vests "were having difficulty getting into" a pontoon boat, so David Z. Traub jumped in just north of the Sportsmen's Marina at Lakeside Avenue in Hewitt on the New Jersey side, Greenwood Lake Police Chief John Hansen said. Traub, a 38-year-old Chestnut Ridge resident who led the school and synagogue at Bais Medrosh Elyon in Monsey, " got them into the boat safely with the assista…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: Rabbi Father Of 7 Drowns Trying To Save Kids In Greenwood Lake Authorities: Rabbi Father Of 7 Drowns Trying To Save Kids In Greenwood Lake
Authorities: Rabbi Father Of 7 Drowns Trying To Save Kids In Greenwood Lake UPDATE: The body of a Ramapo rabbi who drowned trying to help two of his seven children into a boat on Greenwood Lake was recovered Monday, authorities said. Two children wearing life vests "were having difficulty getting into" a pontoon boat, so David Z. Traub jumped in just north of the Sportsmen's Marina at Lakeside Avenue in Hewitt on the New Jersey side, Greenwood Lake Police Chief John Hansen said. Traub, a 38-year-old Chestnut Ridge resident who led the school and synagogue at Bais Medrosh Elyon in Monsey, " got them into the boat safely with the assistance of another person...then w…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Another Possible Measles Exposure At Newark Airport Another Possible Measles Exposure At Newark Airport
Another Possible Measles Exposure At Newark Airport Another traveler arriving from overseas at Newark Liberty International Airport was infected with measles and may have exposed others to the highly contagious disease, state health officials said Friday. The infected person arrived from Vienna, Austria, on May 8. Anyone inside Terminal B on the date between 2 and 6 p.m. could have been exposed. Measles is a highly contagious illness with symptoms that include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. It can cause serious health complications in people who are not immunized. Symptoms from this latest case of exposure may sho…

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by Paul Milo