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Laborer Charged With Torching Vehicles On Local Bergen Street Awaits Move From Rikers To NJ Laborer Charged With Torching Vehicles On Local Bergen Street Awaits Move From Rikers To NJ
Laborer Charged With Torching Vehicles On Local Bergen Street Awaits Move From Rikers To NJ A Bronx laborer wanted for setting a fire that consumed a pickup truck and a sedan on a quiet Wallington street remained held on Rikers Island following his capture in the city. An extradition hearing for Eliezer Bisono Aguilera, 22, is scheduled for next Tuesday, Jan. 31, in Bronx Supreme Court, according to New York City Department of Correction records. Aguilera was wanted for a 4:30 a.m. arson fire last Nov. 15 on Morrissee Avenue that was doused by Wallington firefighters, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Destroyed by the flames were a 2009 Chevrolet Colorado and a 2016 Kia…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
77-Year-Old Arsonist Set Series Of Ocean County Dumpster Fires: Prosecutor 77-Year-Old Arsonist Set Series Of Ocean County Dumpster Fires: Prosecutor
77-Year-Old Arsonist Set Series Of Ocean County Dumpster Fires: Prosecutor A 77-year-old Ocean County man has been charged with arson in connection with five dumpster fires set over the course of several months this year, authorities said. Nicholas Depalma, of Whiting, ignited the fires between Jan. 1 and April 26 across Manchester Township, including one near a large wooded area, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Manchester Township Chief of Police Robert Dolan said.  2 Simultaneous Dumpster Fires This morning (Tuesday 4/26/22) Whiting Fire Company was dispatched to a dumpster fire... Posted by Whiting Fire Company Sta. 33 on Tuesday, April 2…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Volunteer Firefighter Set Brush Fire Halloween Morning In North Jersey: Prosecutor Volunteer Firefighter Set Brush Fire Halloween Morning In North Jersey: Prosecutor
Volunteer Firefighter Set Brush Fire Halloween Morning In North Jersey: Prosecutor A volunteer firefighter from North Jersey has been charged with arson after he was caught setting a piece of paper on fire and placing it on the ground, causing brush to erupt in flames Halloween morning, authorities said. Shannon B. Muller, 40, a Wanaque volunteer firefighter, was found just before 9 a.m. in an area behind the Warrens Way housing complex Monday, Oct. 31, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Muller was lighting the paper with a match and placing the burning paper on the forest floor as authorities arrived, Valdes said alongside Wanaque Police Chi…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Son, 24, Gets Prison Time For Slaying Parents, Torching Their Central Jersey Home: Prosecutor Son, 24, Gets Prison Time For Slaying Parents, Torching Their Central Jersey Home: Prosecutor
Son, 24, Gets Prison Time For Slaying Parents, Torching Their Central Jersey Home: Prosecutor A 24-year-old man from Middlesex County has been sentenced to 70 years in New Jersey State Prison for the fiery murders of his parents and another man, authorities announced. Jaree Kitchen, of Jamesburg, was sentenced on Friday, Oct. 28 by Judge Thomas J. Buck in the murder of his parents and another man, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. On Nov. 6, 2019, at 3:19 a.m., Jamesburg police responded to 7 Sheridan St. for a house fire. Police observed visible flames exiting the structure of the house. The Jamesburg Fire Department arrived on scene and extinguis…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
US Marshals Round Up 65 Fugitives Including High-Profile Cases In NJ, Philly 'Rodeo' US Marshals Round Up 65 Fugitives Including High-Profile Cases In NJ, Philly 'Rodeo'
US Marshals Round Up 65 Fugitives Including High-Profile Cases In NJ, Philly 'Rodeo' A major sweep of fugitives including suspected gang members led to 65 arrests including high-profile cases in South Jersey and Philadelphia. These fugitives were wanted out of Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester, and Camden counties, as well as other states but were located in these four counties. During "Operation Rodeo" the District of New Jersey and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force used its multi-jurisdictional investigative authority and fugitive task force network to arrest fugitives wanted on charges including homicide, sex assault, aggravated assault, robbery, carjackin…

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by Jon Craig
News
Trucker Charged With Tossing Molotov Cocktails On Roof Of NJ Strip Club Trucker Charged With Tossing Molotov Cocktails On Roof Of NJ Strip Club
Trucker Charged With Tossing Molotov Cocktails On Roof Of NJ Strip Club A truck driver who apparently had a beef with a strip club in Lodi tossed Molotov cocktails onto the roof of the business, authorities said. Andy Pena, 41, who lives in town was arrested Thursday and charged with aggravated arson, attempting to cause widespread injury or damage and weapons possession, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced. He was sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of July 8 at the Harem Cabaret on southbound Route 17 beneath the Route 80 ov…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ARSON INVESTIGATION: Suspect Car Seen Near Phillipsburg Alley Moments Before Fire, Police Say ARSON INVESTIGATION: Suspect Car Seen Near Phillipsburg Alley Moments Before Fire, Police Say
Arson Investigation: Suspect Car Seen Near Phillipsburg Alley Moments Before Fire, Police Say Recognize this car? Police investigating an arson fire are seeking information on a vehicle that was seen near a Phillipsburg alley just moments before the blaze broke out. The vehicle pictured above was seen near Lewis Street and Pear Alley in Phillipsburg just before the arson fire at 4 Lewis St. on Friday, July 15, Phillipsburg Police said in a release on Wednesday, July 27. According to police, the car — thought to be a dark red Hyundai Sonata — was seen in Pear Alley between 8:25 p.m. and 8:34 p.m. just before the fire was reported. Scroll down to view additional photos. Posted b…

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by Valerie Musson
News
SEEN THEM? Police Seek Help Finding Arsonists Who Set Fire At Clifton Gynecologist's Office SEEN THEM? Police Seek Help Finding Arsonists Who Set Fire At Clifton Gynecologist's Office
Seen Them? Police Seek Help Finding Arsonists Who Set Fire At Clifton Gynecologist's Office One of them wore a Spiderman mask, the other a mask of another character, Clifton police said. Both are believed responsible for an arson fire that severely damaged a medical office building. The blaze was started on the second floor of the building on Clifton Avenue near Paulison Avenue around 12:30 a.m. June 30. The site houses an OB-GYN and infertility clinic. Clifton firefighters doused the flames, after which evidence of arson was found, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken said. Police released an image of two people arriving just prior to the fire. ANYONE who might know who they are or w…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ridgefield Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm Palisades Park Warehouse Fire Ridgefield Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm Palisades Park Warehouse Fire
Ridgefield Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm Palisades Park Warehouse Fire UPDATE: A vacant warehouse blaze that injured a firefighter in Palisades Park was deliberately set by two Ridgefield residents, authorities charged. Alexander Regalado, 18, was arrested and a juvenile was detained after they were identified as responsible for the multi-alarm Fourth of July weekend fire on Fairview Street off Grand Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The fire, which ravaged the warehouse and damaged a neighboring building, wasn’t fully extinguished for nearly six hours. Route 46 was closed in both directions at one point because of the thick smoke and a fi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
SERIAL CALLER: Midwest Woman Jailed For Threatening To Blow Up Ramsey Police HQ SERIAL CALLER: Midwest Woman Jailed For Threatening To Blow Up Ramsey Police HQ
Serial Caller: Midwest Woman Jailed For Threatening To Blow Up Ramsey Police HQ A Midwest woman who once set fire to garbage bins outside a middle school -- and then contacted authorities to confess -- was charged this week with threatening to blow up Ramsey police headquarters. The threat by Amber Schadewald, 24, "led to a search of the building, parking lot and departmental and personal vehicles by Bergen County sheriff's bomb dogs" back in January, Ramsey Police Chief Brian Lyman said. The subsequent investigation led to Schandewald, who "was believed to be in a group home in Minnesota at the time she made the threat," Lyman said Thursday. Schadewald has a history…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death
Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death He was considered one of the last of the old-time mobsters, a "real-life Tony Soprano" listed as one of New Jersey's most wanted fugitives. Even six feet under, though, Tony Mota couldn't evade his pursuers. After eluding capture for nearly 25 years for a gruesome murder committed in Hudson County, Anthony Mota was found buried in the country where he was born, the Dominican Republic. Mota had been collecting debts for high-level Colombian drug dealers in New York City when he and a group of accomplices abducted a Queens man on Dec. 13, 1997, authorities said. The victim, 38-year-old …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
One Of NJ's 'Most Wanted' Fugitives In Torture Execution Found Dead In Dominican Republic One Of NJ's 'Most Wanted' Fugitives In Torture Execution Found Dead In Dominican Republic
One Of NJ's 'Most Wanted' Fugitives In Torture Execution Found Dead In Dominican Republic One of New Jersey's most wanted fugitives in a kidnapping and execution of a Queens, NY man was found dead in the Dominican Republic, authorities announced. Anthony Mota kidnapped the victim on Dec. 12, 1997, then bound and tortured him with others for days until they got a ransom amount of $23,000 from the victim's family, United States Marshal for the District of New Jersey Juan Mattos, Jr., and NJSP Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan said. Soon after, Mota took the victim to an area along Interstate 280 in Harrison, and shot him in the head and neck, ki…

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by Cecilia Levine