Tag:

Oak Ridge, NJ

Clifton Police Officer Joseph Pichnarcik Dies, 45 Clifton Police Officer Joseph Pichnarcik Dies, 45
Clifton Police Officer Joseph Pichnarcik Dies, 45 The Clifton Police Department is mourning the passing of one of its own, Officer Joseph A. Pichnarcik. Pichnarcik died on Wednesday, Nov. 6, following a brave fight against a long-term illness, according to his department and his obituary on the Allwood Funeral Home website.  Officer Pichnarcik, who served the Clifton community with pride and commitment since joining in 2006, was known for his warm spirit, reliability, and the unwavering support he offered his fellow officers. Before his tenure in Clifton, Officer Pichnarcik served with the Paterson Police Department. Pichnarcik…
North Jersey Co-Owner Of Exotic Snack Website, 33, Killed In Crash North Jersey Co-Owner Of Exotic Snack Website, 33, Killed In Crash
North Jersey Co-Owner Of Exotic Snack Website, 33, Killed In Crash Friends and loved ones are remembering a 33-year-old Passaic County resident who was killed in a crash in Atlantic County. Craig Doka of Oak Ridge was found dead in a vehicle that was on fire off Route 30 in Absecon on Sunday, Apr. 28, according to the Absecon Police Department. He was 33 years old. Doka was a co-owner of the website Order Exotic Snacks, which specializes in selling international foods and beverages. He had been posting videos of himself trying some of the exotic treats from all over the world. View this post on Instagram …
Postal Carrier Admits Collecting Disability While Operating Morris Travel Agency: Feds Postal Carrier Admits Collecting Disability While Operating Morris Travel Agency: Feds
Postal Carrier Admits Collecting Disability While Operating Morris Travel Agency: Feds A now-former postal service worker from Morris County admitted lying to the government to collect $155,000 in disability benefits while running her own travel agency, authorities said. Pamela VanSyckle, 60, of Oak Ridge, VanSyckle began receiving disability benefits in September 2020 for an injury that she claimed had occurred while working as a rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Over the course of three years, VanSyckle continued to complete and sign "multiple federal claim forms alleging that she had not worked or had outside employment," th…
IN PLAIN SIGHT: Postal Carrier Collected Disability While Operating Morris Travel Agency: Feds IN PLAIN SIGHT: Postal Carrier Collected Disability While Operating Morris Travel Agency: Feds
IN Plain Sight: Postal Carrier Collected Disability While Operating Morris Travel Agency: Feds A Morris County postal carrier collected $155,000 in disability benefits from the federal government while continuing to operate the travel agency that she founded nearly 20 years ago, authorities charged. Pamela VanSyckle, 60, of Oak Ridge, was released on $100,000 unsecured bond following a first appearance in U.S. District Court in Newark on Wednesday. VanSyckle -- who owns and operates Kingdom Konsultants Travel -- is charged with federal employee compensation fraud and making false statements. VanSyckle began receiving disability benefits in September 2020 for an injury that she clai…
Passaic Sheriff's Detectives Pick Off Stolen Out-Of-State Pickup Passaic Sheriff's Detectives Pick Off Stolen Out-Of-State Pickup
Passaic Sheriff's Detectives Pick Off Stolen Out-Of-State Pickup Passaic County sheriff's detectives working a drug case found a North Jersey man driving a pickup truck stolen out of St. Louis, authorities said. Bureau of Narcotics members stopped the super-duty 2020 Ford F-350 in Wayne and discovered that a bogus VIN number had replaced the original to make the truck appear legit, Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said. They arrested the driver, Beau Richard Gunset, 28, of Oak Ridge and charged him with receiving stolen property and having possession of a vehicle with altered/fictitious parts, the sheriff said. Gunset was released pending court…
Recently Freed Crackhead Ex-Con Tries Robbing Route 23 Pump Jockey At Knifepoint: Wayne PD Recently Freed Crackhead Ex-Con Tries Robbing Route 23 Pump Jockey At Knifepoint: Wayne PD
Recently Freed Crackhead Ex-Con Tries Robbing Route 23 Pump Jockey At Knifepoint: Wayne PD A crackhead ex-con who’d been released from state prison last year had just filled the tank of his pickup truck when he pulled a knife on a Wayne gas station attendant, authorities said. The worker refused to hand over any money and the driver fled, they said. It wasn’t tough for detectives to identify Michael Zita, 37, of Oak Ridge, Detective Capt. Dan Daly said. Zita had a violent history. He'd served 4½ years for robbery, as well as burglary, following a trio of incidents in Morris and Passaic counties in 2015, records show. The investigators kept Zita under surveillance for awhile bef…
SUV Collides With Sedan, Slams Into Restaurant At Bergen-Passaic Border SUV Collides With Sedan, Slams Into Restaurant At Bergen-Passaic Border
SUV Collides With Sedan, Slams Into Restaurant At Bergen-Passaic Border Three people were hospitalized after a collision shortly before daybreak sent an SUV crashing into the window of a restaurant at the Bergen-Passaic border. The collision occurred at the corner of Lincoln and Loretto avenues when a 2010 Nissan driven by a 57-year-old Oak Ridge man knocked a 2007 Honda CR-V into the corner eatery known as First on the Hawthorne side of the street across from Fair Lawn shortly before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19. The other vehicle, a 2010 Nissan, was so badly damaged that a huge chunk of its nose fell off. The Honda driver, 54, of Paterson and passenger, 31,…
Memorial Service Set For Bergen Police Veteran, 51, Who Loved Intensely, Had Everyone's Back Memorial Service Set For Bergen Police Veteran, 51, Who Loved Intensely, Had Everyone's Back
Memorial Service Set For Bergen Police Veteran, 51, Who Loved Intensely, Had Everyone's Back He was as strong as he was emotional. He wore his heart on his sleeve and always had a special smile and knowing look to go with an immense kindness for others. That’s what many will remember when they gather in Van Saun Park this Thursday for a memorial service for River Edge Police Detective Sgt. Chris Cheevers. Cheevers, who died last week at 51, “intensely loved those who survive him,” his obituary says, “especially his wife Tara, his five children Avery, Katie, Joseph, Owen, and Kiersten, his siblings and cousins, their extended families and the many friends he made over his lifetime i…
Paterson Drug Sweep: Convicted Killer, 14 Others Charged, 1,051 Heroin Folds Seized Paterson Drug Sweep: Convicted Killer, 14 Others Charged, 1,051 Heroin Folds Seized
Paterson Drug Sweep: Convicted Killer, 14 Others Charged, 1,051 Heroin Folds Seized Paterson detectives seized 1,051 heroin folds, 137 crack vials and $8,184 in drug proceeds while arresting 15 people -- two of them underage teens, authorities said. They also obtained a fugitive warrant for a recently-paroled convicted killer who they said was running a drug operation from his apartment. Investigators targeted an open-air drug market at the corner of Godwin Avenue and Auburn Street following several complaints, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. After seizing 11 buyers and three dealers – including one 16 and the other 17 – city Narcotics Division detectives…
NJ Woman's Brutally Honest Adoption Ad For 'Neurotic Mess' Chihuahua Goes Viral NJ Woman's Brutally Honest Adoption Ad For 'Neurotic Mess' Chihuahua Goes Viral
NJ Woman's Brutally Honest Adoption Ad For 'Neurotic Mess' Chihuahua Goes Viral A New Jersey woman is gaining national attention for a Facebook post she penned in hopes of getting her "neurotic mess" but "kind of cute to look at" foster dog adopted. Tyfanee Fortuna has been fostering Prancer, a Chihuaua, through Oak Ridge-based Second Chance Pet Adoption League since November. The 25-year-old Clinton resident began working at animal shelters when she was 12 years old, and currently has eight other foster pets at home. She's had dozens over the years, each one eventually going to a new, loving home. Rehoming Prancer, however, has proven difficult, Fortuna said. P…
Secretary For Bergen County Dawn Carman-Ortiz Dies, 52 Secretary For Bergen County Dawn Carman-Ortiz Dies, 52
Secretary For Bergen County Dawn Carman-Ortiz Dies, 52 Passaic native and longtime County of Bergen secretary Dawn Carman-Ortiz died Feb. 17. She was 52 years old. Carman-Ortiz spent 45 years in Garfield and five years in Newark before settling in Oak Ridge about two years ago, her obituary says. Carman-Ortiz worked for the County of Bergen as a secretary for more than two decades before retiring from the Conklin Youth Center in Hackensack last year. Carman-Ortiz is survived by numerous family members and friends. She was predeceased by her father, Ray Carman. “Loved her for the wonderful person she was,” reads one of the many tributes on Car…
Restaurant 'Fables' At Passaic County's 'Fairy Tale Forest' Opening This March Restaurant 'Fables' At Passaic County's 'Fairy Tale Forest' Opening This March
Restaurant 'Fables' At Passaic County's 'Fairy Tale Forest' Opening This March Dreams are really coming true in Passaic County. Oak Ridge theme park Fairy Tale Forest, which has been closed for 14 years, will be opening by Memorial Day, NorthJersey.com reports. The long-awaited BYOB restaurant "Fables," located inside of the park, will open March 4, the report says. Fables will offer farm-to-table modern American cuisine in a casual but high-energy atmosphere, according to consulting executive chef, Christine Nunn. The family-friendly restaurant is also set to open an organic juice and snack bar in April. If Fables proves successful, the children’s park will reopen…
Police ID Pedestrian, 28, Struck On Route 23 In West Milford Police ID Pedestrian, 28, Struck On Route 23 In West Milford
Police ID Pedestrian, 28, Struck On Route 23 In West Milford Authorities on Thursday said they didn’t know the condition of a 28-year-old Hewitt man who was struck by a sedan on Route 23 the night before. Joseph Lanzo was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center after being struck just after 9:30 p.m. near the Grasshopper Irish Pub on the northbound highway near Cross Road. Artem Samsonov, 27, of Pinebrook, was behind the wheel of the 2013 Lexus that struck Lanzo – and was, in turn, rear-ended by a 2014 Ford Escape driven by a 57-year-old Oak Ridge woman, Sgt. Anthony Parrello said. A landing zone was set up for AirMed One at the Paradise Kroll School…
Pedestrian Struck On Route 23 In West Milford, Medical Chopper Summoned Pedestrian Struck On Route 23 In West Milford, Medical Chopper Summoned
Pedestrian Struck On Route 23 In West Milford, Medical Chopper Summoned Authorities on Thursday said they didn’t know the condition of a 28-year-old Hewitt man who was struck by a sedan on Route 23 the night before. Joseph Lanzo was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center after being struck just after 9:30 p.m. near the Grasshopper Irish Pub on the northbound highway near Cross Road. Artem Samsonov, 27, of Pinebrook, was behind the wheel of the 2013 Lexus that struck Lanzo – and was, in turn, rear-ended by a 2014 Ford Escape driven by a 57-year-old Oak Ridge woman, Sgt. Anthony Parrello said. A landing zone was set up for AirMed One at the Paradise Kroll School…
#JusticeForJenny: Morris County Woman Charged With Dumping 10-Week-Old Puppy In Lake #JusticeForJenny: Morris County Woman Charged With Dumping 10-Week-Old Puppy In Lake
#JusticeForJenny: Morris County Woman Charged With Dumping 10-Week-Old Puppy In Lake UPDATE: A Morris County woman was arrested Tuesday and charged with drowning a caged 10-week-old Golden Retriever puppy in a West Milford lake. Tonya Fea, 47, of Jefferson Township "reportedly confessed," The Last Resort Animal Rescue announced Tuesday. "But, much to our horror, our worst fears were confirmed: The official [necropsy] report confirms that drowning was the cause of death," officials with the non-profit organization wrote. The dog "was intentionally drowned," they said. The Last Resort, which named the dog Jenny, had posted a reward that quickly ballooned to $12,000, thanks…
Police: Repeat Offender Stole From West Milford Church Donation Box Police: Repeat Offender Stole From West Milford Church Donation Box
Police: Repeat Offender Stole From West Milford Church Donation Box West Milford police tracked down a repeat offender who authorities said stole money from a church donation box. Detective Michael Malfetti reviewed surveillance footage, alerted area police departments and identified 32-year-old Cory Finch of Oak Ridge as the thief, Police Chief Timothy Storbeck said Friday. The $50 was taken from a St. Joseph’s Church donation box that the thief forced open on May 9, Storbeck said. It took less than a week to identify Finch, a known heroin user who was taken into custody on Thursday. Police in other jurisdictions are eyeing Finch for burglaries in their …