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Police & Fire
Paramus House Fire Doused Paramus House Fire Doused
Paramus House Fire Doused Firefighters doused a nighttime attic blaze in Paramus. No injuries were reported in the two-alarmer, which ignited in a two-story, wood-frame home on Terhune Avenue, just off Midland Avenue, around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 24. Firefighters had it knocked down in under a half hour and under control minutes later. Mutual aid responders included firefighters from Maywood, Rochelle Park, River Edge, Washington Township, Oradell and Fair Lawn.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
HELP WANTED: New School Resource Officer Sought In Rochelle Park HELP WANTED: New School Resource Officer Sought In Rochelle Park
Help Wanted: New School Resource Officer Sought In Rochelle Park Rochelle Park police are seeking a retired law enforcement officer to work in one of the township's schools. The recent promotion of Sgt. Chris Bermudez to lieutenant created the opening at the K-8 Midland School No. 1, Detective Capt. James DePreta said. The Special Law Enforcement Officer III would be paid $35 an hour for a part-time 40-hour workweek whenever school is officially in session, the captain said. The scheduled start time is early this September for the 2023-24 school year, he said. "Under the supervision of the chief of police and/or the chief's designee, the individual wor…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
NJ Mayor Who Opposed Pride Flag Raising Ousted By Colleagues NJ Mayor Who Opposed Pride Flag Raising Ousted By Colleagues
NJ Mayor Who Opposed Pride Flag Raising Ousted By Colleagues A New Jersey mayor who allegedly called some fellow elected officials "not good Catholics" for supporting the raising of a rainbow flag during Pride Month was removed from office by members of his own party. The flag controversy ended up being the last straw for fellow Republicans who were already at war with now-former Rochelle Park Mayor Perrin Mosca over what they said was abusive behavior. Three who sit on the Township Committee voted 4-0 with Democrat Linda Boniface to oust Mosca earlier this week. Deputy Mayor Jennifer Appice took over as acting mayor following the work session vote …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Heroin Buyer Agrees To Rehab After Drive-By Paterson Dealer Is Caught: Rochelle Park Police Heroin Buyer Agrees To Rehab After Drive-By Paterson Dealer Is Caught: Rochelle Park Police
Heroin Buyer Agrees To Rehab After Drive-By Paterson Dealer Is Caught: Rochelle Park Police A keen-eyed Rochelle Park police detective notched two positives when he picked off a Paterson man peddling heroin to a local resident, authorities said. Detective Brian Cobb was driving an unmarked vehicle in the area of Lexington Avenue and High Street when he spotted the local man pacing and a silver Honda eventually pull up, Capt. James M. DePreta said. After watching a hand-to-hand-exchange, Cobb stopped the sedan and seized the driver, Nazhier Cleaves, 27, of Paterson, the captain said. Officers Anthony Ferrulli and Nick Mercoun tracked down the 41-year-old local buyer and found him …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Accused $550,000 Mortgage Fraud Schemer From Bergen Already Had A History, Records Show Accused $550,000 Mortgage Fraud Schemer From Bergen Already Had A History, Records Show
Accused $550,000 Mortgage Fraud Schemer From Bergen Already Had A History, Records Show Gerrmaioud Chape was no stranger to police and prosecutors in Bergen County. So it wasn’t surprising to some when county prosecutors charged him with stealing $525,000 from unwitting investors through mortgage fraud. Chape, 43, already had a petty criminal history that included arrests for speeding, shoplifting and drugs when Bogota police charged him in 2015 with pocketing $40,000 that a Colombian brother and sister saved to come to America. The money was supposed to be a down payment on a mortgage for the siblings’ new home, authorities said at the time, but Chape used it instead on pers…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Serial NJ Phony Fire Inspector Has Yet To Learn His Lesson, Police In DC Say Serial NJ Phony Fire Inspector Has Yet To Learn His Lesson, Police In DC Say
Serial NJ Phony Fire Inspector Has Yet To Learn His Lesson, Police In DC Say He's a little bit older and a little bit grayer, but Michael Carrion is the same phony fire inspector now that he was in 2018, authorities in Washington DC say. Carrion, who was being held at Riker's Island for a parole violation when he was being sought out of various New Jersey towns in 2018, is now wanted out of the nation's capital for pulling the same stunt that landed him in trouble with the law back then. CarrionMUGSHOT: Courtesy WAYNE PD This time, 56-year-old Carrion posed as a fire inspector at a DC bagel shop on April 21, and left with nearly $1,000 in cash, according to DC N…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Fire Destroys Saddle Brook Home (w/PHOTOS, VIDEO) Fire Destroys Saddle Brook Home (w/PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Fire Destroys Saddle Brook Home (w/Photos, Video) A ferocious, fast-moving fire destroyed a Saddle Brook home Wednesday night. One minor injury was reported in the blaze, which responders said ignited in the garage of a two-story home on Nicholas Court off Pehle Avenue near the Garden State Parkway shortly before 9:30 p.m. April 12. Firefighters were met by heavy flames in the attic that quickly blew through the roof and raced through the home, they said. All firefighters were ordered out less than 20 minutes after they'd arrived. All firefighters were ordered out and an exterior attack launched less than 20 minutes after they'd arri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Rochelle Park Officer, Other Driver Both OK After Crash Rochelle Park Officer, Other Driver Both OK After Crash
Rochelle Park Officer, Other Driver Both OK After Crash Both drivers escaped serious injury when a vehicle driven by a Rochelle Park police officer headed to a call and an SUV collided at a borough intersection on Monday. The officer was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center and released soon after following the late-morning April 10 crash at Rochelle Avenue and Passaic Street, responders said. A Garfield woman who was driving the other vehicle, a Chevy Trax, declined medical attention, they said. The Bergen County Sheriff's Office is investigating the circumstances of the crash, under the routine procedure followed when a municipal …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Lithium Battery Ignites Lodi Basement Fire Lithium Battery Ignites Lodi Basement Fire
Lithium Battery Ignites Lodi Basement Fire A lithium-ion battery from a hoverboard ignited a basement blaze that Lodi firefighters quickly extinguished Wednesday night. The fire broke out in a 1½-story private home on Avenue B off the corner of Main Street shortly before 10 p.m. March 22. An initial report of people possibly trapped fortunately proved unfounded. Main Street was temporarily closed while firefighters ran a supply line across it. They had the two-alarmer doused in under 10 minutes. No injuries were reported. Providing mutual aid at the scene or in coverage were firefighters from Garfield, Hasbrouck Heights and Walli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28 These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28
These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28 The first winter storm of the season is causing a change in plans for New Jersey schools on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Some districts have delayed openings while others are closed completely. Here's a list of which school are closed or delayed for Tuesday, Feb. 28. Check your school/district's website for details. Bedminster: 10: 50 a.m. start Bellville: Delayed Bergen County Tech: Closed Bergenfield: 2-hour delay Bernards: 2-hour delay Bloomfield: Delay Bloomingdale: Closed Bogota: Delayed Butler: Closed Cliffside Park: 10 a.m. start Clifton: Delayed Closter: Delayed Cresskill: Delayed Demarest: …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
WATCH: YouTube Video Shows Rapper Assaulting Bergen Shop Rite Worker, Harassing Customers WATCH: YouTube Video Shows Rapper Assaulting Bergen Shop Rite Worker, Harassing Customers
Watch: YouTube Video Shows Rapper Assaulting Bergen Shop Rite Worker, Harassing Customers One way to pretty much guarantee you'll be arrested is to record a crime and post it on YouTube -- in high def, no less. Just ask drill music rapper Nas Ebk. Nasir Valenzuela, who has produced prank videos that push the limits of legality, joined two accomplices in harassing and intimidating customers and employees at the ShopRite in Rochelle Park while recording it. Some of their targets laughed it off. At least one seemed intimidated. Others simply ignored them. One worker, in particular, wasn't having it, though. The video shows Valenzuela, 19, of the Bronx, snatching the stock cler…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Plump Fragrance Thieves Flee Bergen Mall Ulta In U-Haul, Store's 3rd Big Theft In Two Months Plump Fragrance Thieves Flee Bergen Mall Ulta In U-Haul, Store's 3rd Big Theft In Two Months
Plump Fragrance Thieves Flee Bergen Mall Ulta In U-Haul, Store's 3rd Big Theft In Two Months Whether the fragrances sold at Ulta stores achieve their purpose is open to question, but one thing's for sure: They attract thieves. For the second time this month -- and the third in nine weeks -- thieves hit the Ulta Beauty Store on the Maywood side of Bergen Town Center. This time it was women, two of them, both black, heavyset and wearing hats and masks, Maywood Police Chief Terence Kenny said. The getaway car? A U-Haul truck. The brazen pair fled south on Route 17 after snatching $3,500 worth of fragrances shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the chief said. Responding officers who …

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by Jerry DeMarco