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Sunday, feb 2
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Saddle Brook Police Department
Police & Fire
Woman Killed Crossing Route 46 In Saddle Brook: Prosecutor
Authorities are investigating a crash that killed a 65-year-old woman on Route 46 in Bergen County on Sunday, Dec. 15. The incident occurred around 9:11 p.m. when Vilma Huamani-Centeno, of Bloomfield, was struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross the highway in the eastbound lanes, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella. Saddle Brook police responded and pronounced Huamani-Centeno dead at the scene. The driver involved in the collision remained at the scene and cooperated with authorities, officials said. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Un…
Police & Fire
Elderly Exposed Lewdness Saddle Brook Pedophile
A 91-year-old Saddle Brook widower was jailed Friday after authorities said he exposed himself to a trio of preteens. John Urso was booked into the Bergen County Jail on April 12 following his arrest on lewdness charges hours earlier, records show. The defendant "exposed themselves to students who were playing outside at Franklin School," Saddle Brook Schools Supt. Toni Violetti wrote in a message to the community. Violetti thanked staff at the K-6 school on Caldwell Avenue "for their quick response" and township police "for their swift investigation and decisive action." Bergen Cou…
Police & Fire
Found
! Saddle Brook Man Reunited With Family
UPDATE: A Saddle Brook man who authorities said went missing this past Sunday was reunited with his family on Thursday, March 14, authorities confirmed. Jeffrey DeMaria, the 57-year-old owner-operator of a local trucking company, had last been seen near his home on Alberta Drive around 6:30 p.m. March 10, family members and police said. A search was launched and shared widely online. Then came word early Thursday afternoon. DeMaria and his family asked that no additional information be released publicly, Saddle Brook Police Officer In Charge John Zotollo said.
Police & Fire
Burglars Hit Same Saddle Brook Residence Twice While Homeowner Is There, Police Say
A Saddle Brook resident was home when burglars entered not once but twice, apparently trying to find a vehicle key fob, authorities said. It was shortly before 5 a.m. Friday, Feb. 23, when a dark-colored sedan dropped off two burglars in front of the victim's home at the south end of town, said Capt. John A. Zotollo, Jr., the officer in charge of the department. The pair removed a rear screen, climbed in and fled with several purses and a jacket, the captain said. All were later found discarded nearby after the thieves had apparently rummaged through them, he said. The duo doubled back an…
Police & Fire
Runaway SUV Rams Parked Sedans, Fences, Shrubs In Saddle Brook, DWI Driver Hospitalized:
Photos
UPDATE: An out-of-control SUV creamed two sedans as it careened down the sidewalk of a residential Saddle Brook street, sending what authorities said was an intoxicated driver to the hospital just before daybreak Friday. Saddle Brook officers who were first on the scene freed the driver, a 30-year-old man from Yonkers, NY, following the 6:14 a.m. Feb. 2 crash on Pehle Avenue, said Captain John A. Zotollo, Jr., the officer in charge of the department. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with a head injury that wasn't considered life-threatening, the captain said. H…
Police & Fire
Swatting
: Multiple Staffers At Saddle Brook School Receive Bogus Bomb Threat
Five different staff members at a Saddle Brook school received the same emailed bomb threat, said authorities who cleared the building, conducted a search and found nothing harmful. Members of the Bergen County Bomb Squad swept both inside and outside the K-6 Franklin Elementary School on Caldwell Avenue before giving the all-clear, Saddle Brook Schools Supt. Toni Violetti said Tuesday morning, Nov. 14. A SWAT team also responded to the 8 a.m. swatting incident, said Capt. John A. Zotollo, Jr., the officer in charge of the Saddle Brook Police Department. The Bergen County Prosecutor's…
Police & Fire
Two Hospitalized In Three-Vehicle Pileup In Fair Lawn
At least two people were hospitalized following a three-car pileup late Saturday in Fair Lawn. Broadway was temporarily closed in both directions just after 11 p.m. Nov. 4 so that members of the Fair Lawn Volunteer Ambulance Corps could tend to the wounded and the wreckage could be cleared from the intersection at Plaza Road. The extent of injuries couldn't immediately be determined. Serious damage was done to the late-1990s-era Honda CRV and two Toyotas -- a RAV4 and a Prius, which was broadsided on the driver's door -- all of which had to be towed from the scene. Fair Lawn firefighters…
Police & Fire
Visitor, 68, Injured In Kessler Elevator Accident
A 68-year-old visitor to the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Saddle Brook had to be hospitalized Thursday night after an elevator accident, authorities said. Authorities are trying to determine what exactly happened around 7 p.m. Sept. 28, said Police Capt. John Zotollo, the officer in charge of the department. The victim was riding the elevator with his adult son, having visited a relative at the Market Street facility, when the door opened and his arm and leg got stuck between floors, the captain said. "The cause is unknown at this time," Zotollo said shortly before 9:30 p.m. …
Police & Fire
Heroes
: Unconscious Worker Rescued From Roof Of Saddle Brook Building
First responders in Saddle Brook teamed up to rescue a wireless communication company employee who passed out on the roof of the new township municipal complex. The Regional Communications worker was handling some equipment maintenance when he lost consciousness shortly before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 18, said Capt. John A. Zotollo, Jr., the officer in charge of the Saddle Brook Police Department. Police Officers Adam Georgaros and Officer Joseph Guerra arrived first, the captain said. They grabbed a ladder, hustled up to the roof and administered first aid, he said. The Regional Com…
Police & Fire
Saddle Brook Man Charged In Fatal Morris County Overdose: Prosecutor
Police have arrested a 34-year-old Bergen County man in connection with the deadly 2021 overdose of a woman at a Pequannock Township home. David Pezak, formerly of Saddle Brook, was charged with first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, conspiracy to distribute, distribution of a controlled substance, and other drug offenses, Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said in a joint release on Monday, March 27. The charges stem from the fatal overdose of a woman identified as A.C. on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. A.C. was found unresponsive at the home and pronounced dead at the scen…
News
Saddle Brook Schools Sheltered In Place After Quartet Flees Failed Armed Street Robbery: Police
Saddle Brook Middle/High School was temporarily sheltered in place on Monday after four men reportedly tried to rob someone who thought he was making an online sale, authorities said. "Two men approached the victim on foot while two more were in a car nearby" in the center of town around 2 p.m. March 13, said Capt. John Zotollo, the officer in charge of the department. The victim got in his car and locked the doors as they approached, the captain said. "One of the men allegedly brandished a firearm at the victim as he attempted to break the car window," he said. He escaped without injury …
News
Armed Ex-Con Who Spent Nearly 5 Years In Prison Busted After Chase, Crash: Saddle Brook PD
An ex-con who sped from a Saddle Brook police stop crashed his vehicle into four parked cars in Lodi, then tossed a stolen gun as he tried to run, authorities said. Officer Marco Torres tried to stop Terrence Kelley, 40, of Paterson for an unspecified violation on eastbound Route 46 near Westminster Place around noon Sunday, Nov. 13, Capt. John A. Zotollo Jr. said. Kelley had only just been released from state prison in February after serving 4½ years for drug and weapons convictions out of Passaic County, records show. Instead of stopping for Torres, Kelly hit the gas, said Zotollo, the o…
News
Saddle Brook Police Chief Eyes Reinstatement, Restitution After Judge Stops Funeral Escort Case
Suspended Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler is seeking reinstatement, and restitution, following a judge's ruling that he was wrongly being prosecuted for assigning police escorts to processions from his family-owned funeral home. And despite having waited 18 months for vindication, Kugler isn’t angry. “I’ve turned the page,” he told Daily Voice. “I’m moving forward and expect to proudly return to be chief of police once again and serve my community and the general public. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.” State authorities wrongly applied a borough ordinance meant to keep police …
News
Uber Driver, Accomplices Stage Knifepoint Holdup Of Passenger At Saddle Brook Hotel: Prosecutor
An Uber passenger was robbed at knifepoint outside a Saddle Brook hotel by a man who’d conspired with the female driver and another accomplice to hold him up, authorities said. Uber driver Karina Eremyan, 30, of Fair Lawn was behind the wheel when ex-con Antonio Bowen, 28, of Fair Lawn put a knife to the passenger’s neck in the parking lot of the Crowne Plaza Saddle Brook hotel off Route 80 around 3:30 a.m. March 23, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Bowen forced the fare to turn over his backpack, which contained $3,000 and other undisclosed items, the prosecutor said Friday. Th…
News
Death Of Woman, 42, With Pets In Saddle Brook Doesn't Appear Suspicious, Authorities Say
A 42-year-old woman and some of her pets were found dead amid extreme hoarding conditions in her Saddle Brook home on Monday, responders said. Firefighters had to rip the front door off the East Lanza Court residence to gain entry, witnesses said. What appeared to be the smell of ammonia prompted a call for a hazardous materials unit, they added. A "large number" of pets, several of them dead and some barely alive, were found, along with numerous cages, trash, litter and debris, responders said. Police cordoned off the area around the house with crime-scene tape. However, there appears t…
News
Saddle Brook Boy Charged With Carjacking His Mom
A Saddle Brook juvenile was charged with carjacking his own mother, authorities said. The mom was behind the wheel of a rented Hyundai Elantra when she and her son got into an argument and he insisted he be allowed to drive, Capt. John Zotollo Jr. said. The mother "noticed the son had a pocket knife (and) became frightened," Zotollo said. She then "immediately exited the vehicle and called 911," he said. "The son then drove away." Lt. Leigh Cadigan and Officers Adam Georgaros, Peter Romero and Marcos Torres took the boy into custody and recovered the vehicle about two hours later, the cap…
News
Out-Of-Control SUV Barrels Through Saddle Brook Playground, Just Misses Kids, Slams Into School
A group of Saddle Brook pre-schoolers were enjoying a late morning outside when out-of-control SUV crashed through their playground fence barely 50 feet away. The large Chevrolet Suburban, driven by an off-duty Saddle Brook police officer, then hit a tree and slammed into the Washington School building. “The terror on those children’s faces I can never put into words,” one parent said. “Any of us could [have] been planning a funeral right now,” said another. Officer Matthew Benus, 52, suffered a medical episode and passed out before Thursday's crash at Market and West streets around 11 a…
News
Saddle Brook Chief Charged With Ordering On-Duty Police Escorts For His Funeral Business
State authorities on Monday charged Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler with ordering on-duty police officers to conduct escorts for his funeral business using department vehicles. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has temporarily assumed control over the day-to-day operation of the Saddle Brook Police Department as a result, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced. Kugler, 59, of Saddle Brook, was issued a summons charging him with conspiracy, official misconduct and corruption of public resources, Grewal said. A hearing was yet to be scheduled. He also was suspended wit…
News
Alleged Coverup Probed After Saddle Brook Officer Leads Ridgefield PD On High-Speed Chase
A Saddle Brook police officer was suspended without pay and two of his colleagues suspended with pay Thursday following a reckless high-speed chase and alleged subsequent coverup. Saddle Brook Officer Andres Morales, 28, was off duty when a uniformed officer in Ridgefield tried to stop his speeding BMW on Broad Avenue 2:35 a.m. Oct. 3. Morales kept going, however, exiting onto Route 46 and then onto westbound Route 80, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. At the Route 80 split, Morales suddenly veered from the right local lane across several lanes into the express lanes, apparently …
Police & Fire
PD: Maywood Man Who Vandalized Police Cars Steals, Burns Firefighters Memorial Flag, Posts It
A man who was caught vandalizing Saddle Brook police cars posted photos and videos of himself stealing an American flag from a firefighters memorial in Maywood and burning it, authorities said. Maywood police on Monday arrested borough resident Mazin Musbah, 25, who told them his actions – which included leaving vulgar notes on residents’ vehicles and streets signs throughout town -- “were in response to an anti-government sentiment he recently developed from watching the news,” Police Chief Terence Kenny said. Saddle Brook police arrested and released Musbah last week after video showed h…
Police & Fire
Saddle Brook PD: Maywood Man Slashes 12 Police Tires, Scrawls 'FU' On Hood, Leaves Curse Notes
A Maywood man slashed 12 Saddle Brook police car tires and scratched “FU” on the hood of one of them after leaving profane notes about police, President Trump and Jesus, authorities said Saturday. ****** UPDATE: A man caught vandalizing Saddle Brook police cars posted photos and videos of himself stealing an American flag from a firefighters memorial in Maywood and burning it, authorities said. https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/hackensack/police-fire/pd-maywood-man-who-vandalized-police-cars-steals-burns-firefighters-memorial-flag-posts-it/794674/ ****** Mazin Musbah, 25, left the notes…
Police & Fire
Hero
: Saddle Brook Police Officer Coaxes Distraught Youth, 15, Off Highway Ledge
Route 46 was closed down and an air mattress was inflated beneath a Bergen County overpass as police tried to convince a troubled 15-year-old not to jump. Officers found the Saddle Brook teen perilously perched on the Outwater Lane overpass in Garfield, near the Lodi border, around 10 p.m. Tuesday, Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said. “The parents said the youth left the home in a crisis state of mind,” Kugler said Wednesday. “They were deeply concerned for the juvenile's well-being.” The teen, apparently upset over a conflict involving a life choice, had climbed the curved fence…
Police & Fire
Passion, Compassion Defined Late Saddle Brook Police Officer, 50
TRIBUTE: Saddle Brook Police Officer Norma Aedo carried an innate peace that could resolve almost any situation with little or no trouble, those who knew her said. "She had this calming demeanor about her,” Mayor Robert White recalled. “She could handle anything from a physical altercation to something more sensitive -- like a person grieving for a loved one.” Countless others are grieving the death of the Cuban-born former Hudson County veteran following a month-long illness. Aedo, 50, joined the Saddle Brook Police Department in 2014 – and was assigned Badge #54 -- after seven years as …
Police & Fire
Colleagues, Others Cheer Recovery Of
Papd
Officer Critically Injured By Drunk Driver
A Port Authority police officer who was struck and critically injured by a drunk driver in Jersey City got a rousing clapout as he left a rehab center less than a month later. PAPD Officer Peter Siano III went into the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange on May 13 and was up and walking around the very next day, colleagues said. “We are delighted of the progress PAPD Officer Peter Siano has made in the last 28 days since the incident,” PAPD Supt. Edward Cetnar said. “His perseverance has inspired us all.” Siano was assisting a trio of Jersey City police officers who were in…
Police & Fire
Hero UPS Driver Moves Fiery Jeep Away From Other Cars
A UPS driver hopped back into his smoking Jeep and moved it away from other vehicles before it was engulfed in flames Wednesday, Saddle Brook police said. The Toms River driver had just parked in the North Midland Avenue UPS lot around 2 p.m. when another employee alerted him to heavy smoke coming from the 1998 Jeep Cherokee’s engine compartment, Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said. “Seeing that his car was sandwiched between other cars in the lot, the employee quickly entered the smoking vehicle and backed it out of the spot it was in,” Kugler said. “He quickly got out before it b…
Police & Fire
Missing Saddle Brook Golden Retriever Found
FOUND! A pregnant Golden Retriever who went missing from a Saddle Brook backyard was found stuck under a car nearby. "With the help of neighbors and many other concerned citizens, Miss Molly was found underneath a car just homes away from hers," Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said Sunday. "Apparently she hid under the car and was stuck. "Her owner had to wiggle her out of the tight spot she was in and is now home safe," the chief said. "Thanks to everyone who helped in the matter -- and especially those who shared our story and were so concerned about Miss Molly." Good Golly…
Police & Fire
Saddle Brook Adds 2 Needed Police Officers To Force
Saddle Brook officially added two desperately needed police officers to its depleted force on Tuesday. Both Frank Giordano and Lawrence DiBello Jr. were promoted from special police officer/dispatchers to full-fledged patrol officers in a decidedly low-key proceeding at Township Hall in which everyone wore protective masks and the officers also wore gloves. Everyone also kept a safe distance from one another -- including Mayor Robert White, who swore in the officers. Coronavirus quarantines combined with the recent death of an officer, two recent retirements, injuries and an officer on fa…
Police & Fire
Saddle Brook Resident: Massive Wild Man Broke Into Our Home, Threw Table Down Stairs
UPDATE: A Saddle Brook woman said a massive wild man broke into her and her husband's home overnight, frightened both of them, then threw a dining room table down the stairs and ran out. “This clearly was a home invasion, not a ‘strange occurrence’,” as police initially suggested early Monday, the 64-year-old resident said. Surveillance video shows a dark-colored sedan pulling up to the home near the corner of Congress and Albany streets around 3 a.m. Sunday, Police Chief Robert Kugler said. The wife said she was asleep on the living-room couch when the sound of someone trying to pry open …
Police & Fire
Student, 17, Who Made Saddle Brook School Threat Taken Into Custody
UPDATE: A 17-year-old Saddle Brook High/Middle School senior athlete who posted a threat on Snapchat was taken into custody by police and suspended from school, Mayor Robert White said Thursday. Police signed delinquency complaints against the boy -- whose identity wasn't disclosed because he's a minor -- charging him with making terroristic threats, cyber harassment and harassment. He also was dismissed from his volunteer as a junior firefighter with the township, authorities told Daily Voice. The action follows what the mayor called a "disturbing" Snapchat message that the boy posted on …
Police & Fire
Tribute
: Selfless Saddle Brook Police Vet With Heart Of Gold Succumbs To Cancer
TRIBUTE: It is with deepest regret and sadness that our department announces the passing of Saddle Brook Police Officer Michael Juliano. Mike, 47, passed in the early morning hours of Aug. 1 (Thursday) due to complications related to his battle with pancreatic cancer. After it was detected in February, Mike was re-assigned from police patrol division and placed on modified assignment and duty hours to accommodate his medical treatments and procedures, which became necessary for his immediate future. Mike was a fighter and wasn't looking at his condition awaiting the Grim Reaper – but, rath…
Police & Fire
SEE
Anything
? Woman, 56, Robbed At Gunpoint At Route 46 Bus Stop, Saddle Brook Police Say
CAUGHT! (UPDATE): A Saddle Brook man pulled a knife on police who arrested him for robbing a commuter's purse as she stood at a Route 46 bus stop, authorities said. https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/saddlebrook/police-fire/caught-saddle-brook-ex-con-charged-with-robbing-woman-at-route-46-bus-stop/772362/ ****** ORIGINAL STORY: A 56-year-old commuter told police she was robbed by a bandit who pointed a gun at her at a Route 46 bus stop in Saddle Brook. The Brooklyn woman said she was waiting for a New York City-bound bus in the shelter on the side of the eastbound highway at 6th Street whe…
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