Fair 45Ā°
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM A career criminal from Passaic County who's been busted dozens of times in North Jersey in just the past few years used an explosive device to damage an ATM, federal authorities charged. Nicolas Torres, 41, of Passaic, has amassed a lengthy rap sheet over much of his adult life, mostly involving business break-ins that local police and county prosecutors have dealt with. This time, though, the FBI's got him. Torres was captured on surveillance video igniting the device in front of the Chase Bank ATM on North 6th Street in Prospect Park in the early morning hours of July 5, 2022, U.S. Attorā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Another Child, Another Sex Allegation Against Tri-County Educator From North Jersey Another Child, Another Sex Allegation Against Tri-County Educator From North Jersey
Another Child, Another Sex Allegation Against Tri-County Educator From North Jersey š—Øš—£š——š—”š—§š—˜: A veteran school administrator who was accused of having sexual contact with an underage student in Bergen County when he was a middle school band director there is now facing charges involving another underage teen in another county. Kurt Zimmerman, a 55-year-old married father of two, was working in the Morris Hills Regional District in Rockaway when he ā€œengaged in sexual conduct with a juvenile student who was at least 16 years of age but under the age of 18,ā€ Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Thursday, March 14. Zimmerman, currently of Rockaway, had worked in the diā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Hudson County Favorite Son Bobby Cannavale Praised In Garden State-Centric Dramedy 'Ezra' Hudson County Favorite Son Bobby Cannavale Praised In Garden State-Centric Dramedy 'Ezra'
Hudson County Favorite Son Bobby Cannavale Praised In Garden State-Centric Dramedy 'Ezra' Actor Bobby Cannavale has a heartwarming New Jersey-based film premiering this spring that those who've seen it predict could be one of his best. In "Ezra," the pride of Hudson County plays Max, a stand-up comedian from the Garden State who lives with his father, portrayed by Robert De Niro. Max pursues his career while trying to co-parent his 11-year-old son with ex-wife (and Cannavale's real-life partner) Rose Byrne. Max lands a gig on Jimmy Kimmel's show in Hollywood, but the plane fare isn't comped. So he and young Ezra -- who has autism -- embark on a life-changing cross-country trip ā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Westwood Man Charged With Killing High Schooler From Park Ridge With Fentanyl-Laced Pill Westwood Man Charged With Killing High Schooler From Park Ridge With Fentanyl-Laced Pill
Westwood Man Charged With Killing High Schooler From Park Ridge With Fentanyl-Laced Pill š—Øš—£š——š—”š—§š—˜: A 17-year-old Park Ridge boy was killed by a single imitation painkiller laced with fentanyl that was given to him by a Westwood man who's been charged with causing his death. The boy thought he was taking an Oxycontin pill before he overdosed last Sept. 14, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Officers who responded to the emergency call administered Narcan, among other life-saving measures, the prosecutor said. The high school senior was pronounced dead a short time later. Detectives from the prosecutorā€™s Narcotic Task Force determined during a six-month investigatioā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Westwood Mechanic, 31, Charged With 2007 Child Sex Assaults Westwood Mechanic, 31, Charged With 2007 Child Sex Assaults
Westwood Mechanic, 31, Charged With 2007 Child Sex Assaults A 31-year-old mechanic from Westwood was in his early teens when he sexually assaulted a much younger child, authorities charged. Nicholas Cavaniola is accused of sexually assaulting a pre-teen at least four years younger than him in Westwood twice in April 2007, according to Bergen County Jail records. There's no statute of limitations for criminal sexual assault cases in New Jersey. Prosecutors can bring a one at any point in time. Cavaniola was arrested in Hillsdale on Feb. 28 following an investigation begun by Westwood police and continued by members of Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Mā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Police From Neighboring Towns, Sheriff's K9 Help Hillsdale PD Nab Career Criminal GOTCHA! Police From Neighboring Towns, Sheriff's K9 Help Hillsdale PD Nab Career Criminal
Gotcha! Police From Neighboring Towns, Sheriff's K9 Help Hillsdale PD Nab Career Criminal Teamwork with their colleagues in neighboring Pascack Valley towns helped Hillsdale police capture a drug-addicted repeat offender as he fled yet another crime, authorities said. Ex-con Daniel Margulies, 32, of Teaneck bolted from the Walgreens at the Plaza at Hillsdale with several items late Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, Officer Jordan Bruce reported. He made it to the train station when Bruce and Officer Sean Marro him moments later.The officers chased him down Broadway before Margulies began ducking through backyards, he said. To call Margulies ā€œknown to policeā€ overstates the obviouā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
WILD CHASE: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires WILD CHASE: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires
Wild Chase: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires A wild police pursuit through several Bergen County towns ended with the arrest of a 62-year-old former repeat offender from Fair Lawn who authorities said stole the car from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. Daniel McKay at one point tried fleeing on two flat tires before the stolen sedan broke down and he was arrested on Franklin Turnpike in Allendale, witnesses said. Upper Saddle River Detective Capt. Edward Kane said the Valentine's Day pursuit began after McKay pulled over on Lake Street and asked officers out on another call for directions shortly before noon. One of the officerā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Dear Delusional': Westwood Man, 69, Harassed Local Citizens With Anonymous Letters, Police Say 'Dear Delusional': Westwood Man, 69, Harassed Local Citizens With Anonymous Letters, Police Say
'Dear Delusional': Westwood Man, 69, Harassed Local Citizens With Anonymous Letters, Police Say A 69-year-old Westwood man waged a harassment campaign against citizens who expressed their opinions about various causes in local newspapers, sending anonymous letters to their homes, authorities charged. Bruce Manning sent the "Dear Delusional" letters to citizens in town and in neighboring Washington Township, Westwood Police Chief Michael Pontillo said. "These unsolicited anonymous letters were delivered directly to the recipient victims' homes, which was of great concern to [them]," the chief said. Manning was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 25, and charged with harassment. He was then relā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hospital ERs in Bergen, Montclair Closed By Nationwide Ransomware Attack Hospital ERs in Bergen, Montclair Closed By Nationwide Ransomware Attack
Hospital ERs in Bergen, Montclair Closed By Nationwide Ransomware Attack The latest in a continuing series of nationwide ransomware attacks closed two hospital emergency rooms in New Jersey. Authorities haven't disclosed what's been demanded by the cybercriminals who forced ambulances to divert to other hospitals from Pascack Valey Medical Center in Westwood and Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair beginning on Thanksgiving evening. Lab work, radiology, scheduling, billing -- basically anything involving computer software -- apparently were affected. "No one can use the computers in the buildings," a source said. "The hospitals are doing everything by paperā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Latin Cafe Paying Homage To Bergen County Chef's Late Parents Reopens Year After Fire Latin Cafe Paying Homage To Bergen County Chef's Late Parents Reopens Year After Fire
Latin Cafe Paying Homage To Bergen County Chef's Late Parents Reopens Year After Fire A Bergen County Latin restaurant is getting ready to reopen more than a year after an electrical fire devastated the kitchen. Mi Flor Latin Cafe in Westwood has been closed since the fire in October 2022. The eatery announced it would be reopening on Friday, Nov. 17. Mi Flor opened in 2021 and is run by chef Eliu Salguero, who was born and raised in Guatemala in a family of 16 children, and Dean Evans, who retired from UPS after 25 years of working in IT. "After recovering from COVID in March of 2020, and meeting up wit Eliu, I decided I need to keep busy," Evans said before opening ā€¦

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by Cecilia Levine
Politics
Unofficial Results Of Bergen County Mayoral Elections (DEVELOPING) Unofficial Results Of Bergen County Mayoral Elections (DEVELOPING)
Unofficial Results Of Bergen County Mayoral Elections (Developing) The results of Bergen County's 38 mayoral races are rolling in. Votes were being counted in real time on the Bergen County elections website.  Here is the vote count for the mayoral races as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, according to the county's election result website. ** NOTE: This is a developing story. Totals are not final ** Bergenfield:  Arvin Amatorio (D)* ā€” 100% of votes Bogota (replacing Claudia Lopez): Mary Ellen Murphy (D) ā€” 54% Daniele Fede (R) ā€” 46% Carlstadt: Lorraine Joewono (D) ā€” 22% Robert J. Zimmerman (R)* ā€” 77% Cliffside Park: Thomas Calabrese (D)* ā€”ā€¦

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Loaded Gun Lost In Target, Ex-Con Owner Jailed: Closter PD Loaded Gun Lost In Target, Ex-Con Owner Jailed: Closter PD
Loaded Gun Lost In Target, Ex-Con Owner Jailed: Closter PD Itā€™s not every day that a loaded gun turns up in the lost and found at Target. Surveillance video helped point Closter police to Tyshawn Culver, a 31-year-old convicted burglar from Westwood, soon after the gun was found on Tuesday, Oct. 24, Capt. Vincent Aiello said. Culver was arrested later that day in Englewood, the captain said. He was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, possessing a handgun as a convicted felon and possession of both a large-capacity ammo magazine and hollow-nose bullets, Aiello said. Culver remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail pending a firsā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco