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Bogota, NJ

NJ Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment NJ Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment
NJ Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment A Teaneck tax preparer illegally collected $1.43 million for himself and $40 million for clients from the IRS by purposefully exploiting COVID-related credits that neither he nor they were entitled to, a federal indictment alleges. Leon Haynes, 50, was originally arrested on a criminal complaint last July. The investigation leading to the charges continued before a grand jury in Newark. The result: a 55-count indictment for tax evasion, preparing false returns, aggravated ID theft and mail fraud, authorities said. Haynes fraudulently sought more than $150 million from the IRS by claim…
HORRIFYING: Convicted Sex Offender Lured Foreign Woman To NJ To Abuse Her Kids, Feds Say HORRIFYING: Convicted Sex Offender Lured Foreign Woman To NJ To Abuse Her Kids, Feds Say
Horrifying: Convicted Sex Offender Lured Foreign Woman To NJ To Abuse Her Kids, Feds Say WARNING: The allegations described in this report are horrific in the extreme. A registered sex offender from Bergen County lured a woman from the other side of the world to the United States so he could sexually abuse her two young children, federal authorities charged. Corey Hipscher, 52, of Lodi first got the woman's 11-year-old daughter to take naked selfies and send them to him after connecting directly with the youngster on social media, the FBI said. Among the horrific images, federal authorities said, is a video of the youngster self-penetrating with the top of a bowling pin. Soon…
STAR WITNESS: What Does Menendez Co-Defendant's Deal With The Government Mean? STAR WITNESS: What Does Menendez Co-Defendant's Deal With The Government Mean?
STAR Witness: What Does Menendez Co-Defendant's Deal With The Government Mean? A New Jersey businessman admitted in federal court that he helped U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife buy a $60,000 convertible in exchange for protecting two associates from a state insurance fraud investigation. Jose Uribe, 56, of Clifton, agreed to “cooperate fully” with a federal investigation of the powerful lawmaker from Hudson County, and others, as part of a deal that he cut with the government. In exchange, federal prosecutors will ask the judge to go easy on him. Uribe pleaded guilty in the Southern U.S. District Court of New York in Manhattan on Friday, March 1, to wire fraud, o…
Juvenile Stabbed At North Jersey Kosher Grocery Store Juvenile Stabbed At North Jersey Kosher Grocery Store
Juvenile Stabbed At North Jersey Kosher Grocery Store UPDATE: A 14-year-old boy was stabbed and slashed by a fellow Teaneck High School student in a Halloween clown mask, authorities confirmed. The 16-year-old assailant was still carrying the bloody knife when two Bogota police officers nabbed him following the apparently random Halloween night attack on Cedar Lane shortly before 9 p.m., Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr said. The victim was stabbed in the buttocks and also suffered a deep cut on his face in the attack on Garrison Avenue, around the corner from the Seasons Express kosher grocery on Cedar Lane, the chief said early Wednesday,…
Two Bergen County Lotto Players Win Big Two Bergen County Lotto Players Win Big
Two Bergen County Lotto Players Win Big Two Bergen County lottery players bucked the odds, winning big bucks in Mega Millions and Powerball, respectively. A Mega Millions lottery ticket sold in Lodi matched four numbers, plus the gold Mega number netting $10,000. The winning ticket was sold at Nick's Deli on Westminster Place. The winning numbers were 5, 6, 29, 32, 61 and the yellow ball was 20.  A Powerball ticket sold in Bogota matched four numbers, plus the Power Ball, netting $50,000. The winning ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven on Palisade Avenue. The winning numbers were 6, 15, 24, 67, 68 and the Power Ball was 11. 
Anti-Hamas Message On Electronic Billboard Over Route 80 Prompts Hundreds Of Calls To Police Anti-Hamas Message On Electronic Billboard Over Route 80 Prompts Hundreds Of Calls To Police
Anti-Hamas Message On Electronic Billboard Over Route 80 Prompts Hundreds Of Calls To Police An anti-Hamas message on a billboard overlooking Route 80 triggered hundreds of phone calls to a local police department due to a social media suggestion. "Oh, don't be naive," the electronic message on a hot pink background read. "Hamas would chop your head off too." It was signed "jewbelong." Bogota police fielded more than 100 complaints from callers, Bogota Police Sgt. Geoffrey Cole said late Tuesday, Oct. 17. Some were from people who felt threatened by the message, while others expressed fears over possible violence -- not to mention general outrage from those who felt targeted, t…
Did Menendez's Wife Get Special Treatment In Fatal 2018 Crash? AG Investigating: Report Did Menendez's Wife Get Special Treatment In Fatal 2018 Crash? AG Investigating: Report
Did Menendez's Wife Get Special Treatment In Fatal 2018 Crash? AG Investigating: Report Did Nadine Arslanian, the wife of indicted Senator Bob Menendez, get special treatment by police after she fatally struck a pedestrian in Bogota in December 2018?  The state's top prosecutor is apparently looking to find out. According to NBC New York, investigators from the New Jersey Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity & Accountability were at the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office on Thursday, Oct. 5, seeking documents related to the incident.  In an e-mail to Daily Voice, the AG's office said they do not confirm or deny investigations. Arslanian, who w…
Menendez Accepted Benz As Bribe Following Fatal Wreck Caused By His Wife In Bergen: Reports Menendez Accepted Benz As Bribe Following Fatal Wreck Caused By His Wife In Bergen: Reports
Menendez Accepted Benz As Bribe Following Fatal Wreck Caused By His Wife In Bergen: Reports A fatal 2018 car crash in Bergen County involving his wife is what led to embattled New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez accepting bribes to influence a criminal case, according to the federal indictment levied against him.  Nadine Arslanian, the now-wife of embattled Senator Robert Menendez, was involved in a fatal car crash in Bogota in 2018, according to The New York Times. The couple, who married in 2020, were dating at the time of the incident. Arslanian, who was also named in the federal indictments accusing Menendez of accepting bribes from the government of Egypt, among other indiscreti…
NJ Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud NJ Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud
NJ Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud A tax preparer from Teaneck was arrested Monday for illegally collecting more than $1 million for himself and $31.6 million for clients in tax refunds by filing fraudulent returns with the government, federal authorities said. Leon Haynes, 49, sought $124.8 million combined from the IRS in nearly 1,400 bogus tax formers that he filed claiming COVID-related employment tax credits, said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger and Acting Deputy U.S. Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg. "Based on Haynes’ false claims about his own companies, the U.S. Treasury mailed him multiple tax re…
Fleeing Suspect Survives Eight-Story Jump From Route 80 Overpass Fleeing Suspect Survives Eight-Story Jump From Route 80 Overpass
Fleeing Suspect Survives Eight-Story Jump From Route 80 Overpass A suspect chased into New Jersey by the NYPD was in serious condition after jumping from a bridge on Route 80 in Bogota, authorities said. The man apparently was selling catalytic converters and robbed a would-be buyer in the Bronx when city police tried stopping his vehicle around 11:30 p.m. Friday, June 30, they said. He headed across the George Washington Bridge onto I-95 to westbound Route 80 through a few towns, Bogota Police Sgt. Geoffrey Cole said. The suspect eventually stopped near Exit 67, then jumped over a wall on a bridge above an area between what used to be the Bogota Golf C…
Addicted Hooker, Longtime Guy Pal Rob Drug Buyer Lured To Route 23 Motel: Wayne PD Addicted Hooker, Longtime Guy Pal Rob Drug Buyer Lured To Route 23 Motel: Wayne PD
Addicted Hooker, Longtime Guy Pal Rob Drug Buyer Lured To Route 23 Motel: Wayne PD A convicted hooker with a heart of coal and her longtime running mate were both captured after authorities said they lured a man to a Wayne motel and then robbed him at gunpoint. It wasn’t much of a surprise to police who flushed Katherine Berg, 34, of Paterson, and Emin Goroveci, 37, of Succasunna from the woods behind the Wayne Inn that they were the ones who concocted the setup, given their drug-related, violent histories. Three years ago, the pair robbed a Leonia man whom Berg met online of several valuables – including his car -- after she slipped the victim a mickey that knocked him u…
Accused NJ Mortgage Fraud Schemer Already Had A History, Records Show Accused NJ Mortgage Fraud Schemer Already Had A History, Records Show
Accused NJ Mortgage Fraud Schemer 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…
TENSE MOMENT: Post Office Burglar Grabs NJ Officer's Gun: Police TENSE MOMENT: Post Office Burglar Grabs NJ Officer's Gun: Police
Tense Moment: Post Office Burglar Grabs NJ Officer's Gun: Police A burglar from Teaneck found by police moments after he broke into the Bogota post office tried grabbing an officer’s gun while resisting arrest, authorities said. Calvin Torres-Vaughan, 33, already had a plastic bin of mail in his car when Officers Lewis Duenãs and Michael Torres responded to a burglar alarm at the West Main Street post office shortly after midnight Saturday, April 8, Sgt. Geoffrey Cole said. They found a front window pried open and Torres-Vaughan inside, the sergeant said. Torres-Vaughan, who was carrying a flashlight and a crowbar, “resisted by kicking and punchin…
Mom With Knife Tricks Way Into NJ School, Pulls Fire Alarm, Flees: Authorities Mom With Knife Tricks Way Into NJ School, Pulls Fire Alarm, Flees: Authorities
Mom With Knife Tricks Way Into NJ School, Pulls Fire Alarm, Flees: Authorities A Hackensack mom was arrested after she entered a Bogota school, pulled a fire alarm and ran down the street, authorities said. Marcela Gonzalez, 36, was seized her near the Lillian M. Steen Elementary School on West Main Street shortly after 2:30 p.m. last Wednesday, March 1, Police Sgt. Geoffrey Cole said. Gonzalez apparently “rang the doorbell for the school stating she wanted to pick her child up,” Cole said. Then she pulled the fire alarm at the entrance and ran, he said. Officers Lewis Duenãs and Officer Michael Torres quickly placed Gonzalez into custody, Cole said. She was charge…
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: …
Corvette Driver Killed In Route 80 Crash Was Dedicated Roofer, Obit Says Corvette Driver Killed In Route 80 Crash Was Dedicated Roofer, Obit Says
Corvette Driver Killed In Route 80 Crash Was Dedicated Roofer, Obit Says The 29-year-old Bergen County Corvette driver killed over the weekend in a crash on Route 80 was being remembered as a devoted husband, son and business owner. Luis Ramirez-Cano, of Bogota, died when his vehicle was struck by a Lexus RX3 around 2:40 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Philip Curry said. Ramirez-Cano, formerly of Lodi, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to his obituary and various social media posts, Ramirez-Cano owned Luxury Roofing LLC. His Instagram is filled with inspirational quotes and his white Corvette. …
Bergen Corvette Driver, 29, Dies In Route 80 Crash: Police Bergen Corvette Driver, 29, Dies In Route 80 Crash: Police
Bergen Corvette Driver, 29, Dies In Route 80 Crash: Police A 29-year-old Corvette driver from Bergen County died in a crash on Route 80 overnight, authorities said. Luis Ramirez-Cano, of Bogota, was heading north on Route 287 when he got on Route 80 west via a ramp and, near milepost 43.8, was struck by a Lexus RX3 around 2:40 a.m. in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Philip Curry said. Ramirez-Cano was ejected and died, while his passenger was rushed to Morristown Medical Center with unknown injuries.  The driver of the Lexus sustained minor injuries but refused medical attention. The passenger of the Lexus sustained m…
Teaneck Police Heroes Rescue Wheelchair-Bound Tenant, 88, From Apartment Building Fire Teaneck Police Heroes Rescue Wheelchair-Bound Tenant, 88, From Apartment Building Fire
Teaneck Police Heroes Rescue Wheelchair-Bound Tenant, 88, From Apartment Building Fire UPDATE: Two Teaneck police officers rescued an 88-year-old wheelchair-bound tenant from what began as an appliance fire in her fifth-floor apartment, carrying her down several flights to safety, authorities said. Sgt. Stephen Morena and Officer Aundra Ellington quickly gathered the woman – who, it turns out, had an oxygen tank that could have exploded – after the blaze broke out in the brick building at 34 State Street shortly before 8:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 2. Morena and Ellington carried the woman to the second floor and handed her over to members of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps, A…
NJ Woman Jailed Twice For Assaulting BF, Once With Her Car NJ Woman Jailed Twice For Assaulting BF, Once With Her Car
NJ Woman Jailed Twice For Assaulting BF, Once With Her Car A Bogota woman was jailed after police said she knocked her boyfriend down with her car, making it the second time in several weeks that she was charged with assaulting him. Stephany C. Perez-Galarraga, 32, grabbed the victim's cell phone and ran to her Mercedes Benz C30 during an argument between the two at his home before dawn Monday, Dec. 26, Bogota Police Sgt. Geoffrey Cole said. Her boyfriend chased after Perez-Galarraga but was knocked down by her vehicle as she sped off, leaving him with scrapes and bruises, the sergeant said. He was treated at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck be…
Children Tossed From Fire Escape Into Hackensack Heroes' Arms Children Tossed From Fire Escape Into Hackensack Heroes' Arms
Children Tossed From Fire Escape Into Hackensack Heroes' Arms Hackensack firefighters caught two children tossed to them by their parents during an overnight apartment building blaze. The city's bravest arrived at the four-story brick building on Prospect Avenue shortly after 12:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 26, to find several residents on the fire escapes trying to flee the second-floor blaze. Other children, as well as adults, were rescued safely after two youngsters were dropped to the firefighters from the escapes. No injuries were reported, fire officials said. Several tenants were displaced, however, and went to stay with relatives. The Red Cross ass…
Ex-Con Repeat Offender, NJ Roommate Charged With 1,500 Heroin Bags, Pounds Of Pot, More Ex-Con Repeat Offender, NJ Roommate Charged With 1,500 Heroin Bags, Pounds Of Pot, More
Ex-Con Repeat Offender, NJ Roommate Charged With 1,500 Heroin Bags, Pounds Of Pot, More An ex-con whose Point Pleasant boardwalk arrest became part of a viral video was busted once again on drug charges, this time along with his roommate, authorities said. A SWAT team led a raid on the Grand Street apartment in Garfield that Zakee Murphy, 32, shares with fish tank technician Ryene Perry, 34, landing both in jail on various drug-related counts, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Murphy has been arrested dozens of times in multiple counties over the past decade, records show. This time he's accused of using the Garfield home to stash the drugs along with more than $8,…
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report The number of brutal murder confessions continues to mount for imprisoned New Jersey serial killer Richard Cottingham, who reportedly is scheduled to plead guilty to five more killings, all of women on Long Island. Cottingham, now 76, has been serving multiple life sentences in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, NJ, for more than four decades for killing six Garden State women between 1967 and 1980. He's spent a considerable part of that time lately claiming he's committed several other killings. “For a long time now I have been trying to understand the darkness that enveloped my soul…
Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm North Jersey Warehouse Fire Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm North Jersey Warehouse Fire
Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm North Jersey 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…
Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall
Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall Another female victim has been added to the list of imprisoned 75-year-old New Jersey serial killer Richard Cottingham, thanks to advances in DNA technology. Cottingham was arraigned on Long Island via videoconference Wednesday from South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton for the 1968 slaying of a New Hyde Park woman in the parking lot of the popular Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. He entered a not-guilty plea to murder charges in the death of Diane Cusick, a 23-year-old divorced single mom who worked as a dance instructor. Cottingham, a married father of three who’d lived in Lodi and wor…
Man Jumps Out Third-Story Window In Bogota SWAT Standoff After Violent Pursuit: Police Man Jumps Out Third-Story Window In Bogota SWAT Standoff After Violent Pursuit: Police
Man Jumps Out Third-Story Window In Bogota SWAT Standoff After Violent Pursuit: Police A New York man who led a wild police pursuit dragging and almost hitting officers barricaded himself in a Bogota apartment bringing the Bergen County SWAT team to the scene before jumping out a third floor window, authorities said. Trouble started for 36-year-old Christopher A. Batista last week when management from The Atwater apartment complex reported a suspicious incident involving his rent pay, Bogota Police Sgt. Geoffrey Cole said. Officers stopped Batista later that day, but he gave police a fake name and license, Cole said. He then fled in his 2020 BMW 740.  The offi…
Son Grieving Mom's Loss Brings Family Cuban Restaurant To Bergen County Son Grieving Mom's Loss Brings Family Cuban Restaurant To Bergen County
Son Grieving Mom's Loss Brings Family Cuban Restaurant To Bergen County A new restaurant with Cuban roots has opened in Bergen County. The Cuban 'Round the Corner, located on W. Main Street, in Bogota, is run by Manny Fernandez. Fernandez took over his mom's restaurant El Farallon in Cuba after she died in 2018, the restaurant's website says. "Traveling back and forth to the island took a toll on his family dynamics back in Bogota, NJ," it reads.  Ropa Vieja empanada The Cuban 'Round the Corner Facebook Fernandez and his family decided to sell the restaurant just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He waited several months before his sister, Berta,…
Resourceful Responder Rescues North Jersey Carpet Company Resourceful Responder Rescues North Jersey Carpet Company
Resourceful Responder Rescues North Jersey Carpet Company A resourceful firefighter helped save a flooring company in Bogota from ruin before dawn Thursday, authorities said. Firefighters quickly got to Manning Bros Carpet & Flooring on East Fort Lee Road after the boiler-room blaze erupted around 5:15 a.m. There they found two nearby hydrants frozen. A member of Engine Co. 3 then grabbed a road flare and thawed out one of the hydrants. Fellow smoke eaters then cut the roof above the boiler room and kept the flames from spreading to the rest of the 10,000-square-foot building -- allowing the business to open as usual on Thursday. No injuries…
Six Hospitalized, Two Homes Ravaged By Fire In Hackensack Six Hospitalized, Two Homes Ravaged By Fire In Hackensack
Six Hospitalized, Two Homes Ravaged By Fire In Hackensack Six people were hospitalized with minor injuries from a fire that ravaged two Hackensack homes, authorities said. Firefighters were met by heavy flames on both floors in both wood-frame Franklin Street residences shortly before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. They rescued a dog who was returned to his or her owner. Six people in all were hospitalized for minor injuries in the Hackensack blaze.Hackensack Fire Dept. The three-alarm blaze was brought under control in a little over an hour. Hackensack firefighters were met by heavy flames in both houses.Hackensack Fire Dept. VIDEO: Companies op…
Repeat Offender From Teaneck Crashes Stolen Car In Ridgewood Fleeing Route 17 Stop In Paramus Repeat Offender From Teaneck Crashes Stolen Car In Ridgewood Fleeing Route 17 Stop In Paramus
Repeat Offender From Teaneck Crashes Stolen Car In Ridgewood Fleeing Route 17 Stop In Paramus A 20-year-old Teaneck man who'd already been arrested and released twice in the past three months got banged up when he crashed a stolen car into a tree in Ridgewood after fleeing a Paramus police stop on Route 17, authorities said. Officer Michael Cleary was responding to an attempted car burglary call on Midland Avenue when he spotted the 2020 Honda Accord with three occupants shortly after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Paramus Police Kenneth Ehrenberg said. The license plate came back to a 2006 Infiniti, the chief said, so Cleary pulled the sedan over at Route 17. As he walked up to the vehicle,…
Police: Fugitive Wanted For Shooting Pregnant Woman Captured After Carjacking, Crash In Bogota Police: Fugitive Wanted For Shooting Pregnant Woman Captured After Carjacking, Crash In Bogota
Police: Fugitive Wanted For Shooting Pregnant Woman Captured After Carjacking, Crash In Bogota GOTCHA! A New York City fugitive wanted for shooting his pregnant girlfriend was captured by Bergen County sheriff's officers after he carjacked an SUV at gunpoint from a 72-year-old driver outside a 7-Eleven in Bogota, authorities confirmed Friday. Ex-con Dennis Fredericks, 28, of the Bronx was on the run after shooting the woman in the neck during an argument in a Lower East Side apartment around 8:45 p.m. Thursday, the NYPD said. The elderly Bogota driver was sitting in his Toyota Highlander in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven on Palisades Avenue when Fredericks approached him around 11:30 …
Hackensack FD: Exhaust Fan Fire Turns Into Destructive Blaze Hackensack FD: Exhaust Fan Fire Turns Into Destructive Blaze
Hackensack FD: Exhaust Fan Fire Turns Into Destructive Blaze UPDATE: What began as an exhaust fan fire turned into a raging blaze that destroyed a Hackensack office building. No injuries were reported in the fire, which broke out at the 2½-story Noracare Wellness building on Main Street just off eastbound Route 4 shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday, city firefighters said. Firefighters were dousing flames between the floor and ceiling when some of the drop ceiling came down, they said. All crews were ordered out of the building as heavy fire extended to the second floor and attic. Aftermath of fire on Main Street off Route 4 in Hackensack.HACKENSAC…