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Sunday, apr 28
Tag:
Closter, NJ
Police & Fire
Fired Bank Employee Steals $35,250 From Vault On His Way Out: Closter PD
A bank employee who'd just been fired bid goodbye to his co-workers, then walked into the vault and walked out with $35,250, Closter police said. Video cameras captured Marvin Herrera, 25, of New Milford gathering up the cash and stuffing it under his coat before leaving the PNC Bank branch in Closter Plaza last Wednesday, March 27, Capt. Vincent Aiello said. Police were called when the money was found missing, the captain said. They’d been searching for Herrera when he surrendered on Tuesday, April 2, Aiello said. He was issued a summons charging him with theft and was released pending a…
Obituaries
Nicholas Lewis, Closter Native, Dies At 41: 'True Mensch'
Nicholas Lewis, a native of Closter, died unexpectedly on Saturday, Feb. 4, according to his obituary. A graduate of Northern Valley Regional High School in 2000, Lewis was a standout lineman for the Norseman, earning All-League and All-Bergen County honors as a sophomore, his obituary reads. I am sorry to share the very sad news, but the world lost a huge personality and great man over the weekend, Nick Lewis... Posted by John Shankman on Monday, February 5, 2024 A lawyer, Lewis recently had started his own law firm, Lewis Law, in Woodcliff Lake. He is survived by his…
Police & Fire
Illegal Border Crosser Seized By ICE After Punching Local NJ Officer In Face
A Guatemalan national who authorities said crossed the U.S. border illegally was seized by federal agents after he punched a Closter police officer in the face. Emiliano Cotzalo-Santiago, 24, was living in Palisades Park and working on a construction site in Closter when he began walking down the middle of Cedar Lane, obstructing traffic, Police Capt. Vincent Aiello said. This prompted calls to police. Cotzal-Santiago “attacked the first officer that he came in contact with by punching him in the face,” the captain said. A second officer sustained cuts on his hand as they attempted to han…
Police & Fire
'This Is Your Final Warning:' NJ Pair Set Off Bomb In Biz Associate's Driveway, Feds Say
While being interviewed by investigators, a New York resident got the following text message: "Knock knock, show up, and what do you think is next. This is your final warning.” The text was from Damjan Stanivukovic, a Closter resident, who was later arrested for exploding a bomb in the victim's New York driveway with help from Vladamir Radunovic, who has ties to Pompton Lakes, Clifton, and Paterson, according to court documents filed with the US District Court of the Southern District of New York. Stanivukovic and Radunovic were arrested Saturday morning, Jan…
Sports
Meet Sportscaster Kenny Albert, Bergen County Resident, In North Jersey
Kenny Albert, a Closter resident, has called some of the biggest moments in sports and has plenty of stories to tell. Albert, the only sportscaster who does play by play for the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL will be signing copies of his new book "A Mic For All Seasons" at Books and Greetings in Northvale on Thursday, Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. He previously held a book signing at Bookends in Ridgewood in October. In the book, Albert discusses growing up the son of iconic sportscaster Marv Albert and calling 3,000 games, including calling the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, Jose Bautista's bat flip home run in 2015…
Business
Bergen County's Newest Diner Sets Opening Date
In the land of diners, a new concept has opened in Bergen County. Country MKT Dinner, which is offering farm to table dining, will be opening in Closter. It appears to be replacing the shuttered Valley Diner, which occupied the space for more than 25 years. A grand opening is set for Sunday, Nov. 19. Since we're only a month away from the big opening, here's a little teaser of what we've got going on. 😉 Posted by Corey Hennig on Thursday, October 19, 2023 While the restaurant has not shared a menu yet, they are promising to deliver the usual diner staples like burgers and eggs. MKT…
Sports
Meet Sportscaster Kenny Albert In North Jersey
Kenny Albert, a Closter resident, has called some of the biggest moments in sports and has plenty of stories to tell. Albert, the only sportscaster who does play by play for the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL will be signing copies of his new book "A Mic For All Seasons" at Bookends in Ridgewood on Monday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. In the book, Albert discusses growing up the son of iconic sportscaster Marv Albert and calling 3,000 games, including calling the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, Jose Bautista's bat flip home run in 2015 and the U.S. women's hockey shootout in the 2018 Winter Olympic gold medal game, acc…
Police & Fire
Multi-Million-Dollar NJ Home Burglary: Three Captured In Celebrity Neighborhood Break-In
Law enforcers from several agencies helped capture a burglary trio from Delaware who authorities said targeted a multi-million-dollar home in an exclusive Bergen County neighborhood. It was shortly before 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, when the burglars apparently found an unlocked rear door to the Timberline Drive home off Route 9W in Alpine, in an area where Chris Rock, Lil Kim and other celebrities own estates. Police from surrounding towns, Bergen County sheriff's officers and others quickly converged on New Jersey's most affluent suburb, and the Delaware trio were all soon in custody. E…
Business
Bricks 4 Kidz Uses Legos To Teach STEM In North Jersey
A new learning center in Bergen County has discovered an innovative method to help give kids a STEM education. Bricks 4 Kidz recently opened a learning center at 530 Piermont Road in Closter. The franchise has 10 locations throughout the Garden State and has learning centers nationwide. Brandy Sharrock and Charles Tsocanos oversee the Closter location with the goal of making STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education fun. They offer afterschool programs, as well as summer camps and birthday parties, with getting to build Legos being the main attraction. "The kids are oft…
Lifestyle
Get Hangry: New Fried Chicken Joint Spices Up Bergen County
A fried chicken restaurant is bringing the Nashville heat to Bergen County. Hangry Joe's, a Nashville hot chicken franchise with locations in 12 states, recently opened a location in Northvale. The franchise has been aggressively expanding in New Jersey, with another location in Florham Park and locations set to open in Closter, New Brunswick, Ridgewood and Trenton. Nashville Hot Chicken is just what it sounds like: deep fried chicken covered in spicy hot paste served on white bread, preferably with a pickle. View this post on Instagram A …
Schools
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: …
News
Housekeeper Hides After Burglars Break Into NJ Mansion Once Owned By Trump Ally From Russia
Two burglars who broke into a Bergen County mansion that once belonged to a Russian billionaire barely escaped when police screamed up, authorities said. The housekeeper was downstairs when she heard the intruders a floor above shortly after 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, Alpine Police Chief Christopher Belcolle said. She rushed into a bathroom, one of 10 in the joint, then locked the door and called police. Officers were familiar with the French-manor-style brick colonial, which once belonged to oligarch Aras Agalarov when he was an ally of former President Trump. Sean "Diddy " Combs also l…
News
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…
Business
Popular Bergen County French Bakery Just Keeps Expanding
An authentic French bakery serving Bergen County for nearly a decade is again expanding its reach. This time, Patisserie Florentine is headed to Fort Lee, the business announced on Instagram. The Englewood-based cafe is owned by Israeli-born and classically-trained pastry chef Tomer Zilkha. He originally wanted to open his cafe in Manhattan after staring a family, he figured being closer to home was best. Plus, he said, "There was just so much of a need around here." Patisserie Florentine, which serves French-inspired fare specializing in pastries, has locations in Closter, Englewood, Th…
News
Man Who Lives Near NJ Grade School Charged With Collecting, Sharing Child Porn
A 26-year-old college student who lives around the corner from a Closter grade school was caught trafficking child porn, authorities said. John S. Soh was charged following a warranted raid at his home just off Houmans Avenue near the PK-4 Hillside Elementary School late last week, authorities said. Soh had “used the Internet to view, download, possess, and distribute items depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Members of Musella’s Cyber Crimes Unit charged Soh with possession and distribution of child porn…
News
NJ Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution
A former Bergen County resident must spend nearly three years in federal prison for producing bogus training certificates for massage parlors that sold sex. Naresh Rane, 68, gave 10 of those certificates to a former local councilman who was later found dead of suicide along with his wife, authorities said. Rane, formerly of Closter, owned and operated the now-defunct Axiom Healthcare Academy on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, which touted itself as a provider of massage therapy training. Anyone who didn't want to go through the training could pay Rane anywhere from $1,000 to $2,600 for …
News
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…
News
Update
: Dead Tree Worker In North Jersey Brought Down By Firefighters
Authorities were trying to determine how long a tree worker who died on the job in Closter had been suspended in the air. The worker was tethered in a harness nearly 40 feet up, supported by climbing ropes attached to several parts of the tree, when he apparently suffered a medical emergency outside a home on Anderson Avenue on Saturday, Police Lt. Vincent Aiello said. The homeowner, who'd dialed 911 around noon, didn't know how long he'd been up there, Aiello said. Responding police officers shouted but couldn't revive the worker from the ground, the lieutenant said. He was lowered to a…
News
Parolee Wearing Monitoring Bracelet Nabbed In NJ Consignment Shop Burglary Spree, Police Say
GOTCHA! A parolee from Montclair burglarized a Closter consignment shop -- among others -- and later stole a resident’s vehicle while wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet, authorities said. Quamir S. Hodges, 24, was also linked to burglaries in at least three other New Jersey towns during a joint investigation that included a special State Police unit, Detective Lt. Vincent Aiello said. Surveillance video at the consignment shop on Closter Dock Road shows Hodges ransacking the store, snatching several high-end bags, after pulling up with an accomplice in a silver Dodge Charger on Aug. 8, 2021,…
News
Overnight Fire Severely Damages North Jersey Home
Flames blew through the roof of a Norwood home near the Rockland County border. Firefighters battled extreme cold and slippery conditions to douse the upper-floor bedroom blaze, which broke out on Broadway just off Piermont Road around 2 a.m. Sunday. No serious injuries were immediately reported. Mutual aid responders either at the scene or in coverage included firefighters from Harrington Park, Closter, Demarest, Northvale and Old Tappan. Firefighters battled extreme cold and icy conditions in the overnight Norwood blaze.Closter FD
News
How Much Snow Did You Get? These Are Totals By Town In New Jersey
New Jerseyans on Friday woke up to several inches of snow on the ground in the first major storm for some and second for others this week. Most of the state got somewhere between four and six inches, according to the National Weather Service. Areas in Sussex County got the last amount of snow, average between 1.8 and 3 inches. The most amount of snow seems to have landed in parts of Bergen and Gloucester counties: 6 to 7.3 inches. Here are the averages across New Jersey from north to south, according to the National Weather Service's legend: Newton: 3 inches Lake Hopatcong: 3.6 Jefferson…
News
ICY
Morning
(
Update
): One Dead, Highways Closed, Dozens Injured In North Jersey Crashes
UPDATE: One victim was confirmed dead and westbound Route 3 in East Rutherford was temporarily closed Wednesday morning following what was the most serious in a series of crashes on icy North Jersey roads. Here's a listing of incidents. Mark Kolta, 31, of North Bergen had been involved in an earlier chain-reaction crash on the Hackensack River bridge on westbound Route 3 shortly after 6:30 a.m., East Rutherford Deputy Police Chief Phillip Taormina said. He was struck in another pileup after getting out of his vehicle, the deputy chief said. Kolta was pronounced dead at a local hospital a …
News
Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict
A Maserati that’s being auctioned off by a small Bergen County town was seized from a confessed ID thief from Hackensack who's now serving federal prison time for swiping $2 million from various victims, Daily Voice has learned. She was a he at the time. Closter police confiscated the flash ride during a 2018 investigation that produced the arrest of Ralph Taylor -- who according to the U.S. Attorney's Office has become Alexis Taylor while behind bars. Working with others, Taylor bought a “significant amount of stolen personal identifying information via the dark web, includ…
Lifestyle
These Popular Holiday Movies Have New Jersey Ties
The majority of holiday films are set in Chicago and New York City, but that doesn’t mean New Jersey is not represented in holiday films. Many seasonal movies are set in, filmed, or have a New Jersey connection that you might not expect. Grab you popcorn and some festive films with a special New Jersey tie-in listed in chronological order. Did we miss one? Email jpikora@dailyvoice.com. Die Hard (1988) Die Hard (1988) Trailer Movieclips Classic Trailers This disputed holiday film doesn’t take place in the Garden State but the main character John McClane is supposed to be from New Je…
News
Former Bergen Resident From CT Admits Embezzling $540,000 From Security Firm
A former Bergen County resident now living in Connecticut admitted Wednesday that she embezzled $540,000 from a local company. Melissa Corso, 50, and her husband lived in Closter when she worked for a Delaware-based security systems supplier with an office in Ridgefield Park, federal authorities said. Corso, currently of Groton, CT, and co-worker Joseph Spaccavento steered customer payments owed to their former employer to a PayPal account registered to him and linked to her work email, according to an FBI complaint. The customers, in turn, sent more than $3.1 million through 1,150 transa…
News
Hero
: Sergeant Rescues Suspects From Burning SUV After Pursuit Ends In Crash Near
Nj-ny
Border
UPDATE: A Palisades Interstate Parkway police sergeant rescued two suspects from a burning SUV after it crashed into two other vehicles and overturned during a stolen-vehicle chase Thursday afternoon, authorities said. A group of suspects who'd become the subjects of a suspicious persons report fled the Englewood Cliffs Marina in a GMC Envoy shortly before 3 p.m., PIP Police Sgt. First Class Raymond Walter said. An alert went out to surrounding departments about the SUV, which had been reported stolen out of Onondaga County, NY, he said. Englewood Cliffs police began pursuing the vehicle b…
News
Authorities Probe Alarming Discovery Of German Shepherds Abandoned Throughout Bergen, Passaic
Authorities have launched a major investigation into the alarming discovery of no fewer than nine apparently related German Shepherds abandoned in various areas of North Jersey this past week. “Something foul has happened,” Deborah Yankow, the director of the Bergen County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, said Friday. “What that is we don’t yet know.” “German Shepherds, like any other breed, come in all sizes, shapes and colors,” Yankow said. “But going from the two we have at the shelter and the pictures I’ve looked at, they all look identical, like siblings.” Five of the young adult …
News
Authorities Probe Alarming Discovery Of German Shepherds Abandoned Throughout Bergen, Passaic
Authorities have launched a major investigation into the alarming discovery of no fewer than nine apparently related German Shepherds abandoned in various areas of North Jersey this past week. “Something foul has happened,” Deborah Yankow, the director of the Bergen County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, said Friday. “What that is we don’t yet know.” “German Shepherds, like any other breed, come in all sizes, shapes and colors,” Yankow said. “But going from the two we have at the shelter and the pictures I’ve looked at, they all look identical, like siblings.” Five of the young adult …
News
Recognize
Them
? Twin Shepherds Abandoned On Palisades Interstate Parkway
Abandoned twin German Shepherds were found on successive nights in the same area of the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Alpine, and police suspect both may be related to a third who turned up in nearby Closter. “Neither had a collar or identification tags and they weren’t micro-chipped,” PIP Police Sgt. First Class Raymond E. Walter said of the two pooches found walking on the PIP, one on Saturday, the other on Sunday. “It appears that they may have been abandoned along the highway since it’s extremely rural there and both were found in the same area,” Watler said. The dogs found in …
News
Found
! Demarest Police Find Missing Rockland Woman Safe, Sound
Demarest police found a missing Rockland woman who became the subject of a search after her car and phone were left at a shopping center in Closter. Police searching for Amy Clarke, 48, of Tappan found her Lexus SUV after pinging her phone to the Closter Plaza around 10 p.m. Tuesday, Closter Police Detective Lt. Vincent Aiello said. Demarest police found Clarke – who has no direct ties to the area -- on Piermont Road nearly 24 hours later, the lieutenant said. "She's safe and sound," he said.
News
A Detective's Work Ends: Lodi Serial Killer Admits Raping, Drowning North Bergen Teens In 1974
Those old enough to remember can recall the fear that many felt after the bodies of two girls from North Bergen who’d gone missing after a shopping trip to Paramus were found raped, beaten and drowned in Bergen County. It also left enormous holes in the souls of family and friends of Mary Ann Pryor, 17, and Lorraine Kelly, 16. It’s taken more than 46 years, but a Bergen County police veteran who is only days from retirement got one of the country’s most notorious serial killers to confess. “Mary Anne and Lorraine deserve it, God rest their souls,” Bergen County Prosecutor’s Chief of Detect…
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