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Dean Ackermann

Police & Fire
Anti-Israel Stickers Were Posted At NJ Starbucks Before Red-Paint Vandalism, Chief Says Anti-Israel Stickers Were Posted At NJ Starbucks Before Red-Paint Vandalism, Chief Says
Anti-Israel Stickers Were Posted At NJ Starbucks Before Red-Paint Vandalism, Chief Says UPDATE: Whoever defaced a sign with red paint at a Starbucks in Glen Rock was apparently mimicking similar attacks that have occurred throughout the U.S. and Canada since the Israel-Hamas war began last October, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. Ackermann also said that stickers bearing hateful messages against Israel that were found with the overnight vandalism on Feb. 19 apparently had been attached sometime before then. "A closer examination of these stickers shows scratches and marks that may indicate they had been on the poles for a few days," the chief said. In an effort to narrow do…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
BIAS CRIME: Red Paint, Anti-Palestinian Messages Deface Sign At NJ Starbucks BIAS CRIME: Red Paint, Anti-Palestinian Messages Deface Sign At NJ Starbucks
Bias Crime: Red Paint, Anti-Palestinian Messages Deface Sign At NJ Starbucks Authorities were searching for whoever defaced a sign at a Starbucks in Glen Rock overnight with red paint, graffiti and stickers with hateful messages against Israel. The manager of the shop in the borough's central business district called police shortly after 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 19, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. In addition to the paint, stickers were attached, one of which read: "FROM THE U.S. TO PALESTINE ABOLISH THE SETTLER STATE." "it is believed that the act occurred in the early morning hours prior to the opening of the store," the chief said. Ackermann said his department is…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Fan of Country Star Morgan Wallen Loses $1,100 To Facebook Ticket Scam NJ Fan of Country Star Morgan Wallen Loses $1,100 To Facebook Ticket Scam
NJ Fan of Country Star Morgan Wallen Loses $1,100 To Facebook Ticket Scam A fan from Bergen County who'd apparently landed a trio of tickets on Facebook for country star Morgan Wallen’s sold-out concert tour got left with a case of the blues. Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said the victim Venmo’d $1,104 to three different individuals after making what appeared to be a deal with a Ridgewood resident for three ducats to Wallen’s worldwide “One Night At A Time" tour. “The ‘seller’ subsequently emailed ticket confirmation statements [that] turned out to be fraudulent and would not open on the legitimate Ticketmaster website,” the chief said. His detectives ar…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy
They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy It's heartbreaking to discover that someone you've become enamored with online isn't into you, but it’s even worse to realize that person just made off with $3,500 of your money. That’s what happened to a Glen Rock resident who ended up wiring the dough to a sweet talker in the Dominican Republic. Suffice to say: It wasn’t coming back. Although $3,500 is a significant sum to some, it’s couch cushion change compared with the $450,000 in crypto lost last year by another romance scam victim from Glen Rock. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a staggering $1.3 BILLION was lost by 70,000…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Exposure To Rat Poison Sends Glen Rock HS Student, Staffers, Police Officer, EMTs To Hospital Exposure To Rat Poison Sends Glen Rock HS Student, Staffers, Police Officer, EMTs To Hospital
Exposure To Rat Poison Sends Glen Rock HS Student, Staffers, Police Officer, EMTs To Hospital A Glen Rock High School student, five school staffers, a police officer and two EMTs were all hospitalized following exposure to a rat poison that the youngster brought in on Monday, authorities said. The student had a reaction to the rodenticide known as Thallium, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. All nine people taken to The Valley Hospital and Hackensack University Medical Center on Oct. 2 -- including the student -- were medically cleared, the chief said. "As of this time none are exhibiting any signs of an adverse reaction," Ackermann said late Monday afternoon. A Glen …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wrongly Sent Bomb Threat Over Canadian Transgender Teacher Brings Tactical Teams To NJ District Wrongly Sent Bomb Threat Over Canadian Transgender Teacher Brings Tactical Teams To NJ District
Wrongly Sent Bomb Threat Over Canadian Transgender Teacher Brings Tactical Teams To NJ District A misdirected bomb threat intended for a school more than 600 miles away brought the bomb squad, K-9 unit and SWAT team to Glen Rock on Tuesday. A Central School in Hamilton, Ontario, apparently was the intended target of an email directed to the school of the same name in Glen Rock, borough Police Chief Dean Ackermann said on Sept. 26. No fewer than six schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth district in Ontario reported receiving an unrelenting string of threats that began late last week. Their Central School wasn’t one of them, however. Not taking any chances, the Glen Rock police chief sum…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Man Advertises Fake Vehicle Registrations On Facebook, Sells Them In CVS Lot: Police NJ Man Advertises Fake Vehicle Registrations On Facebook, Sells Them In CVS Lot: Police
NJ Man Advertises Fake Vehicle Registrations On Facebook, Sells Them In CVS Lot: Police A man who advertised fake New Jersey temporary vehicle registrations for sale on Facebook was caught peddling them in the parking lot of a strip mall in Glen Rock. Photographer Boyd A. Loving was at the scene of the arrest. The defendant, Keith Miller, 40, had his SUV parked outside the CVS when police arrived at the Rock Road lot shortly before noon on Tuesday, June 6. Officer Andrew Magro arrested Miller, who Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said had six bogus temporary vehicle registrations with him at the time. The sale of phony temp plates has increased rapidly, Ackermann noted…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Scam Victim Literally Gift-Wraps $25,000 In Cash Scam Victim Literally Gift-Wraps $25,000 In Cash
Scam Victim Literally Gift-Wraps $25,000 In Cash Yes, it’s difficult to believe, but an unwitting North Jersey victim literally gift-wrapped $25,000 in cash for a scammer to steal. It happened to a 75-year-old Glen Rock resident who got a pop-up home computer message directing her to contact Apple/Microsoft "due to an issue with their computer,” Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The victim used the number provided by the scammer rather than do an independent search herself for whom to call, the chief said. A purported representative who answered told her that it would cost $25,000 to resolve the issue. So the victim withdrew the cash fr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Exemplary' Work Pegs NYC Man For Brutal Robbery Of NJ Warehouse Worker 'Exemplary' Work Pegs NYC Man For Brutal Robbery Of NJ Warehouse Worker
'Exemplary' Work Pegs NYC Man For Brutal Robbery Of NJ Warehouse Worker Two determined Glen Rock detectives identified, located and charged a Queens man with the vicious robbery of a 66-year-old Bergenfield man last spring in the parking lot of the warehouse where he works. The victim was carrying what police described as a “substantial” amount of cash when two robbers accosted him in broad daylight at the De Boer Drive warehouse last June 16. Co-workers dialed 911 after hearing the victim’s cries for help, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The victim had bought lottery tickets at a nearby Maple Avenue convenience store a short time earlier, the chie…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Stranger In Hazmat Suit Who Sprayed Merch At Bergen Florist Identified As NY State Resident Stranger In Hazmat Suit Who Sprayed Merch At Bergen Florist Identified As NY State Resident
Stranger In Hazmat Suit Who Sprayed Merch At Bergen Florist Identified As NY State Resident UPDATE: One person's prank is another's vandalism, as a New York State man learned when police in Glen Rock identified him as the stranger in a hazmat suit who sprayed plants and flowers at a local shop with an unknown substance. Robert X. Houston, 22, of Middletown, claimed that he pulled the stunt at Perry’s Florist & Gardens on Harristown Road in January as part of an effort to establish himself as a YouTube personality, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. Houston told police there were no chemicals or other substances in the hand-held sprayer, but Ackermann said more than $750 wo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Child Admits Drawing Swastika On NJ Middle School Desk, Police Chief Says Child Admits Drawing Swastika On NJ Middle School Desk, Police Chief Says
Child Admits Drawing Swastika On NJ Middle School Desk, Police Chief Says UPDATE: A Glen Rock middle school student admitted drawing a swastika on a classroom desk, authorities said. The drawing is apparently an isolated incident, Police Chief Dean Ackermann announced on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 17.  The symbol drawn on a desk in a room shared by students from 6th to 8th grade was brought to school officials’ attention by two middle school youngsters on Wednesday, Ackermann said. “Late in the day on Friday it was learned that school officials had identified [a] student who had taken responsibility for the incident, which appears to be isolated,” the chief s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Creepy Bergen Starbucks Patron Tells Boy Not To Speak To Strangers Creepy Bergen Starbucks Patron Tells Boy Not To Speak To Strangers
Creepy Bergen Starbucks Patron Tells Boy Not To Speak To Strangers Police are urging vigilance after a rambling man told a boy inside of a Bergen County Starbucks not to speak to strangers. The man in his 40s with light-colored hair was making little sense and acting in a bizarre manner, in a recording taken by the boy inside of the Rock Road Starbucks in Glen Rock, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The incident that occurred on Friday, Nov. 4 around 2:10 p.m. was not reported until well after the individual left the store, the chief said. Store employees were unable to identify the individual and were advised to contact police if he returned. …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
LOOKIN' FOR LOVE: NJ Detective Sniffs Out Online Romance Scam LOOKIN' FOR LOVE: NJ Detective Sniffs Out Online Romance Scam
Lookin' FOR Love: NJ Detective Sniffs Out Online Romance Scam A Glen Rock detective was in for a surprise when he traced an online scam that victimized a local man to a woman in Washington State. It turns out that person got scammed herself. Before he was done, Glen Rock Police Detective Sgt. James Calaski found three other victims who got taken by a money launderer who lives in Africa, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. All of them were apparently looking for love. The con man had developed a virtual relationship with the 65-year-old Washington State woman, convincing her that he was a contractor flipping houses in Texas, Ackermann said. He the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
CRIME WAVE: Unprecedented Epidemic Of Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries Grows Alarming In North Jersey CRIME WAVE: Unprecedented Epidemic Of Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries Grows Alarming In North Jersey
Crime Wave: Unprecedented Epidemic Of Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries Grows Alarming In North Jersey Thieves are prowling North Jersey streets in unprecedented numbers, stealing unlocked vehicles or items left inside of them, authorities say. And police alone can't stem the tide. Local and county law enforcement are devoting more resources to stopping the bandits, who are often from out of the area. But they can’t be everywhere at once.  More owners need to lock their vehicles and take their key fobs, they say, or things will only get worse. Think of it this way: Imagine your unlocked vehicle is stolen, is involved in a pursuit and slams into another car. Imagine someone is killed in the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
BEWARE: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons NJ Victim Out Of $10,000 BEWARE: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons NJ Victim Out Of $10,000
Beware: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons NJ Victim Out Of $10,000 A Glen Rock resident lost more than $10,000 in an Amazon telephone scam, authorities said. The victim had just made an Amazon purchase when a text arrived from a purported “customer service representative” claiming there’d been a $1,490.97 purchase that the resident didn’t make, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The scammer then gave the victim a number to call to dispute the charge, he said. The victim called and was directed to buy gift cards “to fix the security breach,” the chief said. “Over the next five hours the victim purchased over $ 10,000 in gift cards from NIKE, TARGET and E-B…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Runaway SUV Plows Through Front Window Of Bergen County Rita's Ice Runaway SUV Plows Through Front Window Of Bergen County Rita's Ice
Runaway SUV Plows Through Front Window Of Bergen County Rita's Ice A Rita's ice shop in Glen Rock was open for business when an SUV plowed through the front window. Fortunately no one was hurt, police said. The BMW came crashing through the Rita's Italian Ice and Frozen Custard on Maple Avenue near the Fair Lawn border just off Route 208 shortly before 7 p.m. The Glen Rock driver, 43, who was operating with an Australian driver's license, told responding officers that he failed to realize that his vehicle was still in drive when he parked, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The SUV also damaged a side door and some chairs and tables inside, but that was i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
SCAM ALERT: ‘Gypsy’ Thieves Are Back, Con Elderly NJ Couple Out Of $18,000 SCAM ALERT: ‘Gypsy’ Thieves Are Back, Con Elderly NJ Couple Out Of $18,000
Scam ALERT: ‘Gypsy’ Thieves Are Back, Con Elderly NJ Couple Out Of $18,000 SEEN IT? “Gypsy” scammers are out again, police warn, pointing to an elderly Glen Rock couple who came thisclose to losing $18,000. The con artists, also called “travelers,” move around the East Coast using scams and diversions to get into people’s pocketbooks. This time, a grifting group coincidentally came to the door of a couple who’d called a legitimate roofing company for help, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. When the couple asked whether they were their contractors, they said they were. They then “proceeded to cover the entire roof with some sort of tar or rubberized as…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen Town Puzzled By Mysterious ‘Explosions’ Bergen Town Puzzled By Mysterious ‘Explosions’
Bergen Town Puzzled By Mysterious ‘Explosions’ They sounded like explosions and even knocked items off shelves, yet no one could pinpoint the source of a series of Memorial Day weekend booms that were heard – and felt – in a Glen Rock neighborhood. An officer responding to a report of “several loud bangs” that shook homes Saturday on Romary Court heard a series of explosions, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. “However, they appeared to be coming from a distance away,” he said. Backup officers, firefighters and PSE&G crews converged on the neighborhood off Harristown Road. Surrounding towns were also notified. The utility workers “…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Alert Resident, Neighboring PDs Help Glen Rock Police Nab Newark Gang Of 5 Alert Resident, Neighboring PDs Help Glen Rock Police Nab Newark Gang Of 5
Alert Resident, Neighboring PDs Help Glen Rock Police Nab Newark Gang Of 5 Glen Rock police captured a car burglary crew from Newark with help from an alert resident and their colleagues from Fair Lawn and Ridgewood, authorities said. The resident called shortly before 5 a.m. Friday after spotting the thieves on Woodvale Road, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. Sgt. Bryan Scott and Officers Annamarie Mattina and Nick Onove swooped in, joined by out-of-town officers, and took all five into custody, the chief said. They found items stolen from unlocked vehicles on Woodvale Road and Fieldmere Road in the car and on the thieves, Ackermann said. “Also recovered in th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
HEROES: Glen Rock Police Rescue Suicidal Man Who Threatened To Jump In Front Of Train HEROES: Glen Rock Police Rescue Suicidal Man Who Threatened To Jump In Front Of Train
Heroes: Glen Rock Police Rescue Suicidal Man Who Threatened To Jump In Front Of Train A crying Hoboken man told Glen Rock police who found him pacing back and forth at the local train station that he wanted to end it all, authorities said. Responding to a call from a concerned citizen, Officers John Tarantino and James McGill, along with Detective T.J. Graziani, found the troubled 44-year-old man at the Bergen Line Train Station near Harding Plaza, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. He told Tarantino that he was about to jump in front of a train but spotted several children nearby and "did not want to commit suicide in front of them,” the chief said. After about 20 minutes, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Police: Bergen Wingman Who Thought He Bought Plane Scammed Out Of $10,000 Police: Bergen Wingman Who Thought He Bought Plane Scammed Out Of $10,000
Police: Bergen Wingman Who Thought He Bought Plane Scammed Out Of $10,000 A Bergen County man who thought he’d put a down payment on a Cessna got taken for $10,000 by a scam artist who told him the aircraft had crashed, authorities said. The Glen Rock victim told borough police he thought he had an agreement to purchase a 2004 Cessna 182T for $200,000 through a website called planecheck.com, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. As part of the deal, he told police, he sent the purported seller a $10,000 non-refundable deposit. The “seller” was to have flown the aircraft from Georgia and to Greenwood Lake Airport in West Milford for delivery, Ackermann said. Wh…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Train Kept Rollin' (UPDATE): Driver Of Car Struck At Glen Rock RR Crossing Gets Summons Train Kept Rollin' (UPDATE): Driver Of Car Struck At Glen Rock RR Crossing Gets Summons
Train Kept Rollin' (Update): Driver Of Car Struck At Glen Rock RR Crossing Gets Summons A Glen Rock driver whose car was clipped by a commuter train will have to explain what happened to a judge, authorities said.  The 59-year-old driver wasn't injured after the last car of the Hoboken-bound Bergen Line NJ Transit train struck the front of his eastbound 2015 Honda Civic, ripping off its bumper, at the Rock Road crossing shortly after 7 a.m. Nov. 24. The train kept rolling. "The engineer was not immediately aware of the collision, as the head end of the train had already cleared the crossing," Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. Police gave the driver a summons f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Train Kept Rollin': Driver Of Car Struck At Glen Rock RR Crossing Gets Summons Train Kept Rollin': Driver Of Car Struck At Glen Rock RR Crossing Gets Summons
Train Kept Rollin': Driver Of Car Struck At Glen Rock RR Crossing Gets Summons A Glen Rock driver whose car was clipped by a commuter train will have to explain what happened to a judge, authorities said.  The 59-year-old driver wasn't injured after the last car of the Hoboken-bound Bergen Line NJ Transit train struck the front of his eastbound 2015 Honda Civic, ripping off its bumper, at the Rock Road crossing shortly after 7 a.m. Nov. 24. The train kept rolling. "The engineer was not immediately aware of the collision, as the head end of the train had already cleared the crossing," Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. Police gave the driver a summons f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GOTCHA! Fair Lawn Teens Who Left Anti-Transgender Graffiti On Glen Rock Cafe Return To Scene GOTCHA! Fair Lawn Teens Who Left Anti-Transgender Graffiti On Glen Rock Cafe Return To Scene
Gotcha! Fair Lawn Teens Who Left Anti-Transgender Graffiti On Glen Rock Cafe Return To Scene Two Fair Lawn teens scrawled anti-transgender graffiti outside a Glen Rock café, said police who took both into custody following an investigation helped in large part by area surveillance video. Juvenile complaints were signed against the 17-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy who left the LGBQT+ graffiti outside Nectar Café in a Rock Road shopping complex earlier this month, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Wednesday. The vandalism, discovered when the owner opened for the day on Oct. 7, was “a random act,” Ackermann said. “No specific individual, person, or business was targeted,” the chi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police: Bichon Frisé Breaks Loose, Killed By Pit Bull On Glen Rock Street Police: Bichon Frisé Breaks Loose, Killed By Pit Bull On Glen Rock Street
Police: Bichon Frisé Breaks Loose, Killed By Pit Bull On Glen Rock Street A pit bull killed a Bichon Frisé who’d broken loose while being walked on a Glen Rock street, authorities said. The plume-tailed toy dog slipped his harness while being walked by a young boy on Dean Street, Police Chief Dean Ackermann. As the boy ran home to get his help, a pit bull being walked by a 69-year-old man coming from the opposite direction grabbed hold of the other dog, the chief said. Responding officers found the Bichon Frisé dead, Ackermann said. The man, who’d been bitten on his hand as he tried to pull the dogs apart, refused medical attention, he added. TYCO Animal Cont…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
COVID: Customer Denied Bathroom Does His Business In NJ Liquor Store Aisle COVID: Customer Denied Bathroom Does His Business In NJ Liquor Store Aisle
COVID: Customer Denied Bathroom Does His Business In NJ Liquor Store Aisle Glen Rock police were trying to identify a liquor store customer who dropped his pants and did his business in an aisle after he was told the bathroom was closed because of coronavirus restrictions. Detectives were reviewing surveillance video from the Bottle King on Prospect Street after the visitor “proceeded to defecate on the floor of a store aisle and left the building” when he was denied bathroom access, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. “The store manager was advised of the procedure to sign a complaint under a Glen Rock borough ordinance that prohibits individuals from defecating or…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Coronavirus Slows Probe Of Impostor Who Scammed Bergen Firm Out Of $100,000 Coronavirus Slows Probe Of Impostor Who Scammed Bergen Firm Out Of $100,000
Coronavirus Slows Probe Of Impostor Who Scammed Bergen Firm Out Of $100,000 The closing of banks in China because of the coronavirus has made it more difficult for authorities to investigate a wire fraud that cost a Glen Rock medical services company $100,000. An accountant with the Harristown Road company reported receiving what appeared to be several legitimate emails from its CEO directing a wire transfer to a bank in China for international business purposes, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Monday. After realizing it was a fraud, company representatives contacted police. Unfortunately, the money had already been wired, Ackermann said. “Overseas wir…

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by Jerry DeMarco