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Within a few days, however, law enforcement resources were involved, a large North Jersey newspaper published a story about his disappearance, and countless friends frantically posted online alerts for the genial man with the salt-and-pepper hair.
Fava dealt strictly in cash: He didn’t use E-ZPass or tap either his debit or credit card accounts, and was a “cash player” throughout nearly 19 total hours on the casino floor, according to records obtained by CLIFFVIEWPILOT.COM.
In a missing persons report filed with local police, family members said Chiohoko Fava told them her husband headed to work around 10 a.m. last Monday (Aug. 17). She didn’t hear from him later, so she contacted one of them, they said.
Fava left his cellphone with her, their report says. It also cites what family members said was a recent blackout that left Fava with short-term amnesia.
Lodi Police issued a statewide alert and added his name and license plate number to a nationwide database. The Passaic County Sheriff’s Department notified State Police, who hit the casinos.
A father of four, Fava comes from a prominent Passaic County family: His brother, Ron, once was the county prosecutor and sheriff; his brother, Ralph, is the Hawthorne borough attorney.
“If there’s a missing person, we’re very aggressive as far as looking for somebody, no matter who it is. It happens all the time,” said Bill Maer, a spokesman for Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale. “Usually, we find them within a few hours.”
Fava first went to Caesar’s Resort Hotel and Casino last Monday, then headed to Bally Park Place, where he parked his car, records obtained by CLIFFVIEWPILOT.COM show. He apparently left the Bally’s parking lot at 11:18 a.m Tuesday and again the next morning at 7:37 a.m.
The records show he left the lot a final time at 9:10 Thursday night — on his way home with his son.
Finding Fava wasn’t all that unusual: He reportedly visited Harrah’s on Aug. 2. Troopers interviewed him at Bally’s, as is their responsibility under the missing person’s report, and he appeared fine, a spokesman told CLIFFVIEWPILOT.COM.
Following procedure, they notified the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office and officially terminated their end of the investigation, said the spokesman, State Police Sgt. Julian Castellanos. Fava called his son, and he was back home by 10 that night.
“The Passaic County Sheriff’s Office sent out the notice with a picture,” Castellanos said Friday. “[The troopers] just did their jobs, found him, did a ‘well-being’ check and let him go on his way.
“His family came right down to get him.”
Although not a high roller, Fava was comped last week, casino records show. He didn’t use any of the comps for food, however.
It’s not clear whether Fava stayed at the hotel under a different name or with someone else, an Atlantic City source told CLIFFVIEWPILOT.COM: He wasn’t registered at Bally’s.
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