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Saturday, apr 27
Tag:
Teaneck, NJ
Police & Fire
Wood-Ridge Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching East Rutherford Grandmother
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Questionable DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home may have gotten her killer a new trial, but it didn't change the outcome. For a second time, a jury in Hackensack convicted Daniel Rochat on Wednesday of all charges in the brutal September 2012 slaying of real estate agent Barbara Vernieri in her East Rutherford home. Rochat, 48, of Wood-Ridge was originally convicted in June 2017 of beating Vernieri, then pouring gasoline on her and around her home before setting it on fire to cover up the crime scene. Pros…
Police & Fire
Break
IN,
Rinse
,
Repeat
: Recidivist With 30-Year Sheet Busted For Burglaries In 4 Bergen Towns
It never ends with some guys. Mark C. Todd, most recently of Hasbrouck Heights, just turned 50 amid what has been a three-decade-long string of burglaries, thefts and police pursuits in nearly a dozen Bergen County towns. It got to the point that detectives from Maywood, Carlstadt and Hasbrouck Heights all went together to arrest the ex-con at his home last Friday morning, April 12. He was charged with break-ins in Maywood, Carlstadt, Elmwood Park and Fair Lawn. Tood has remained held in the Bergen County Jail this past week based on the likelihood that he’ll be returned to prison. He sp…
Police & Fire
Teaneck 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…
Police & Fire
One Arrest Made During Gaza War Protest In Teaneck
FOLLOW UP: An Upper Manhattanite was the only person arrested at a large demonstration outside a Teaneck synagogue, authorities said. Pro-Palestinian protestors faced off against Jewish counter-demonstrators during a fundraiser on Monday, April 1, at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun on West Englewood Avenue. The private event featured a representative of ZAKA, a Jewish group that collects body parts and blood for burial at the scenes of accidents and terrorist attacks. After American Muslims for Palestine and Within Our Lifetime announced plans to picket the event, township authorities took the …
Police & Fire
Teaneck Vape Store Owner, Clerk Cited For Selling To Underage Buyers: Police
The 25-year-old owner of a Teaneck vape store and one of his clerks were cited for selling to minors, authorities said. "After receiving complaints from residents about the sale of vape products to minors and the sale of prohibited vape items, Teaneck police detectives conducted an undercover operation," Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr said. "The operation involved the attempted purchase of vape products from 13 retail establishments," the chief said. Of those businesses, only one -- All the Smoke on Cedar Lane -- allowed customers under 21 to buy vape products, violating state law, McG…
Police & Fire
Hackensack Rapper Charged With Punching Security Guard At Teaneck Purim Celebration
A trespasser punched a security guard during a Purim celebration at a Jewish high school in Teaneck before he was subdued and turned over to police, authorities said. Nakieme Murphy – a 29-year-old aspiring rapper from Hackensack who goes by the name “Kieme Lynx” – entered Hiechal HaTorah High School on Sterling Place just after midnight Sunday, March 24, said Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr. Murphy refused to leave and was being escorted to an exit when he punched the officer, the chief said. Security staff and event attendees subdued Murphy and held him for police. They charged M…
Police & Fire
Teaneck Teen Swipes Gun At Tenafly House Party: Police
An 18-year-old Teaneck resident attending a small gathering in Tenafly stole a handgun from the home, authorities said. Tenafly police arrested Byron Jones on Wednesday, March 28, and charged him with taking the gun on Feb. 3, Capt. Michael deMoncada said. "The victim in that case realized that a personally owned firearm was missing after a family member hosted a small gathering at the home," deMoncada said. Detectives conducted a thorough investigation leading to Jones's arrest on charges of theft and illegal possession of a handgun, the captain said. He remained held Thursday in the Ber…
Police & Fire
Hackensack Grade School Custodian, 76, Charged With Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Girl
A 76-year-old custodian at a grade school in Hackensack was charged with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl. Phillip A. Porter of Hackensack is accused of rubbing the child’s breasts and vagina and putting his penis in her mouth, according to a complaint filed in Superior Court. Special Victims Unit detectives arrested Porter on Monday, March 25, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He remained held Tuesday in the Bergen County Jail. Porter is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by contact and child endangerment. The 6-foot-3-inch, 165-pound Porter, formerly …
Police & Fire
Troubled Teaneck Man Hospitalized In Custody Again After Assault: Police
A mentally ill Teaneck man with a history of violent episodes was hospitalized in police custody after authorities said he cut another man’s neck and arm with a flash drive during a fight. Camwren Cole, 25, was taken for what over the past few years has become a series of psychiatric evaluations at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, March 23. It followed what police said was an assault at Cole's Kipp Street home. The victim was treated at the scene by members of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps and refused further medical attention, Police Chief Andrew Mc…
Police & Fire
Quintet From PA, NC Nabbed By Teaneck Detectives With Three Kilos Of Coke Off NJ Turnpike
Teaneck police seized three kilos of cocaine along with three men from Pennsylvania and two from North Carolina during a traffic stop. Two vehicles traveling together were stopped by township detectives near the Glenpointe complex just off the New Jersey Turnpike during a drug investigation, Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr said. The 6½ pounds of coke had an estimated street value of about $60,000, the chief said. Taken into custody, he said, were Elias Reyes-Diaz, 42, Nelson Ramos-Claudio, 29, and Osvaldo Reyes-Jimenez, 28, all of Reading, PA, and Gastonia, NC residents Ramon Pumarol-Ro…
Police & Fire
Convicted Child Porn Collector From Teaneck Imprisoned After Doing It Again: Prosecutor
A 66-year-old parole violator from Teaneck who spent several months behind bars for collecting child porn probably won’t be released very soon. Leonard Liebman initially avoided state prison and got off with time served – a little over 10 months in the Bergen County Jail – following a 2018 conviction for possession of child pornography, records show. State parole officers took Liebman into custody again in Teaneck this past Nov. 28 after finding proof that he was at it again, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. After a week in the county lockup, he was sent to Southwoods State Pris…
Police & Fire
Only Two Arrests Made At Trouble-Free Israeli Real Estate Protest In Teaneck, Police Chief Says
Two out-of-towners were arrested after they threw liquid on protestors near the end of a controversial Israeli real estate showcase at a Teaneck synagogue, authorities said. The two assaults were the only incidents after what had been several hours of orderly demonstrations on Sunday, March 10, that drew thousands of participants and onlookers. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war stoked concerns over staging such an event, which reportedly involved information on some properties in West Bank settlements that the United States has considered illegal. The protests weren't only two-sided. Boyd A…
Police & Fire
Update
: Teaneck Woman Remains Hospitalized After Husband’s Suicide Fire Kills 2nd Victim
FOR THE RECORD: A Teaneck woman remained hospitalized weeks after her husband ignited a gasoline-fueled fire that killed himself and another woman in their basement apartment. Ranjodh Singh IV, 35, “purposely set fire to himself in the basement apartment” shortly after midnight Feb. 19, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said last week. “As a result, the fire spread rapidly through the basement and trapped the other two occupants of the apartment,” Musella said. He used an accelerant, the prosecutor said, which responders said was gasoline. Singh died before dawn. Single mom Manjin…
News
Occupied West Bank Real Estate Fair At Teaneck Synagogue Can’t Be Stopped, Officials Say
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Officials in Teaneck promised Thursday that they'll maintain order at a controversial Israeli real estate event scheduled for this weekend that's expected to draw a huge police presence. What they can’t do, they said, is prevent it from happening. ****** 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Two out-of-towners were arrested after they threw liquid on protestors near the end of a controversial Israeli real estate showcase at a Teaneck synagogue, authorities said. SEE: Only Two Arrests Made At Trouble-Free Israeli Real Estate Protest In Teaneck, Police Chief Says ****** Palestinian, Muslim, and Jewi…
Police & Fire
'
Bust
OUT': Dual US, Greek Citizen Living In Bergen Charged With $2.8M Bank Fraud
A dual U.S. and Greek national with a home in Bergen County orchestrated a classic debit card "bust out" scheme that fleeced a half-dozen banks out of $2.8 million, federal authorities charged. Dino Koutsogiannis, 57, of Fairview, and some unidentified cronies played the long game, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. They began by opening bank accounts for two bogus companies that Koutsogiannis created in Florida -- called Vegan Vacation and Orlando Dinos -- according to a federal complaint filed in Newark. Koutsogiannis was the only officer or director of the shell comp…
Police & Fire
Arson
? Body Found Following Fierce Fire In Ridgefield (
Update
)
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A former bed and breakfast in Ridgefield had been leveled by fire when responders found the remains of a man wrapped around a support beam. “He must’ve been alive and trying to hold on when the floor above him collapsed,” said a firefighter who was at the predawn blaze at the former Toddle Inn on Broad Avenue on Wednesday, March 6. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella identified the victim on Friday as 42-year-old Xavier Contreras. An Ecuadoran national, the homeless Contreras sometimes joined the groups of day laborers waiting for passing contractors in nearby Palisades Park, jus…
Police & Fire
Teaneck Mom Jailed For Not Reporting Child Sex Crimes: Prosecutor
A Teaneck woman was jailed for not reporting sexual assaults against two different children, records show. Shanasia Taylor, a 32-year-old warehouse worker, “acted in a manner that would endanger the welfare of a child, specifically by not reporting an act of sexual assault against children,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Monday, March 4. Criminal records put the time frame of the alleged crimes at May 2022. Taylor, a Paterson native and mother of two, was arrested on Friday and charged by Teaneck police with child endangerment involving sexual conduct. Members of the prosec…
Police & Fire
Update
: Two Trapped In Suspicious Teaneck Basement Fire Die: Prosecutor
UPDATE: Two people were confirmed dead Thursday following a suspicious gasoline-fed overnight basement fire in Teaneck that sources said was an attempted murder-suicide earlier this week. Firefighters were dousing the 12:30 a.m. blaze at a multi-family home on Palisade Avenue on Monday, Feb. 19, when they discovered and rescued three people trapped in a basement apartment, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He identified them as Manjit Kaur, 47, 35-year-old Ranjodh Singh IV and an as-yet-unidentified woman. All three were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, but Manjit K…
Police & Fire
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 “known to police” overstates the obviou…
Police & Fire
Murder-suicide
BID? 3 Hospitalized After Arsonist With Gasoline Ignites Teaneck Basement Fire
UPDATE: Two people have died following a suspicious gasoline-fed overnight basement fire in Teaneck that sources said was an attempted murder-suicide earlier this week. Firefighters were dousing the 12:30 a.m. blaze at a multi-family home on Palisade Avenue when they discovered and rescued three people trapped in a basement apartment on Monday, Feb. 19, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He identified them as Manjit Kaur, 47, 35-year-old Ranjodh Singh IV and an as-yet-unidentified woman. All three were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, but Manjit Kaur and the woman we…
Police & Fire
Paramus Officer Nabs Teens In Route 17 Stop With Nearly Two Dozen Pieces Of Stolen Mail
A Paramus police officer caught a trio of teens with nearly two dozen pieces of mail -- tax-related paperwork, utility payments and such from Saddle River and Upper Saddle River -- during a traffic stop, authorities said. Officer Nicholas Tanelli stopped their speeding Toyota Highlander near Midland Avenue on southbound Route 17 shortly after 2:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5, Police Chief Robert M. Guidetti said. The driver, Robert Marte-Nunez, 18, of Queens didn't have a license, registration or insurance for the vehicle, the chief said. Tanelli was talking with Marte-Nunez when he spotted the un…
Police & Fire
High Schooler Charged With Vehicular Homicide In Hit-And-Run Crash That Killed Teaneck Mom
UPDATE: A high school student who caused a crash that killed a Teaneck mom near her home has been charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal crash, authorities announced on Tuesday. Dymond T. Fryson, 40, briefly clung to life following the horrific 7:52 a.m. Jan. 25 crash at the intersection of Palmer and Sherman avenues. Witnesses said the other driver, a Bogota High School student who was with a classmate, sped through multiple stop signs before his 2015 Ford Explorer slammed into Fryson’s 2022 Nissan Rogue three blocks from the high school. The impact sent Fryson’s…
Police & Fire
Juvenile Held In Crash That Gravely Injured Teaneck Mom
UPDATE: A high school student who ran after causing a crash that gravely injured a Teaneck mom near her home was seized by township police and will be prosecuted, authorities confirmed. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella didn't in any way identify the underage teen driver because of state juvenile justice laws. However, local sources said he's a Bogota High School student who was with a classmate when the 2015 Ford Explorer he was driving slammed into a 2022 Nissan Rogue at the intersection of Palmer and Sherman avenues -- three blocks from the high school -- at 7:52 a.m. Thurs…
Police & Fire
Female Driver Gravely Injured, Criminal Investigation Follows Teaneck Crash Involving Teens
UPDATE: A teen driver who ran after causing a crash that gravely injured a local Teaneck mom was seized by township police and will be prosecuted, authorities confirmed. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella didn't in any way identify the driver because of state laws governing such incidents. However, local sources said he's a Bogota High School student who was with a classmate when the 2015 Ford Explorer he was driving slammed into a 2022 Nissan Rogue at the intersection of Palmer and Sherman avenues -- three blocks from the high school -- at 7:52 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 25. The impact sent t…
Police & Fire
Gas Leak Forces Evacuation Of Bergen Neighborhood Amid Bitter Cold
Well over a dozen homes in Teaneck were evacuated in frigid temperatures following a dangerous gas leak. Alerted by a resident, a PSE&G crew found high natural gas readings coming from the area of a home on Larch Avenue between North Street and Kenwood Place shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, Teaneck Police Lt. Kevin Brennan said. “The readings were at levels that warranted an evacuation of all residences within 330 feet,” the lieutenant said. Teaneck police, firefighters and members of the Volunteer Ambulance Corps worked together to clear the neighborhood and secure the scene,…
Police & Fire
Teaneck
Home
Invasion
: Armed Robbers Tie Up Four Victims, Flee With Valuables
SEE ANYTHING? Three men burst into a Teaneck home on Friday, tied up four occupants at gunpoint and fled with valuables, including cellphones, authorities said. The home invaders – two of them armed with handguns -- came in through a rear door of the home near Tryon Park on Jan. 12, Teaneck Police Detective Sgt. James Lynch said. Township police who were called around 3 p.m. mustered help from other area law enforcement to establish a perimeter, but the crew had apparently fled the area. The quartet of victims sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene by members of the Teaneck…
Police & Fire
Fireball
(
Update
): Gas Tanker Flips From One Side Of Route 17 To Other, Dealership Destroyed
In nothing short of a miracle, no serious injuries were reported after a gas tanker truck exploded into a huge fireball on Route 17 Monday morning. A used car dealership and many of its two dozen or so vehicles were destroyed in the five-alarm blaze after the truck and a passenger vehicle collided near the U-turn at the White Castle on the highway's southbound side in Hasbrouck Heights at 5:43 a.m. Jan. 8. The force flipped the tanker over the divider into the northbound lanes, Fire Chief Mike Greco said at the scene. (Justin Derevyanik took the photo at the top of this story. See his vide…
News
New Year, Old Rules: These NJ Hospitals Are Bringing Back Mask Requirements
As COVID-19, RSV, and the flu continue to spread after the holidays, some healthcare systems are bringing back mask requirements. Inspira Health Network said as of Thursday, Jan. 4, it will mandate masks in its facilities "due to an increase in respiratory virus positivity rates throughout the area." Inspira Health has hospitals, urgent care clinics, and other medical facilities across South Jersey. 🚨Effective Thursday, January 4, Inspira Health is implementing mandatory masking in our facilities due to an increase in respiratory virus positivity rates throughout the area.🚨 Posted by In…
Business
Popular Restaurateur Opening Bergen County Tequila Bar With 'Modern Twist'
A North Jersey restauranteur is expanding his empire with a tequila bar in Englewood. Ariel Espejo is opening Mexcal Tequila Bar at 24 N Van Brunt St. in the city sometime in February. Espejo, who runs Bent Hospitality with his partner, Michele Bittan, also runs Vida Garden, El Tango, Hidden Garden in Englewood and Tengo Steak in Moonachie. Mexcal Tequila Bar will offer almost 80 different kinds of tequila, along with Mexican cuisine like tacos, enchiladas while a DJ will be on hand during the weekend. Espejo felt Englewood was missing an establishment like Mexcal. "It's a convenient loca…
Police & Fire
Feds
: Serial Burglar Makes Bogus Calls To Divert Police Before Multiple NJ Drug Store Break-Ins
A hapless burglar tried to keep police in a half-dozen Bergen County towns busy with bogus calls of carjackings, kidnappings and other threats to try and buy himself time to break into local drug stores, federal authorities said. Michael J. Gynegrowski, 34, hit pharmacies in Cresskill, Hackensack, Oradell, River Vale and Teaneck, usually by breaking a window, they said. Six of a reported 10 attempts failed, but Gynegrowski did swipe a significant amount of Oxy, promethazine and other medications from an Englewood drug store, investigators told Daily Voice. Police in the various towns …
News
Twins Born In Different Years Among NJ's First Babies Of 2024
Twin brothers were among some of the last babies born in 2023 and the first of 2024 in New Jersey. Ezra was born at 11:48 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, while his little brother Ezekial was born at 12:28 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, at Virtua Voorhees Hospital in Camden. Ezra weighed 6 pounds and measured 18¾ inches long, while Ezekial weighed 4 pounds and measured 17¼ inches long. To make their birthdays even more special, Ezra shares his birthday with his dad, Billy, who is a New Year’s Eve baby, too. Parents Eve and Billy are thrilled that their boys are healthy and will ha…
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