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US Department of Veterans Affairs

Police & Fire
Practice Grenade Found In WWII Vet's Assisted Living Unit Brings Bergen Bomb Squad Practice Grenade Found In WWII Vet's Assisted Living Unit Brings Bergen Bomb Squad
Practice Grenade Found In WWII Vet's Assisted Living Unit Brings Bergen Bomb Squad A practice grenade found in the room of a retired World War II veteran at an assisted living facility in Cresskill on Thursday brought the Bergen County Bomb Squad. Staff at Sunrise Assisted Living alerted responders to the discovery among the third-floor resident’s possessions in Building 4 on Tenakill Park Drive East shortly before 3 p.m. July 13, Police Capt. Jason Lanzilotti said. Cresskill police, firefighters and EMS “coordinated and conducted precautionary evacuations of the 3rd floor while others further away were sheltered in place,” as were any non-ambulatory residents, the captai…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Marine Corps Vet From NJ Admits Defrauding VA Out Of $119,000, Threatening Agent Marine Corps Vet From NJ Admits Defrauding VA Out Of $119,000, Threatening Agent
Marine Corps Vet From NJ Admits Defrauding VA Out Of $119,000, Threatening Agent A U.S. Marine Corps veteran from New Jersey admitted that he threatened to harm a federal agent after defrauding the VA out of $118,979 in disability benefits, authorities said. Kamil Wakulik, 38, lied when he claimed that he'd suffered PTSD from active-duty service that included having to recover human remains following natural disasters in the Philippines and Thailand, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Wakulik, who lives in the Morris County community of Long Valley and was in the Corps from 2003 to 2007, wasn't involved in such operations, the U.S. attorney said. Ba…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Ex-Trump Stalker Gets 6 Years, No Parole, For Threatening Secret Service Agent, Vets Officer Ex-Trump Stalker Gets 6 Years, No Parole, For Threatening Secret Service Agent, Vets Officer
Ex-Trump Stalker Gets 6 Years, No Parole, For Threatening Secret Service Agent, Vets Officer UPDATE: A former longtime stalker of former President Trump must spend nearly six years in federal prison for threatening to assault a Secret Service agent and "shoot up" an officer at a VA hospital in New Jersey. Frank Monte, 52, of Passaic County, NJ, must serve out just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal court system. Monte, of the Oak Ridge section of West Milford, "repeatedly called the emergency line of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Police at the VA Lyons hospital campus" in Somerset County, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said on Tuesd…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Bergen Funeral Home Provides Burial With Honors For One Of Last WWII Vets Bergen Funeral Home Provides Burial With Honors For One Of Last WWII Vets
Bergen Funeral Home Provides Burial With Honors For One Of Last WWII Vets TRIBUTE: A final farewell for one of the last remaining veterans of World War II's Normandy Invasions was all paid for when disaster struck. Eugene W. Dednam of Hackensack died last month, just weeks after turning 100. He had no known survivors. The Paterson funeral home that was chosen to someday handle Dednam's burial arrangements had since burned down, however. With it went the money that was paid in the late 1980s for his final rest. Then Brian and Deb Warner stepped in. “We feel that a wartime veteran can never truly be thanked for the sacrifices they make,” said Brian Warner, the e…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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South Jersey, PA Diving School Pioneer Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen For $1.1M Funding Fraud South Jersey, PA Diving School Pioneer Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen For $1.1M Funding Fraud
South Jersey, PA Diving School Pioneer Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen For $1.1M Funding Fraud UPDATE: A New Jersey woman considered a pioneer of commercial diving instruction was sentenced Wednesday to a plea-bargained 27 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $1 million in public funds to keep her Pennsylvania diving school in business. Tamara Brown, 58, of Haddon Heights, began submitting false information to keep her Divers Academy International just outside of Philadelphia accredited beginning in 2012, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. As a for-profit institution, the diving school required accreditation to be eligible to receive tuition funds from …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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South Jersey Diving School Pioneer Admits Illegally Collecting Federal Funds South Jersey Diving School Pioneer Admits Illegally Collecting Federal Funds
South Jersey Diving School Pioneer Admits Illegally Collecting Federal Funds A New Jersey woman considered a pioneer of commercial diving instruction admitted Wednesday that she submitted bogus documents to receive federal funds that her school wasn’t entitled to, federal authorities said. Tamara Brown, 57, of Haddon Heights, began submitting false information to keep her Divers Academy International just outside of Philadelphia accredited beginning in 2012, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. As a for-profit institution, the diving school required accreditation to be eligible to receive tuition funds from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Depart…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Veterans Home In Paramus, With 72 Dead, Suffers One Of Worst COVID-19 Outbreaks In U.S. Veterans Home In Paramus, With 72 Dead, Suffers One Of Worst COVID-19 Outbreaks In U.S.
Veterans Home In Paramus, With 72 Dead, Suffers One Of Worst Covid-19 Outbreaks In U.S. One of the places where you would've seen Tuesday’s military flyover saluting workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey was a veterans home in Paramus that's had one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in the nation. At last count, 72 deaths of those who proudly served the U.S. were reported at the state-run New Jersey Veterans Home at Paramus. More than half of New Jersey’s total coronavirus deaths have been reported at more than 500 nursing homes – nearly 4,200 in all -- which far exceeds any other state. Many, however, consider such a high number at what is …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Air Force Honors New Milford Airman For Anti-Suicide Work Among Vets, Responders Air Force Honors New Milford Airman For Anti-Suicide Work Among Vets, Responders
Air Force Honors New Milford Airman For Anti-Suicide Work Among Vets, Responders U.S. Air Force Technical Sgt. James P. Connors of New Milford has dedicated himself to combating suicide among the military and first responders -- from police to firefighters. For that reason, the force recently awarded the retired Teaneck firefighter its Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. Connors distinguished himself through “leadership, ceaseless efforts and dedication” to the Save a Warrior program, which aims to reduce suicide among returning veterans, active service members and first responders with post-traumatic stress, the Air Force said in awarding him an Outstanding Volunteer …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Veterans' Access To Healthcare Expands To New Bridge Medical Center Veterans' Access To Healthcare Expands To New Bridge Medical Center
Veterans' Access To Healthcare Expands To New Bridge Medical Center PARAMUS, N.J. -- The New Bridge Medical Center morning has officially been designated a Veteran's Choice facility by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco was joined by Senator Cory Booker, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Congressman Josh Gottheimer, New Bridge CEO Deborah Visconi, Associate Director of VA New Jersey Health Care System John Griffith, members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, and Bergen County veterans at the medical center Monday morning. As a result of the agreement, veterans will be able to receive procedures and treatment at New Bridge…

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by Cecilia Levine