CRIME SPREE: Paramus Police Nab Thieving Trio With $12,800 Worth Of Loot At Garden State Plaza CRIME SPREE: Paramus Police Nab Thieving Trio With $12,800 Worth Of Loot At Garden State Plaza
Crime Spree: Paramus Police Nab Thieving Trio With $12,800 Worth Of Loot At Garden State Plaza A trio of thieving New Yorkers were in the middle of a big-ticket crime spree at the Garden State Plaza -- snatching nearly 200 items worth more than $12,800 in under an hour and a half -- when Paramus police nabbed them, authorities said. Police caught their break when the three stole a cellphone and a wallet from a pair of kiosk workers shortly before 9:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. Assisted by mall security, Paramus Detective Lt. Tom Schroeder and Detective Mark Pinajian quickly homed in on the trio, he said. Two of them -- Alexander Aria…
Accused JC Scammers Hit With More Charges, Total Take Rises By $400,000 Accused JC Scammers Hit With More Charges, Total Take Rises By $400,000
Accused JC Scammers Hit With More Charges, Total Take Rises By $400,000 Three Indian Americans from North Jersey charged in a hotel supply company scam were re-arrested this week after authorities said they learned that the trio stiffed victims by three times as much money as they’d originally believed. Married couple Viral Patel, 38, and Priyanka Patel, 33, of Jersey City and Pratik Patel, 35, of Ramsey, were originally charged last December with pocketing $200,000 for services that were never provided by their Janvi Hotel Supply company on Thorne Street, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Members of the prosecutor’s Special Investigations Unit conti…
Duo Accused Of Carjacking Takeout Customer In Newark Face Federal Prosecution Duo Accused Of Carjacking Takeout Customer In Newark Face Federal Prosecution
Duo Accused Of Carjacking Takeout Customer In Newark Face Federal Prosecution Two repeat offenders charged with carjacking a customer waiting for a pickup order outside a Newark restaurant are now in federal custody and aren't going anywhere. The victim was pumping air into the front passenger tire on Dec. 9, 2023 when the pair arrived in a 2015 Lexus that had been stolen from outside a Wawa on Route 34 in Wall Township. Arraqeeb Williams-Cook, 23, of East Orange, got into the driver's seat of the victim's car, then pulled a gun, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. As the victim ran into the restaurant to call for help, ex-con Washir Singleta…
100 Animals Rescued, Ex-Con Druglord Charged With Leading Notorious NJ Dogfighting Ring 100 Animals Rescued, Ex-Con Druglord Charged With Leading Notorious NJ Dogfighting Ring
100 Animals Rescued, Ex-Con Druglord Charged With Leading Notorious NJ Dogfighting Ring More than 100 abused canines were rescued and several people seized in a raid on what authorities said was a large-scale nationally-known dogfighting enterprise run by a convicted South Jersey druglord. Two dogs reportedly were found dead in a pit in a rural Maurice River Township homestead that investigators said was the site of a massive operation run by widely-recognized dogfighting breeder, ex-con Bruce "Hollywood" Low Jr., 45. Others arrested include his mother and alleged business partner, Terri Low, 67, and son, dog handler Bryce Low, 20. “Profiting from dogfighting is callous, brut…
Victims Scammed Out Of $2.2M By NJ Couple In 'Publishers Clearing House Lottery' Scheme: Cops Victims Scammed Out Of $2.2M By NJ Couple In 'Publishers Clearing House Lottery' Scheme: Cops
Victims Scammed Out Of $2.2M By NJ Couple In 'Publishers Clearing House Lottery' Scheme: Cops A couple from Secaucus is facing a litany of charges after scamming residents in multiple states out of more nearly $2.2 million, police said. Akeem Lee and Majda Hodzic-Lee called victims in Florida, Minnesota, Arizona, Kansas, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Nebraska, saying they'd won the "Publishers Clearing House Lottery," Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said. In exchange for the vehicles and large sums of money the victims were told they won, they were required by Lee and Hodzic-Lee to send cash, money orders and/or gift cards for taxes, fees and IRS …
UPDATE: Hackensack Man Charged With Murder Of Paterson Woman, 22, Gunned Down Outside Her Home UPDATE: Hackensack Man Charged With Murder Of Paterson Woman, 22, Gunned Down Outside Her Home
Update: Hackensack Man Charged With Murder Of Paterson Woman, 22, Gunned Down Outside Her Home Authorities on Wednesday captured one of a group of men who they said purposely shot and killed a 22-year-old Paterson woman last fall. Ex-con Christopher Thomas, 26, of Hackensack was charged with murder and weapons offenses, as well as with conspiracy, for his role in gunning down Mary “Tink” Taylor on Oct. 1, 2023 outside a bar across from the apartment building where she lived with her mom. Five men jumped into a car that sped off following the shooting shortly before 9:30 p.m. in the city’s Great Falls Historic District, witnesses told investigators. It wasn’t clear how many fired. A…
GOTCHA! Five Charged With Rash Of Bergen Armed Wristwatch Robberies, Stabbing In PalPark GOTCHA! Five Charged With Rash Of Bergen Armed Wristwatch Robberies, Stabbing In PalPark
Gotcha! Five Charged With Rash Of Bergen Armed Wristwatch Robberies, Stabbing In PalPark Authorities have charged five men with robbing three separate victims of wristwatches – stabbing one of them – in two Bergen County towns, thanks to an arrest by Port Authority police. Two of the robberies occurred in broad daylight on River Road in Edgewater last fall, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday, March 1. The third included a stabbing in the victim’s driveway in Palisades Park, the prosecutor said. One of two robbers brandished a handgun while a colleague stood lookout when they robbed the first Edgewater victim shortly after 3 a.m. Oct. 24, Musella said. The ro…
Two Paterson Inspectors Took Bribes For Permits: NJ Attorney General Two Paterson Inspectors Took Bribes For Permits: NJ Attorney General
Two Paterson Inspectors Took Bribes For Permits: NJ Attorney General Two Paterson housing and zoning inspectors were indicted on Tuesday, Feb. 20 for accepting bribes in exchange for issuing illegitimate building permits, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Jose Fermin, a 50-year-old Prospect Park resident and Jose Juan Guerrero-Cruz, a 44-year-old Florida resident carried out their scheme between Dec. 2020 and Feb. 2022,  producing bogus documents that including imitation signatures purportedly written by Paterson’s Planning and Zoning Director, Platkin said.  Guerrero-Cruz and Fermin would accept money in exchange for Fermin producing the…
Feds: NY Man Who Shook Down Jersey Shore Dad For $200G Gets 10 Years, No Parole Feds: NY Man Who Shook Down Jersey Shore Dad For $200G Gets 10 Years, No Parole
Feds: NY Man Who Shook Down Jersey Shore Dad For $200G Gets 10 Years, No Parole UPDATE: A man who admitted trying to strong-arm a Jersey Shore resident into giving him and his accomplices $200,000 must spend the next decade in federal prison. Francis A. Garzon, 35, of Brooklyn, must serve the entire plea-bargained 121-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Garzon and Endrit Kllogjeri, 28, were undone by an undercover detective posing as the Monmouth County victim. Garzon took a deal from the government, pleading guilty last July to conspiracy and extortion rather than risk the potential consequences of a trial conviction. Kllogjeri, me…
Wheelman Admits Role In Carjacking Of Montclair Woman In Her Driveway: Feds Wheelman Admits Role In Carjacking Of Montclair Woman In Her Driveway: Feds
Wheelman Admits Role In Carjacking Of Montclair Woman In Her Driveway: Feds An Essex County man admitted his role in carjacking a Montclair woman at gunpoint in her driveway, federal authorities said. Andy Cook, 24, of Newark was with an armed man who pointed a gun at the victim, ordered her to leave her purse, phone and keys behind and get out of her 2021 Porsche Cayenne on Melrose Place in the township's Estate section on Dec. 6, 2021, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Cook then got behind the wheel and drove off, he said. Essex County sheriff's officers spotted the Porsche on Route 280 in East Orange a short time later and pursued it. Cook soon hit heavy…
Wood-Ridge Detectives Charge Habitual Hackensack Offender, 19, In Home Burglary Vehicle Theft Wood-Ridge Detectives Charge Habitual Hackensack Offender, 19, In Home Burglary Vehicle Theft
Wood-Ridge Detectives Charge Habitual Hackensack Offender, 19, In Home Burglary Vehicle Theft A 19-year-old habitual offender from Hackensack who's been arrested no fewer than four times in just the past year was back in the Bergen County Jail, although it wasn't certain for how long. Cosmo Pena was released from the Essex County Jail on Thursday, Jan. 4, to the custody of Wood-Ridge police, who'd tied him to the theft of a resident's Mercedes during a home burglary last summer. Pena -- who has racked up recent arrests for offenses including theft, conspiracy, resisting arrest and leading a police chase  -- had been held in Essex County the past few weeks. Wood-Ridge detective…
FEDS: Serial Burglar Makes Bogus Calls To Divert Police Before Multiple NJ Drug Store Break-Ins FEDS: Serial Burglar Makes Bogus Calls To Divert Police Before Multiple NJ Drug Store Break-Ins
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 …