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Coach USA Terminates 20 NJ Transit Lines In Filing For Bankruptcy, NJT 'Exploring Every Option' Coach USA Terminates 20 NJ Transit Lines In Filing For Bankruptcy, NJT 'Exploring Every Option'
Coach USA Terminates 20 NJ Transit Lines In Filing For Bankruptcy, NJT 'Exploring Every Option' The pressure is on for NJ Transit. The company was left high and dry when Coach USA announced it would be terminating its agreement with the major transportation company, halting service to 20 of its bus routes in Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties come Aug. 16. The decision to do so was made amid Coach USA filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A spokesperson from NJ Transit said the company received written notice of Coach's intentions to abandon three of its five contracts in Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson counties "with a cessation of operation at the close of business" on Aug. 16. NJ Trans…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Porch Pirates With 15-Round Magazine, Handgun Arrested In Undercover Operation In Wayne: Police Porch Pirates With 15-Round Magazine, Handgun Arrested In Undercover Operation In Wayne: Police
Porch Pirates With 15-Round Magazine, Handgun Arrested In Undercover Operation In Wayne: Police A pair of porch pirates form Newark repeatedly targeting a Wayne home were arrested during an undercover operation in which police found a handgun and 15-round magazine in their vehicle, authorities said. Steven Ariel Fong, 23 and Waldy Perez-Rivas, 20, have each been charged with with theft and weapons offenses, along with unlawful purpose and possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine following an undercover operation Friday, July 12, Wayne Police Cap. Dan Daly said. A Laurel Drive homeowner called police last Friday saying he had been awaiting a delivery of multiple cell pho…

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by Cecilia Levine
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WINNER! NJ Powerball Ticket Sold Online Nets Big Bucks WINNER! NJ Powerball Ticket Sold Online Nets Big Bucks
Winner! NJ Powerball Ticket Sold Online Nets Big Bucks It was a winning Wednesday for a Powerball player in New Jersey. A ticket sold online in the Garden State matched four numbers and the red Powerball in the drawing held on Wednesday, July 10, winning $50,000. The ticket was sold online via the Jackpocket app, which is based in Hewitt in Passaic County. The winning numbers were 7, 11, 12, 27, 46 and the red Powerball was 26. 

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by Sam Barron
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Illegal Botox, Lip Injections: NJ Spa Owner Fined $10K, Banned From Biz, AG Says Illegal Botox, Lip Injections: NJ Spa Owner Fined $10K, Banned From Biz, AG Says
Illegal Botox, Lip Injections: NJ Spa Owner Fined $10K, Banned From Biz, AG Says The owner of a Passaic County skincare spa has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and accepted a 10-year ban in operating a similar business in New Jersey following allegations he provided invasive aesthetic treatments that she was not licensed to perform, officials said. Prompted by a tip from the public, an investigation found that Rasha Abdul N. Basuf, the former owner of the now-defunct Skyn Spa on Lakeview Avenue Clifton, unlawfully provided cosmetic services without the requisite professional licenses, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs sa…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Paterson Ex-Con Arrested In Carjacking, Kidnapping That Prompted Widespread Amber Alert: Cops Paterson Ex-Con Arrested In Carjacking, Kidnapping That Prompted Widespread Amber Alert: Cops
Paterson Ex-Con Arrested In Carjacking, Kidnapping That Prompted Widespread Amber Alert: Cops A 33-year-old ex-con has been arrested in connection with the carjacking and kidnapping of a 34-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son, prompting an Amber Alert overnight in Paterson, authorities announced Friday, June 28. Junior Nunez was identified by police as a suspect in the carjacking and kidnapping at Percy and Holsman streets around 10:40 p.m. Thursday, June 27, Passaic County Prosecutor Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In- Charge Isa Abbassi said. A warrant was issued for Nunez's arrest as an amber alert was issued overnight for the child…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Unsuspecting Heroin, Cocaine Dealer Leads Detectives To 3 More Arrests, Passaic Sheriff Says Unsuspecting Heroin, Cocaine Dealer Leads Detectives To 3 More Arrests, Passaic Sheriff Says
Unsuspecting Heroin, Cocaine Dealer Leads Detectives To 3 More Arrests, Passaic Sheriff Says Timing was everything Thursday, June 27 in Passaic County. Kevin Wunk made the jobs of law enforcement officers a whole lot easier, as he carried out a drug deal just as they were arriving to execute a search warrant on his home, wrapping a month-long investigation and leading them to three additional arrests, Acting Passaic County Sheriff Gary Giardina said. The Passaic County Sheriff's Office had been investigating the Wanaque resident throughout the month of June, and at 10 a.m., officers from Wanaque and Ringwood police departments arrived at his Ringwood Avenue apartment to c…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Divers Recover Body Of Missing Swimmer, 18, From NJ Waters, Police Say Divers Recover Body Of Missing Swimmer, 18, From NJ Waters, Police Say
Divers Recover Body Of Missing Swimmer, 18, From NJ Waters, Police Say The search for a missing swimmer came to a tragic end on Wednesday, June 26 in Passaic County, police said. Divers recovered the body of 18-year-old Eshan Aman Ullah, of Randolph, after he went missing while swimming with three others in the Clinton Reservoir in West Milford Tuesday evening, local police said. Ullah's body was found at approximately 12:10 p.m. by NJSP TEAMS divers after utilizing State Police and Passaic County Sheriff side scan sonar equipment, West Milford police announced. Ullah was swimming with another 18-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman, and two 17-y…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Boil Water Advisory Issued For Thousands Of Passaic, Morris County Residents Boil Water Advisory Issued For Thousands Of Passaic, Morris County Residents
Boil Water Advisory Issued For Thousands Of Passaic, Morris County Residents Thousands of residents across Morris and Passaic counties are urged to boil their water due to high turbidity, or cloudiness, officials said. Officials in both Butler and Bloomingdale made the announcement earlier this week due to "emergent conditions" at the Butler water treatment plant. A water sample taken on Monday, June 24 showed a peak turbidity level of 8.34 nephelometric turbidity — which is above the standard of 1 nephelometric turbidity unit, Butler Water said.  "Because of the high levels of turbidity, there is an increased chance that the water may contain d…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
17 Arrested, Six Wanted In Massive NJ Fentanyl Mill, Drug-Dealing Operation: Prosecutors 17 Arrested, Six Wanted In Massive NJ Fentanyl Mill, Drug-Dealing Operation: Prosecutors
17 Arrested, Six Wanted In Massive NJ Fentanyl Mill, Drug-Dealing Operation: Prosecutors Seventeen people were arrested and six more were wanted in a large drug-dealing operation throughout Monmouth County, authorities said. An eight-month investigation seized hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs that were funneled from Passaic and Somerset counties, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release on Monday, June 24. "The arrests and seizures being announced today mark the end result of a herculean investigative effort involving innumerable moving parts, all seamlessly coordinated with the help of more than two dozen other law enforcement agencies,…

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by Chris Spiker
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NJ Ambulance Driver Arrested On Child Porn Charges Involving 13-Year-Olds, Sheriff Says NJ Ambulance Driver Arrested On Child Porn Charges Involving 13-Year-Olds, Sheriff Says
NJ Ambulance Driver Arrested On Child Porn Charges Involving 13-Year-Olds, Sheriff Says A newly-hired volunteer ambulance driver and landscaper from Passaic County is facing child porn charges out of Illinois involving two 13-year-old children, authorities said. Victor E. Meza Valdez, 26, of Ringwood, was arrested on June 20, by detectives with the Passaic County Sheriff's Office on a warrant out of McHenry County, IL, Acting Passaic County Sheriff Gary Gairdina said. During the search of Valdez's home, detectives seized several of his electronic devices, which will be transferred to the McHenry County State Attorney’s Office. Valdez faces various child pornography charg…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Longtime Saddle Brook UPS Employee Frank Chiavetta Of Wayne Dies, 58: 'We Lost A Great Legend' Longtime Saddle Brook UPS Employee Frank Chiavetta Of Wayne Dies, 58: 'We Lost A Great Legend'
Longtime Saddle Brook UPS Employee Frank Chiavetta Of Wayne Dies, 58: 'We Lost A Great Legend' Lifelong Passaic County resident Frank Chiavetta died on June 17, 2024, at 58 years old with his family by his side, according to his obituary on the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home website. A Clifton native, Frank spent 40 years working UPS, having started with truck-loading and retiring as a customer counter representative in Saddle Brook, in 2023, according to his obituary. He lived in Wayne with his wife of 31 years, Anna Marie Chiavetta. News of the veteran driver's death was shared to Union Local 177's Facebook page, where former colleagues remembered him as a "great dude" with…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
US Marshals Arrest NC Dad Who Disappeared With Passaic County Baby Girl, Prosecutor Says US Marshals Arrest NC Dad Who Disappeared With Passaic County Baby Girl, Prosecutor Says
US Marshals Arrest NC Dad Who Disappeared With Passaic County Baby Girl, Prosecutor Says A 47-year-old North Carolina dad was arrested by members of the US Marshals Service after he failed to return a 10-month-old baby to her mother for days. Anthony Smith became the center of the investigation by Paterson police and the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office on May 28, when officers were dispatched to East 27th Street and 21st Avenue, on a report of a custody dispute, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. There they were told that Smith was supposed to return the baby girl, his daughter, to her mother on May 26, pursuant to their court-ordered visitation…

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by Cecilia Levine