Fair 80°
Police & Fire
Caught In The Act: Arsonist Torches Neighbor's Home 3X In Ocean County, Prosecutor Says Caught In The Act: Arsonist Torches Neighbor's Home 3X In Ocean County, Prosecutor Says
Caught In The Act: Arsonist Torches Neighbor's Home 3X In Ocean County, Prosecutor Says A 36-year-old man has been accused of setting three separate fires at his next door neighbor's home in Ocean County, authorities said. Steven Johnson, of Little Egg Harbor, was ultimately caught hopping a fence to get to his neighbor's home on Revolutionary Road around 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Little Egg Harbor Township Chief of Police James Hawkins said. Authorities had been conducting surveillance on the home as fires had broken out there on Jan. 6 and Jan. 10, Hawkins and Billhimer said. Johnson poured a liquid on the attached deck of…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Blazing Out-Of-State Trespasser Ignites Trailer Fire Near Meadowlands: Carlstadt PD Blazing Out-Of-State Trespasser Ignites Trailer Fire Near Meadowlands: Carlstadt PD
Blazing Out-Of-State Trespasser Ignites Trailer Fire Near Meadowlands: Carlstadt PD An out-of-state man ignited a fire while smoking pot in a trailer off Route 120 in Carlstadt, authorities said. Detective Sgt. Mark Wong was headed north on the highway when he saw smoke coming from the roof of the trailer on the Home Improvement Team property less than a mile north of the Meadowlands shortly before 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 22. The sergeant also saw a man tipping away wearing a backpack and holding some belongings in his hands, Police Chief Thomas Cox said. Officer Matthew Bartlett assisted Wong in detaining Joe Jacob Perez of Lowell, Massachusetts, while firefighters doused t…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pair Painted Swastikas, Started Fire In Various Locations Around Jersey Shore Town: Cops Pair Painted Swastikas, Started Fire In Various Locations Around Jersey Shore Town: Cops
Pair Painted Swastikas, Started Fire In Various Locations Around Jersey Shore Town: Cops Two Ocean County men were arrested for lighting a fire in a women's restroom and spray-painting swastikas around a public park, authorities said. Alexander Gerber, 19, and Connor Dougherty, 20, both of Lacey Township, are facing arson charges for the fire in the women's restroom in Gille Park on Nov. 21, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Lacey Township Chief of Police Christopher Kenny said. The pair are also being held responsible for spray-painting swastikas and other graffiti in various locations of the park, police said. Officers likewise discovered damage to th…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say 2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say
2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say Life imitated art when a reputed Gambino crime family captain threatened to burn down a Jersey Shore restaurant, then went to a service station across the street and tried to buy and fill a plastic gas can, federal authorities said. In what could’ve been a scene from any number of modern-day mob movies, Joseph Lanni of Staten Island became a walking cliché, the Justice Department said in announcing an organized-crime takedown that stretched all the way to Sicily. Lanni and fellow Staten Islander Vincent “Vinny Slick” Minsquero “became belligerent” after being asked to leave Roxy’s Bar and G…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PA Man Charged With Torching NJ Home For Insurance Money PA Man Charged With Torching NJ Home For Insurance Money
PA Man Charged With Torching NJ Home For Insurance Money A Pennsylvania man already awaiting trial in connection with other incidents was charged with setting fire to a former home in Cherry Hill to collect on the insurance. Richard Orlandini, 62, of Wilkes Barre, collected at least $75,000 from Allstate by "recklessly placing others in danger of death or bodily injury,"  New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Firefighters reported finding the two-story single-family home on Chapel Avenue West well-involved shortly before 1:30 a.m. Oct. 20, 2018. No injuries were reported and the house had to be demolished. Orlandini deli…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Arsonist Found Unconscious After Setting Fire To His NJ Apartment: Prosecutor Arsonist Found Unconscious After Setting Fire To His NJ Apartment: Prosecutor
Arsonist Found Unconscious After Setting Fire To His NJ Apartment: Prosecutor A 40-year-old arsonist was found unconscious after setting a fire that ignited a Somerset County apartment, authorities said. Dashawn Holmes, a tenant in an East Main Street building in Somerville, was found unconscious by firefighters responding to the alarm set off just before midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 25, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Holmes was taken to an area hospital for treatment. The Somerville Fire Marshall responded to the scene and determined the fire to be suspicious in nature, said McDonald alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Love-Triangle Husband Sentenced To Life In Murder Of Popular Teaneck Software Engineer Love-Triangle Husband Sentenced To Life In Murder Of Popular Teaneck Software Engineer
Love-Triangle Husband Sentenced To Life In Murder Of Popular Teaneck Software Engineer For more than 12 years since popular software engineer Robert Cantor was brutally murdered in his Teaneck home, his twice-convicted killer has neither admitted it nor expressed any remorse. Sui Kam “Tony” Tung, 60, now has whatever’s left of his life to spend with whatever feelings he has following his sentencing Friday in Hackensack. This past July, jurors in that same courtroom convicted Tung of murdering Cantor, with whom his wife had been having an affair, in March of 2011. Superior Court Judge Christopher Kazlau said he’d seen enough of Tung to not be surprised by his refusal to spea…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Native Critically Burned Fighting Baltimore Fire Succumbs To His Injuries Fair Lawn Native Critically Burned Fighting Baltimore Fire Succumbs To His Injuries
Fair Lawn Native Critically Burned Fighting Baltimore Fire Succumbs To His Injuries A Fair Lawn native who was critically injured trying to rescue a brother firefighter in a blaze in Baltimore has tragically made the ultimate sacrifice. Fire Lt. Dillion Rinaldo succumbed to his injuries Tuesday night, Oct. 24, five days after a rowhouse blaze claimed the life of a fellow smoke eater whom he and his colleagues had gone back in to save. "To the Rinaldo family, we are at a loss for words," the Fair Lawn Fire Department wrote in a social media post. "Your son Dillon will never be forgotten," the post reads. "He had the biggest heart and would literally help anyone in need. Al…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Englewood Killer Sentenced To Life For Shooting Rapper, Then Dumping Burned Body In Paramus Englewood Killer Sentenced To Life For Shooting Rapper, Then Dumping Burned Body In Paramus
Englewood Killer Sentenced To Life For Shooting Rapper, Then Dumping Burned Body In Paramus UPDATE: An ex-con convicted a second time of shooting an aspiring rapper in a vacant home in Englewood, then burning the body and dumping it on a quiet Paramus cul-de-sac was sentenced to life in prison, authorities said. "There is nothing more cowardly than shooting someone in the back," Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Gary Donatello said before Randy Manning was sentenced in Superior Court in Hackensack for killing Rhian “Kampane” Stoute in 2011. Manning was originally convicted for the same crime and sent to state prison for life in 2014, but he got the conviction overturned in 2020 …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Arsonist Left Trail Of Blood After Breaking Into Dad's Toms River Home: Prosecutor Arsonist Left Trail Of Blood After Breaking Into Dad's Toms River Home: Prosecutor
Arsonist Left Trail Of Blood After Breaking Into Dad's Toms River Home: Prosecutor A 45-year-old Ocean County man has been charged with breaking into his father's house, stealing a laptop and setting a fire inside the home, authorities said. John Voltolino, Jr., of Toms River, was charged with aggravated arson, burglary, theft, and criminal mischief, in connection with the incidents that occurred on Monday, Sept. 4, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to a residence on Sun Valley Road for a report of a burglary. The homeowner reported that his son broke into the re…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Arsonist Torched Somerset County Home: Prosecutor Arsonist Torched Somerset County Home: Prosecutor
Arsonist Torched Somerset County Home: Prosecutor A 25-year-old man was arrested for intentionally starting a fire at a Somerset County home, authorities announced Tuesday, Aug. 22. Paul Basta, of June Place in Manville, was charged with two counts of second-degree aggravated arson, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said in a joint release. Basta is accused of intentionally setting fire to a Manville home shortly before emergency crews responded around 3:40 a.m. on Monday, May 15. The fire was extinguished by the Manville Fire Department with help from the Manville Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s…

SHARE

by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Love Triangle: NYC Man Again Convicted Of Murdering Popular Teaneck Software Engineer Love Triangle: NYC Man Again Convicted Of Murdering Popular Teaneck Software Engineer
Love Triangle: NYC Man Again Convicted Of Murdering Popular Teaneck Software Engineer Jurors in Hackensack convicted a Manhattan man for a second time of brutally murdering a popular software engineer in his Teaneck home. Sui Kam "Tony" Tung was found guilty of all counts in the horrific killing of Robert Cantor, who authorities said was his estranged wife's lover, over a decade ago. Superior Court Judge Christopher Kazlau scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8. Tung faces a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Tung was found guilty of the same crimes in 2016, but a state appeals court overturned the convictions and sent the case…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco