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Police & Fire
‘Operation Reboot’: 7 Bergen Men, Juvenile Busted With 32,500 Child Porn Images ‘Operation Reboot’: 7 Bergen Men, Juvenile Busted With 32,500 Child Porn Images
‘Operation Reboot’: 7 Bergen Men, Juvenile Busted With 32,500 Child Porn Images Men from seven different Bergen County towns were busted with more than 32,500 child porn images combined -- among them, a trucker from Westwood who alone had 5,733 illegal files, authorities said. Detectives who participated in “Operation Reboot” arrested the men and a juvenile while seizing files from online accounts and electronic devices of victims “as young as infants and toddlers to pubescent children aged 13-16, in nude, semi-nude, or sexually explicit poses, including child rape videos and images,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Some of those nabbed trafficked images, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
New Rochelle Park Police Chief Nabs Thieves Who Bought 61 Money Orders For $55,000 In One Day New Rochelle Park Police Chief Nabs Thieves Who Bought 61 Money Orders For $55,000 In One Day
New Rochelle Park Police Chief Nabs Thieves Who Bought 61 Money Orders For $55,000 In One Day Two out-of-state thieves who illegally collected nearly $55,000 by purchasing 61 money orders at post offices throughout New Jersey in a single day were thwarted by newly-appointed Rochelle Park Police Chief Dean Pinto, authorities said. Pinto, who officially becomes chief this Saturday, was waiting on line at the borough post office Thursday when he saw one of the suspects buy a $1,000 money order with an apparent gift card. Appearing surprised that the transaction went through, the suspect requested another $1,000 money order. Pinto discreetly notified detectives, who stopped the pair. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: Released Porch Pirates Rob Bicyclist On Hackensack Street Authorities: Released Porch Pirates Rob Bicyclist On Hackensack Street
Authorities: Released Porch Pirates Rob Bicyclist On Hackensack Street Two men charged with stealing dozens of packages from residents' porches in several Bergen County towns robbed a bicyclist on a Hackensack street the same day they were released from custody, authorities said Wednesday. Rochelle Park police last Friday captured Kelvin Hernandez Brioso and Francisco Castillo Rodriguez, both 22 of Hackensack, following a string of package thefts. They sent both to the Bergen County Jail, only to have a judge release them following a detention hearing, authorities said. Just after 8:40 p.m. that same day, Brioso and Rodriguez grabbed an adult bicyclist near …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
IT'S OVER: Rochelle Park Detectives Nab Accused Porch Pirates, Recover 32 Packages From Pickup IT'S OVER: Rochelle Park Detectives Nab Accused Porch Pirates, Recover 32 Packages From Pickup
IT'S Over: Rochelle Park Detectives Nab Accused Porch Pirates, Recover 32 Packages From Pickup Spotting what had become a notorious white pickup truck, a Hackensack special police officer helped Rochelle Park detectives nab three accused porch pirates who they said snatched packages from residents in several Bergen County towns. They also found 32 stolen packages in the bed and cab of the 2015 Ford F-150. Rochelle Park Dispatcher Mike Columbini, who is also a Special Police Officer 2 in Hackensack, alerted Detective Sgt. James DePreta to the vehicle, which parked on a Hackensack street. He noticed its distinct window vent guards, tinted windows and a sticker on the front A-pillar t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ON THE LOOKOUT: Porch Pirates Swipe Packages In Several Bergen County Towns ON THE LOOKOUT: Porch Pirates Swipe Packages In Several Bergen County Towns
ON THE Lookout: Porch Pirates Swipe Packages In Several Bergen County Towns Police in several Bergen County towns were looking for a white pickup truck that victims in at least six towns say was involved in pirating packages from their porches. A Hasbrouck Heights resident said a thief stole a large box containing a chair that she and her husband bought for their children (see photos below). “It’s not even about the chair but more of a violation,” she said. Residents say the same new, white Ford F-150 was at the scene of similar thefts in Hackensack, Lyndhurst, Maywood and Rochelle Park, as well as in Nutley (the truck can be seen in the video above). The packag…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Murphy Praises Paramus 'RHONJ' Star, Coronavirus Survivor Jennifer Aydin For Distributing PPE Murphy Praises Paramus 'RHONJ' Star, Coronavirus Survivor Jennifer Aydin For Distributing PPE
Murphy Praises Paramus 'Rhonj' Star, Coronavirus Survivor Jennifer Aydin For Distributing PPE "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Jennifer Aydin is shining in another role -- donating vital personal protection equipment  (PPE) to frontline medical workers amid the coronavirus crisis. Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday gave one of his #NJThanksYou shoutouts to "Garden State hero" Aydin of Paramus, who recovered from the virus along with her daughter, Gabby. Aydin has been soliciting, rounding up and distributing PPE -- including 3,000 N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other critical workers, the governor said. "Thank you for keeping our frontline responders in your thoughts,'' Murp…

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by Jon Craig
Obituaries
Maywood Hall Of Famer Thomas Wright, 93, Dies Maywood Hall Of Famer Thomas Wright, 93, Dies
Maywood Hall Of Famer Thomas Wright, 93, Dies TRIBUTE: Longtime Maywood local theater writer and director Tom Wright died at a Bergen County nursing home this past week of what loved ones said was complications from the coronavirus. The Bronx-born Thomas James Wright, who would have turned 94 this Thursday, was a mainstay in Maywood, where he relished writing and directing of shows for charitable organizations, including the Our Lady Queen of Peace Church CYO and several other churches in Bergen County. He coordinated performances for more than 65 years, including last fall, with the Maywood Senior Citizens and the “Country Supper” a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Paramus 'RHONJ' Star Jennifer Aydin Tests Positive For Coronavirus Paramus 'RHONJ' Star Jennifer Aydin Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Paramus 'Rhonj' Star Jennifer Aydin Tests Positive For Coronavirus "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Jennifer Aydin has tested positive for coronavirus, she announced in an Instagram video Wednesday. In an Instagram live video Aydin of Paramus said she went to Rochelle Park's ShopRite, BJ's in Paramus and Corrado's in Paterson wearing a "flimsy" mask from her husband, surgeon Bill Aydin's office. Aydin said she thought she took all the necessary precautions, however, she didn't wipe down her groceries because she had so many. On Monday, March 30, the local mom started feeling extremely fatigued, she said, and begged her husband to bring home a test des…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
UPDATE: High-Speed Mahwah Pursuit Down Route 17 Ends In Crash, Arrest Of Career Burglar UPDATE: High-Speed Mahwah Pursuit Down Route 17 Ends In Crash, Arrest Of Career Burglar
Update: High-Speed Mahwah Pursuit Down Route 17 Ends In Crash, Arrest Of Career Burglar A high-speed Mahwah police pursuit ended in a crash and the arrest of a career burglar on Route 17 in Ramsey late Sunday, authorities said. Township police responding to an 11:15 p.m. call arrived as Mark C. Todd, 46, of Hackensack from Janek’s Market-Deli on Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202). Officer Martin Kilroy ordered him to stop, but Todd ran to a 1988 Oldsmobile parked on Reich Avenue and drove off on Ramapo Valley Road, nearly hitting a police cruiser driven by Officer Keith Iorio, Police Chief Stephen Jaffe said. A brief high-speed chase followed at speeds reportedly over 100 miles …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Accident Victim 'Runner' From Hudson Admits Role in $3.5M Insurance Fraud Bergen Accident Victim 'Runner' From Hudson Admits Role in $3.5M Insurance Fraud
Bergen Accident Victim 'Runner' From Hudson Admits Role in $3.5M Insurance Fraud A Hudson County man admitted in federal court on Tuesday that he recruited Bergen County traffic accident victims for an insurance fraud racket that racked up $3.5 million in bogus medical bills. Luis G. Aguirre, 59, of Kearny worked as a “runner,” identifying accident victims whom he then introduced to various chiropractors, medical imaging centers and others who billed PIP insurance plans for medically unnecessary services, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Health care providers gave Aguirre $500 in cash for each victim he delivered, the U.S. attorney said. Aguirre and an employee from…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Rochelle Park Vehicle Burglary Victim Beaten, Zapped With Stun Gun, Police Nab 3 Rochelle Park Vehicle Burglary Victim Beaten, Zapped With Stun Gun, Police Nab 3
Rochelle Park Vehicle Burglary Victim Beaten, Zapped With Stun Gun, Police Nab 3 A Rochelle Park car burglary victim was beaten and zapped with a stun gun when he followed one of three teen thieves, authorities said. Officers Brian Gallina and Jim Zenock arrested all three in connection with several vehicle burglaries early Sunday, they said. A victim in one of the break-ins followed a 16-year-old boy while calling police. The teen “violently attacked the victim, striking him several times and shocking him with a stun gun,” Detective Sgt. James M. DePreta said. Paramus and Maywood police helped their Rochelle Park colleagues catch the assailant, another 16-year-old bo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
VIDEO: Rochelle Park Burglary Suspect Looks Right At Surveillance Camera VIDEO: Rochelle Park Burglary Suspect Looks Right At Surveillance Camera
Video: Rochelle Park Burglary Suspect Looks Right At Surveillance Camera RECOGNIZE HIM? Rochelle Park police asked the public's help finding a burglary suspect. The man in the video above was wearing gloves and a hoodie and talking on a cellphone as he tested a rear patio door of a Somerville Street home between 7:30-8 p.m. Saturday, police said. At one point he can be seen looking directly into a surveillance camera. Police believe he may have fled in a grey or champagne-colored sedan.

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by Jerry DeMarco