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IDA: Firefighters Cut Hole In Paterson Bridge To Rescue Man Trapped In Passaic River Below IDA: Firefighters Cut Hole In Paterson Bridge To Rescue Man Trapped In Passaic River Below
IDA: Firefighters Cut Hole In Paterson Bridge To Rescue Man Trapped In Passaic River Below During a night full of rescues, one of the most dramatic occurred at a bridge over the swollen Passaic River. City firefighters cut a hole in the deck of the Temple Street bridge off Presidential Boulevard in Paterson to rescue a man who'd become stuck beneath it late Wednesday as a relentless downpour brought by Tropical Storm Ida bombarded New Jersey. How he ended up there wasn't immediately clear. His rescuers found the victim alert and conscious after cutting a small survey hole, responders said. They carved out a larger space using jackhammers and other heavy equipment to get the man…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling $75,000 From Passaic County Tile, Grout Company Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling $75,000 From Passaic County Tile, Grout Company
Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling $75,000 From Passaic County Tile, Grout Company The bookkeeper at a Passaic County tile and grout company embezzled more than $75,000 from her employer, authorities charged. Yvette Tripicchio, 47, of Hawthorne, was charged with two counts of theft in an indictment returned by a grand jury in Paterson, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Tripicchio deposited checks from GSD Industries in Pompton Lakes into her personal bank accounts, then “tampered with company records in an attempt to hide the theft,” the prosecutor said.  Valdes didn't disclose the suspected motive. Records show Tripicchio had taken a job as a lunch…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Baker Who Competed On Food Network Opening Bergen County Cake Shop Baker Who Competed On Food Network Opening Bergen County Cake Shop
Baker Who Competed On Food Network Opening Bergen County Cake Shop A Fair Lawn native who appeared in several Food Network competitions is now opening a cake shop of her very own. Cristina Vazquez made her television debut as the youngest finalist on Season 4 of Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship at the age of 24. She also competed on the network’s first seasons of Halloween Cake Off Champion and Big Time Bake Winner. Now 27, Vasquez — a proud Cuban-Puerto Rican living in Hawthorne — is breaking into the bakery scene with the launch of her new Glen Rock cake shop, Petal Dust Cakery. View this post on Instagram …

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by Valerie Musson
News
FAMILY AFFAIR: Drug-Dealing Brothers Nabbed With Wayne PD Help, Passaic Sheriff Says FAMILY AFFAIR: Drug-Dealing Brothers Nabbed With Wayne PD Help, Passaic Sheriff Says
Family Affair: Drug-Dealing Brothers Nabbed With Wayne PD Help, Passaic Sheriff Says Passaic County sheriff’s officers and Wayne police seized more than 550 heroin folds and 63 bags of crack while busting two brothers who they said dealt drugs out of an apartment on a street between two Paterson schools. Investigators watched both Anton and Naheem Porter sling from the two-family home on Seeley Street, between Paterson Eastside High School and Public School No. 15 near Roberto Clemente Park, during the course of a two-month investigation, Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said Wednesday. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Naheem Porter, 27, who lead police on a brief foot c…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Longtime North Jersey Bakery 'Rispoli's' Opening Hawthorne Location Longtime North Jersey Bakery 'Rispoli's' Opening Hawthorne Location
Longtime North Jersey Bakery 'Rispoli's' Opening Hawthorne Location Bergen County bakery Rispoli’s Italian Pastry Shop is expanding to Passaic County with the opening of a new location in Hawthorne. With stores in Ridgefield and Emerson, Rispoli’s dates back to 1937 and spans three generations, its website says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tony Mangia (@tonymangia) The new store is opening at 1103 Goffle Rd. in Hawthorne, according to BoozyBurbs. The longtime bakery is known for its huge selection of classic pastries and sweet treats like eclairs, cannolis, cream puffs, tiramisu and more.…

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by Valerie Musson
Obituaries
Support Surges For Family Mourning Loss Of Passaic County Mom Nicole Fierro, 48 Support Surges For Family Mourning Loss Of Passaic County Mom Nicole Fierro, 48
Support Surges For Family Mourning Loss Of Passaic County Mom Nicole Fierro, 48 Nicole Patricia Fierro of Hawthorne died on April 29, 2021. She was 48 years old. A GoFundMe launched for Fierro's children had raised more than $10,300 as of May 5. Fierro was hospitalized with COVID-19 in late April and within days was put on a ventilator, according to campaign founder Michelle Mattioli, a friend of one of Fierro's daughters. "Nicole was an amazing mother," Mattioli said. "She raised some of the most amazing people I know.  "She was also one of the most hard working, caring and selfless people I know. She went above and beyond to always make you feel like one…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Driver, 20, Charged In Wrong-Way Route 20 Paterson Crash That Killed Passenger, 22 Driver, 20, Charged In Wrong-Way Route 20 Paterson Crash That Killed Passenger, 22
Driver, 20, Charged In Wrong-Way Route 20 Paterson Crash That Killed Passenger, 22 UPDATE: A 20-year-old wrong-way driver was charged in a head-on predawn crash on Route 20 in Paterson that killed his 22-year-old passenger. City resident Dwayne Smalls was driving a 2019 Kia Forte north in the southbound lanes of the highway when it collided with a 2016 Honda Accord driven by a 63-year-old Fair Lawn man at 17th Avenue shortly before 5 a.m. Feb. 24, authorities said. The Accord was then struck by a 2010 Ford Escape driven by a Hawthorne woman, they said. Critically injured in the crash was Marquise Samuels, also of Paterson, who died three days later at St. Joseph’s Region…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bail Hearing Set For Mahwah DPW Worker Charged With DWI While Awaiting Trial In Child Sex Case Bail Hearing Set For Mahwah DPW Worker Charged With DWI While Awaiting Trial In Child Sex Case
Bail Hearing Set For Mahwah DPW Worker Charged With DWI While Awaiting Trial In Child Sex Case UPDATE: A judge in Hackensack will determine whether bail should be revoked for a Mahwah municipal employee who was charged with DWI while awaiting trial for an alleged sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl. Brian Potter, 43, was driving a township truck when Hawthorne police said they busted him in January. Potter had been freed by a judge in Hackensack pending trial four years ago after Bergen County prosecutor's detectives charged him with sexually assaulting the girl. One of the stipulations of his release was that Potter refrain from consuming drugs or alcohol. Potter was stopped on L…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Police: Mahwah DPW Worker Awaiting Trial In Child Sex Assault Case Was DWI In Township Truck Police: Mahwah DPW Worker Awaiting Trial In Child Sex Assault Case Was DWI In Township Truck
Police: Mahwah DPW Worker Awaiting Trial In Child Sex Assault Case Was DWI In Township Truck A Mahwah municipal employee who’s been free on bail on charges of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl was busted for DWI while driving a township truck in Hawthorne, authorities confirmed. Whether this will cost Brian Potter, 43, his freedom before trial had yet to be determined. One of the stipulations of his bail release was that Potter refrain from consuming drugs or alcohol. A Superior Court judge in Hackensack is scheduled to hear a request by Pre-Trial Services to revoke Potter's bail on March 18, an assistant Bergen County prosecutor said Thursday. Potter was stopped on Lafayett…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Oradell Police Officer Charged With Stealing Prescription Meds From Public Drop Box Oradell Police Officer Charged With Stealing Prescription Meds From Public Drop Box
Oradell Police Officer Charged With Stealing Prescription Meds From Public Drop Box An Oradell police officer stole prescription medications from a secure drop box designed for the public to safely dispose of drugs, authorities charged. Jeffrey Peters, 41, of Hawthorne “gained access on several occasions and removed prescription narcotics” from the locked drop box in the police department lobby, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Tuesday. Peters, who joined the department in 2016, was suspended with pay pending the outcome of the charges, the prosecutor said. He was released pending a Feb. 10 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
PD: Passaic Woman Who Crashed SUV Into Convenience Store Goes On Rampage At Hawthorne 7-Eleven PD: Passaic Woman Who Crashed SUV Into Convenience Store Goes On Rampage At Hawthorne 7-Eleven
PD: Passaic Woman Who Crashed SUV Into Convenience Store Goes On Rampage At Hawthorne 7-Eleven A Passaic woman who made headlines when her SUV plowed into the front of a Bronx gas station convenience store went on a rampage at a Hawthorne 7-Eleven that continued at police headquarters, authorities said Wednesday. Police were called after Santa Moya, 23, stole cigarettes from the Goffle Road store and a clerk tried to stop her, Detective Lt. Matthew Hoogmoed said. Moya was tangling with the employee in the parking lot when officers pulled up, he said. The clerk's head was bleeding after some of her hair had been ripped out, a witness said. Moya then “became irate and hostile towards…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hawthorne, Glen Rock Officers Capture Quartet Who Crashed Stolen Ridgewood Lexus Hawthorne, Glen Rock Officers Capture Quartet Who Crashed Stolen Ridgewood Lexus
Hawthorne, Glen Rock Officers Capture Quartet Who Crashed Stolen Ridgewood Lexus Hawthorne and Glen Rock police captured a quartet of juveniles from three counties -- two of them 15 years old -- after they crashed a Lexus stolen out of Ridgewood during a brief overnight chase Monday. Glen Rock police tried to stop the car, but the driver hit the gas and continued into Hawthorne, crashing on Parker Avenue shortly after 12:30 a.m., Hawthorne Police Capt. Robert King said. The four occupants immediately bailed, he said. Hawthorne officers chased down three of them in a backyard on Rea Avenue after they ran there from 11the Avenue, King said. Glen Rock police nabbed the f…

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by Jerry DeMarco