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Police & Fire
Wood-Ridge Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching East Rutherford Grandmother Wood-Ridge Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching East Rutherford Grandmother
Wood-Ridge Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching East Rutherford Grandmother 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Questionable DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home may have gotten her killer a new trial, but it didn't change the outcome. For a second time, a jury in Hackensack convicted Daniel Rochat on Wednesday of all charges in the brutal September 2012 slaying of real estate agent Barbara Vernieri in her East Rutherford home. Rochat, 48, of Wood-Ridge was originally convicted in June 2017 of beating Vernieri, then pouring gasoline on her and around her home before setting it on fire to cover up the crime scene. Pros…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
BREAK IN, RINSE, REPEAT: Recidivist With 30-Year Sheet Busted For Burglaries In 4 Bergen Towns BREAK IN, RINSE, REPEAT: Recidivist With 30-Year Sheet Busted For Burglaries In 4 Bergen Towns
Break IN, Rinse, Repeat: Recidivist With 30-Year Sheet Busted For Burglaries In 4 Bergen Towns It never ends with some guys. Mark C. Todd, most recently of Hasbrouck Heights, just turned 50 amid what has been a three-decade-long string of burglaries, thefts and police pursuits in nearly a dozen Bergen County towns. It got to the point that detectives from Maywood, Carlstadt and Hasbrouck Heights all went together to arrest the ex-con at his home last Friday morning, April 12. He was charged with break-ins in Maywood, Carlstadt, Elmwood Park and Fair Lawn. Tood has remained held in the Bergen County Jail this past week based on the likelihood that he’ll be returned to prison. He sp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment
Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment A Teaneck tax preparer illegally collected $1.43 million for himself and $40 million for clients from the IRS by purposefully exploiting COVID-related credits that neither he nor they were entitled to, a federal indictment alleges. Leon Haynes, 50, was originally arrested on a criminal complaint last July. The investigation leading to the charges continued before a grand jury in Newark. The result: a 55-count indictment for tax evasion, preparing false returns, aggravated ID theft and mail fraud, authorities said. Haynes fraudulently sought more than $150 million from the IRS by claim…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
One Arrest Made During Gaza War Protest In Teaneck One Arrest Made During Gaza War Protest In Teaneck
One Arrest Made During Gaza War Protest In Teaneck FOLLOW UP: An Upper Manhattanite was the only person arrested at a large demonstration outside a Teaneck synagogue, authorities said. Pro-Palestinian protestors faced off against Jewish counter-demonstrators during a fundraiser on Monday, April 1, at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun on West Englewood Avenue. The private event featured a representative of ZAKA, a Jewish group that collects body parts and blood for burial at the scenes of accidents and terrorist attacks. After American Muslims for Palestine and Within Our Lifetime announced plans to picket the event, township authorities took the …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Vape Store Owner, Clerk Cited For Selling To Underage Buyers: Police Teaneck Vape Store Owner, Clerk Cited For Selling To Underage Buyers: Police
Teaneck Vape Store Owner, Clerk Cited For Selling To Underage Buyers: Police The 25-year-old owner of a Teaneck vape store and one of his clerks were cited for selling to minors, authorities said. "After receiving complaints from residents about the sale of vape products to minors and the sale of prohibited vape items, Teaneck police detectives conducted an undercover operation," Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr said. "The operation involved the attempted purchase of vape products from 13 retail establishments," the chief said. Of those businesses, only one -- All the Smoke on Cedar Lane -- allowed customers under 21 to buy vape products, violating state law, McG…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hackensack Rapper Charged With Punching Security Guard At Teaneck Purim Celebration Hackensack Rapper Charged With Punching Security Guard At Teaneck Purim Celebration
Hackensack Rapper Charged With Punching Security Guard At Teaneck Purim Celebration A trespasser punched a security guard during a Purim celebration at a Jewish high school in Teaneck before he was subdued and turned over to police, authorities said. Nakieme Murphy – a 29-year-old aspiring rapper from Hackensack who goes by the name “Kieme Lynx” – entered Hiechal HaTorah High School on Sterling Place just after midnight Sunday, March 24, said Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr. Murphy refused to leave and was being escorted to an exit when he punched the officer, the chief said. Security staff and event attendees subdued Murphy and held him for police. They charged M…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Teen Swipes Gun At Tenafly House Party: Police Teaneck Teen Swipes Gun At Tenafly House Party: Police
Teaneck Teen Swipes Gun At Tenafly House Party: Police An 18-year-old Teaneck resident attending a small gathering in Tenafly stole a handgun from the home, authorities said. Tenafly police arrested Byron Jones on Wednesday, March 28, and charged him with taking the gun on Feb. 3, Capt. Michael deMoncada said. "The victim in that case realized that a personally owned firearm was missing after a family member hosted a small gathering at the home," deMoncada said. Detectives conducted a thorough investigation leading to Jones's arrest on charges of theft and illegal possession of a handgun, the captain said. He remained held Thursday in the Ber…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hackensack Grade School Custodian, 76, Charged With Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Girl Hackensack Grade School Custodian, 76, Charged With Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Girl
Hackensack Grade School Custodian, 76, Charged With Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Girl A 76-year-old custodian at a grade school in Hackensack was charged with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl. Phillip A. Porter of Hackensack is accused of rubbing the child’s breasts and vagina and putting his penis in her mouth, according to a complaint filed in Superior Court. Special Victims Unit detectives arrested Porter on Monday, March 25, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He remained held Tuesday in the Bergen County Jail. Porter is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by contact and child endangerment. The 6-foot-3-inch, 165-pound Porter, formerly …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Troubled Teaneck Man Hospitalized In Custody Again After Assault: Police Troubled Teaneck Man Hospitalized In Custody Again After Assault: Police
Troubled Teaneck Man Hospitalized In Custody Again After Assault: Police A mentally ill Teaneck man with a history of violent episodes was hospitalized in police custody after authorities said he cut another man’s neck and arm with a flash drive during a fight. Camwren Cole, 25, was taken for what over the past few years has become a series of psychiatric evaluations at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, March 23. It followed what police said was an assault at Cole's Kipp Street home. The victim was treated at the scene by members of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps and refused further medical attention, Police Chief Andrew Mc…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Quintet From PA, NC Nabbed By Teaneck Detectives With Three Kilos Of Coke Off NJ Turnpike Quintet From PA, NC Nabbed By Teaneck Detectives With Three Kilos Of Coke Off NJ Turnpike
Quintet From PA, NC Nabbed By Teaneck Detectives With Three Kilos Of Coke Off NJ Turnpike Teaneck police seized three kilos of cocaine along with three men from Pennsylvania and two from North Carolina during a traffic stop. Two vehicles traveling together were stopped by township detectives near the Glenpointe complex just off the New Jersey Turnpike during a drug investigation, Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr said. The 6½ pounds of coke had an estimated street value of about $60,000, the chief said. Taken into custody, he said, were Elias Reyes-Diaz, 42, Nelson Ramos-Claudio, 29, and Osvaldo Reyes-Jimenez, 28, all of Reading, PA, and Gastonia, NC residents Ramon Pumarol-Ro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Convicted Child Porn Collector From Teaneck Imprisoned After Doing It Again: Prosecutor Convicted Child Porn Collector From Teaneck Imprisoned After Doing It Again: Prosecutor
Convicted Child Porn Collector From Teaneck Imprisoned After Doing It Again: Prosecutor A 66-year-old parole violator from Teaneck who spent several months behind bars for collecting child porn probably won’t be released very soon. Leonard Liebman initially avoided state prison and got off with time served – a little over 10 months in the Bergen County Jail – following a 2018 conviction for possession of child pornography, records show. State parole officers took Liebman into custody again in Teaneck this past Nov. 28 after finding proof that he was at it again, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. After a week in the county lockup, he was sent to Southwoods State Pris…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Only Two Arrests Made At Trouble-Free Israeli Real Estate Protest In Teaneck, Police Chief Says Only Two Arrests Made At Trouble-Free Israeli Real Estate Protest In Teaneck, Police Chief Says
Only Two Arrests Made At Trouble-Free Israeli Real Estate Protest In Teaneck, Police Chief Says Two out-of-towners were arrested after they threw liquid on protestors near the end of a controversial Israeli real estate showcase at a Teaneck synagogue, authorities said. The two assaults were the only incidents after what had been several hours of orderly demonstrations on Sunday, March 10, that drew thousands of participants and onlookers. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war stoked concerns over staging such an event, which reportedly involved information on some properties in West Bank settlements that the United States has considered illegal. The protests weren't only two-sided. Boyd A…

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by Jerry DeMarco