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LOWLIFE SLIME: Scammer With 'Child Support Issues' Swindles Well-Meaning Woman Out Of $1,500 LOWLIFE SLIME: Scammer With 'Child Support Issues' Swindles Well-Meaning Woman Out Of $1,500
Lowlife Slime: Scammer With 'Child Support Issues' Swindles Well-Meaning Woman Out Of $1,500 A lowlife with a BS story about child support troubles conned a well-meaning woman out of $1,500 outside a Clifton bank, authorities said. The 20-something scammer approached the 62-year-old Belleville resident at the ATM of the Citibank at the River Front Center shopping mall on westbound Route 3 in the afternoon on Sunday, April 2, Police Lt. Robert Bracken said. In his hand was a check that he said he needed to cash but couldn't because of "child support issues," the lieutenant said. After depositing the check into her own account, the woman transferred $1,500 via Zelle to the stranger,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Devil-Masked Visitor Pranks Supervisor, Triggers Scare At Major Testing Lab In Elmwood Park Devil-Masked Visitor Pranks Supervisor, Triggers Scare At Major Testing Lab In Elmwood Park
Devil-Masked Visitor Pranks Supervisor, Triggers Scare At Major Testing Lab In Elmwood Park UPDATE: A Westchester County resident who works at one of the largest clinical testing labs in the U.S. triggered a large emergency response Friday when she walked into the Bergen County building wearing a devil mask, handed a supervisor a jar of salsa with her name on it and left without saying a word, authorities said. Ray Greenwald, 27, of Ardsley, NY, and the supervisor at BioReference Laboratories just off Route 80 in Elmwood didn't know one another and apparently had never met before, Police Chief Michael Foligno said. However, Greenwald, who works in another building, told police sh…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Silent Clown-Masked Visitor Leaves Suspicious Item At Major Testing Lab In Elmwood Park Silent Clown-Masked Visitor Leaves Suspicious Item At Major Testing Lab In Elmwood Park
Silent Clown-Masked Visitor Leaves Suspicious Item At Major Testing Lab In Elmwood Park UPDATE: A Westchester County resident who works at one of the largest clinical testing labs in the U.S. triggered a large emergency response Friday when she walked into the Bergen County building wearing a devil mask, handed a supervisor a jar of salsa with her name on it and left without saying a word, authorities said. Ray Greenwald, 27, of Ardsley, NY, and the supervisor at BioReference Laboratories just off Route 80 in Elmwood didn't know one another and apparently had never met before, Police Chief Michael Foligno said. However, Greenwald, who works in another building, told police sh…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
SEE ANYTHING? Armed Invaders Duct Tape 73-Year-Old Clifton Grandma's Mouth, Wrists, Ankles SEE ANYTHING? Armed Invaders Duct Tape 73-Year-Old Clifton Grandma's Mouth, Wrists, Ankles
SEE Anything? Armed Invaders Duct Tape 73-Year-Old Clifton Grandma's Mouth, Wrists, Ankles A 73-year-old Clifton woman working on an arts and crafts project was thrown to the floor and had her mouth, wrist and ankles bound in her own duct tape by two home invaders, one of whom was armed, authorities said. Officers responding to a noontime call of a home invasion in progress on Linden Avenue found the robbers gone and the victim on the living-room floor on Sunday, March 26, Clifton Police Lt. Robert Bracken said. "Her mouth, wrist and ankles had been bound in duct tape," the lieutenant said. The officers freed the victim, who told them she originally thought nothing of sound…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mom Found Burned Dead In Vacant Lot ID'd As NJ Woman — Now Police Hope To Find Her Daughter Mom Found Burned Dead In Vacant Lot ID'd As NJ Woman — Now Police Hope To Find Her Daughter
Mom Found Burned Dead In Vacant Lot ID'd As NJ Woman — Now Police Hope To Find Her Daughter Known for 30 years as the "Girl with the Scorpion Tattoo," the unidentified victim found brutally murdered on Staten Island has been identified as a New Jersey woman — with a daughter whom authorities are hoping to find. Christine Belusko of Clifton was handcuffed, strangled, beaten and burned in a Staten Island lot, the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office said. In the weeks leading up to her killing, she had been staying at a Mount Airy Lodge near Mount Pocono, PA, authorities said. Now, investigators hope to find Belusko's daughter, Christa Nicole, who would have been two…

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by Jon Craig
News
Three-Time North Jersey Bank Robber Convicted Of Cellphone Store Holdup Three-Time North Jersey Bank Robber Convicted Of Cellphone Store Holdup
Three-Time North Jersey Bank Robber Convicted Of Cellphone Store Holdup An ex-con from Essex County who served 13½ years in federal prison for holding up banks in Fair Lawn, Clifton and Belleville within weeks of one another was convicted Monday of robbing an East Orange cellphone store at gunpoint just two months after his release. Kenneth Graham, 50, of Newark, was wearing a black mask and blue jeans when he entered the downtown Boost Mobile store on Central Avenue and announced a robbery in the middle of the afternoon on Jan. 18, 2021, federal prosecutors said. Graham pointed a gun at a store employee, who was ordered to place several cell phones from a dis…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Can You Read Clifton Native Rachel Zegler's Lips On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live?' Can You Read Clifton Native Rachel Zegler's Lips On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live?'
Can You Read Clifton Native Rachel Zegler's Lips On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live?' New Jersey's Rachel Zegler appears to be in complete shock as she walks on the set of "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Wearing a little black dress and a great, big smile, the Clifton native appears to mouth "What is happening?" as she makes her way toward the host on the March 14 taping. The 21-year-old actress had her big Hollywood break at just 16 years old, when she was cast as Maria in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story." Seems like the reality of stardom is still sinking in for Zegler. View this post on Instagram A post shared by rachel zegler (…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28 These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28
These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28 The first winter storm of the season is causing a change in plans for New Jersey schools on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Some districts have delayed openings while others are closed completely. Here's a list of which school are closed or delayed for Tuesday, Feb. 28. Check your school/district's website for details. Bedminster: 10: 50 a.m. start Bellville: Delayed Bergen County Tech: Closed Bergenfield: 2-hour delay Bernards: 2-hour delay Bloomfield: Delay Bloomingdale: Closed Bogota: Delayed Butler: Closed Cliffside Park: 10 a.m. start Clifton: Delayed Closter: Delayed Cresskill: Delayed Demarest: …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Plump Fragrance Thieves Flee Bergen Mall Ulta In U-Haul, Store's 3rd Big Theft In Two Months Plump Fragrance Thieves Flee Bergen Mall Ulta In U-Haul, Store's 3rd Big Theft In Two Months
Plump Fragrance Thieves Flee Bergen Mall Ulta In U-Haul, Store's 3rd Big Theft In Two Months Whether the fragrances sold at Ulta stores achieve their purpose is open to question, but one thing's for sure: They attract thieves. For the second time this month -- and the third in nine weeks -- thieves hit the Ulta Beauty Store on the Maywood side of Bergen Town Center. This time it was women, two of them, both black, heavyset and wearing hats and masks, Maywood Police Chief Terence Kenny said. The getaway car? A U-Haul truck. The brazen pair fled south on Route 17 after snatching $3,500 worth of fragrances shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the chief said. Responding officers who …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Thieves Steal Teresa Giudice's Car Day New Season Of 'RHONJ' Premiers: Police Thieves Steal Teresa Giudice's Car Day New Season Of 'RHONJ' Premiers: Police
Thieves Steal Teresa Giudice's Car Day New Season Of 'Rhonj' Premiers: Police "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice had her vehicle stolen from her driveway on Tuesday, Feb. 7 — the day that the 13th season of the show premiered on Bravo, police confirm. The police department got a report from Giudice that her vehicle had been stolen from her Montville property, Police Chief Andrew Caggiano said. Sources with direct knowledge of the incident say Clifton police chased the Mercedes S580 4MATIC into Newark, but terminated the pursuit. The vehicle had been gifted by husband Luis Ruelas. The case is under investigation and all leads are being foll…

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by Jon Craig & Cecilia Levine
News
Wheel Operators At American Dream, Three Other NJ Businesses Accused Of Exploiting Customers Wheel Operators At American Dream, Three Other NJ Businesses Accused Of Exploiting Customers
Wheel Operators At American Dream, Three Other NJ Businesses Accused Of Exploiting Customers The operators of the Dreamwheel at the American Dream Mall have been cited for forcing customers who want to pay cash to buy gift cards with surcharges, state authorities said. Skyviews of America, LLC, which operates the ferris wheel at the East Rutherford mall, was among four businesses that New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said received violation notices for either not accepting cash or charging a credit card surcharge without properly notifying consumers. Similar notices – in this case for not disclosing card surcharges – also went to Ronnie’s Hot Bagels in Hillsdale and S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Clifton Man, 26, Federally Charged In Bloomfield Synagogue Firebombing: Police Clifton Man, 26, Federally Charged In Bloomfield Synagogue Firebombing: Police
Clifton Man, 26, Federally Charged In Bloomfield Synagogue Firebombing: Police A 26-year-old Clifton man has been federally charged with trying to firebomb an Essex County synagogue, authorities said. Nicholas Malindretos was charged by complaint with one count of attempted use of fire to damage and destroy a building used in interstate commerce in connection with the 3:20 a.m. incident Sunday, Jan. 29 at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. A search was under way for the man who tried to throw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a North Jersey synagogue Sunday, Jan. 29.Bloomfield PD Surveillance cameras at the synagogue rec…

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by Cecilia Levine