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Police & Fire
Pedestrian Critically Hurt Outside Of Crosswalk On Jersey Shore: Police Pedestrian Critically Hurt Outside Of Crosswalk On Jersey Shore: Police
Pedestrian Critically Hurt Outside Of Crosswalk On Jersey Shore: Police A pedestrian was critically hurt in a crash on the Jersey Shore, authorities said. At 9:31 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 10, Toms River police and EMS units were dispatched to the intersection of Route 37 and River Drive. The initial investigation revealed that a 42 male from Lodi stepped into traffic, outside of the crosswalk, and was hit by a vehicle traveling eastbound, police said. There were no signs of impairment on the driver, who remained at the scene, police said. The pedestrian was flown to Jersey Shore Medical University for treatment of his injuries and was listed in critical condition.&…

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by Jon Craig
News
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report The number of brutal murder confessions continues to mount for imprisoned New Jersey serial killer Richard Cottingham, who reportedly is scheduled to plead guilty to five more killings, all of women on Long Island. Cottingham, now 76, has been serving multiple life sentences in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, NJ, for more than four decades for killing six Garden State women between 1967 and 1980. He's spent a considerable part of that time lately claiming he's committed several other killings. “For a long time now I have been trying to understand the darkness that enveloped my soul…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
DMV Imposter Dupes Victims Out Of $1,500 To $2,000 Each, More Pawns Possible, Lodi PD Says DMV Imposter Dupes Victims Out Of $1,500 To $2,000 Each, More Pawns Possible, Lodi PD Says
DMV Imposter Dupes Victims Out Of $1,500 To $2,000 Each, More Pawns Possible, Lodi PD Says A con artist impersonating a DMV employee took dozens of unsuspecting customers for a ride, fleecing them out of tens of thousands of dollars, before Lodi police put the brakes on the heartless scheme, authorities said. Mohammad A. Aburomi, 61, actually had his victims meet him at the agency's offices in Lodi and Wayne, where he promised to help them cut the line for payments of $1,500 to $2,000 each, investigators found. "He had a two-way radio and all the garb, including a black shirt that identified him as a DMV worker," Lodi Police Sgt. Dominic Miller said. "He even had applications tha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
LODI FATAL: Electrician From Hudson County Falls To His Death At Construction Site LODI FATAL: Electrician From Hudson County Falls To His Death At Construction Site
Lodi Fatal: Electrician From Hudson County Falls To His Death At Construction Site An electrician fell 40 feet to his death at a Lodi construction site. The 43-year-old outside contractor from Guttenberg was in cardiac arrest while being transported to Hackensack University Medical Center with a head injury following the 11:40 a.m. mishap Friday, Sept. 9, on Industrial Road. Fellow workers had done their best to tend to him before responders arrived, Lodi Police Sgt. Dominic Miller said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, Miller said. The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification responded to collect evidence and OSHA was notified, he said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Lodi Schools Chief Arrested On Assault Charges At Jersey Shore Lodi Schools Chief Arrested On Assault Charges At Jersey Shore
Lodi Schools Chief Arrested On Assault Charges At Jersey Shore Lodi Schools Supt. Douglas Petty punched a woman in the face and then fought with a man who came to her aid on a Seaside Heights street in the middle of the night, authorities said. A Heights police officer reported seeing Petty, 46, of Morris Plains, punch the woman in the head with a closed fist near the corner of Sumner Avenue and Boulevard shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 25. A man approached and got into a fistfight with Petty, the officer wrote in a complaint on file in Superior Court in Toms River. The victim -- whose name was withheld -- had an undisclosed relationship with t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Pre-Dawn Fire Destroys Lodi Home Pre-Dawn Fire Destroys Lodi Home
Pre-Dawn Fire Destroys Lodi Home Fire engulfed a home in Lodi overnight. No injuries were reported in the blaze, which apparently was ignited outside the rear of the 2½-story home on Blueridge Road shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27. Firefighters were forced into an exterior attack as flames quickly spread through the house, collapsing the roof. The fire ignited out back of the Blueridge Road home in Lodi and spread quickly.Damien Danis for DAILY VOICE They were also hampered by early water issues. Even after the bulk of the blaze was knocked down, they were dousing flames past daybreak. Firefighters were for…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
CAUGHT IN THE ACT: Lodi Woman Comes Home Early, Tangles With BF's Sidepiece CAUGHT IN THE ACT: Lodi Woman Comes Home Early, Tangles With BF's Sidepiece
Caught IN THE ACT: Lodi Woman Comes Home Early, Tangles With BF's Sidepiece Someone came home earlier than expected, leading to a confrontation between two women in a Lodi apartment, authorities said. The tenant found her boyfriend with a bedmate at Charles Street and Harrison Avenue shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday, responders said. They got into it, leaving the tenant with a slight injury and the sidepiece gone. Lodi Police Sgt. Dominic Miller confirmed that "a random incident turned physical" but said there wasn't much more to it. The two tangled, with the victim sustaining a superficial cut and the visitor fleeing, he said. There wasn't a stabbing, as some …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
'Jersey Gyros' Owner Dreamt Of Opening Shop Since Visiting Uncle's In Greece — So He Did 'Jersey Gyros' Owner Dreamt Of Opening Shop Since Visiting Uncle's In Greece — So He Did
'Jersey Gyros' Owner Dreamt Of Opening Shop Since Visiting Uncle's In Greece — So He Did Opening his own gyro shop has been on Mike Tolos' mind ever since he visited his uncle's spot in Greece as a kid. It was a hole-in-the-wall type place in Thessaloniki, and as soon as Tolos walked in, he was hit with the aroma of pork and chicken roasting on the skewers. What he enjoyed most about visiting the shop, though, was seeing the love that his uncle put into it, because he felt the same passion himself. "My uncle did it from love," said Tolos, 39, of Cliffside Park. "The dedication that he has fell on me." Tolos signed the lease for Jersey Gyros on Main Street in Lodi last March.…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
WHAT A HERO LOOKS LIKE: Hasbrouck Heights Police Officer Rescues Woman In Wheelchair From Fire WHAT A HERO LOOKS LIKE: Hasbrouck Heights Police Officer Rescues Woman In Wheelchair From Fire
What A Hero Looks Like: Hasbrouck Heights Police Officer Rescues Woman In Wheelchair From Fire Flames rolled across the ceiling and smoke filled the home as Hasbrouck Heights Police Officer Christopher Connors dashed upstairs and carried a 65-year-old woman in a wheelchair to safety on Monday. The two-alarm fire broke out in the kitchen and quickly spread to the second floor of the Baldwin Terrace home shortly before 5 p.m. An 84-year-old family member met Connors as he arrived and pointed him to the trapped woman on the second floor, Hasbrouck Heights Police Sgt. John Behr said. Connors then carried her down to the front lawn, where he and she were treated by EMS.  Both appear…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Trucker Charged With Tossing Molotov Cocktails On Roof Of NJ Strip Club Trucker Charged With Tossing Molotov Cocktails On Roof Of NJ Strip Club
Trucker Charged With Tossing Molotov Cocktails On Roof Of NJ Strip Club A truck driver who apparently had a beef with a strip club in Lodi tossed Molotov cocktails onto the roof of the business, authorities said. Andy Pena, 41, who lives in town was arrested Thursday and charged with aggravated arson, attempting to cause widespread injury or damage and weapons possession, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced. He was sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of July 8 at the Harem Cabaret on southbound Route 17 beneath the Route 80 ov…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Albanian Who Fled Persecution In Former Yugoslavia Charged With Hauling 68 Pounds Of Pot In NJ Albanian Who Fled Persecution In Former Yugoslavia Charged With Hauling 68 Pounds Of Pot In NJ
Albanian Who Fled Persecution In Former Yugoslavia Charged With Hauling 68 Pounds Of Pot In NJ A native Albanian who found asylum after entering the United States illegally more than two decades ago was charged with transporting 68 pounds of pot through Bergen County. Flamor Djokovic, a 37-year-old restaurant owner from Michigan, was stopped and arrested in Lodi on Tuesday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Djokovic was 14 when his family smuggled him out of the former Yugoslavia in 1999 amid what their lawyer at the time said was persecution for their political and social activities -- specifically for helping Albanians in Montenegro and providing safe passage to Albania f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall
Notorious NJ Serial Killer Charged With Murder Of Dance Teacher At Popular Long Island Mall Another female victim has been added to the list of imprisoned 75-year-old New Jersey serial killer Richard Cottingham, thanks to advances in DNA technology. Cottingham was arraigned on Long Island via videoconference Wednesday from South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton for the 1968 slaying of a New Hyde Park woman in the parking lot of the popular Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. He entered a not-guilty plea to murder charges in the death of Diane Cusick, a 23-year-old divorced single mom who worked as a dance instructor. Cottingham, a married father of three who’d lived in Lodi and wor…

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by Jerry DeMarco