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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
'Ruthless' Brick City Brims Druglord From Montclair Convicted Of Three Murders, More 'Ruthless' Brick City Brims Druglord From Montclair Convicted Of Three Murders, More
'Ruthless' Brick City Brims Druglord From Montclair Convicted Of Three Murders, More The leader of a notorious Essex County street gang that dominated the region's drug trade was convicted by a federal jury of three murders, among other counts, authorities said. Michael Healy, 43, of Montclair, "ruthlessly ordered murders so that he could protect his narcotics operation and continue to sell large quantities of dangerous [drugs],” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said after federal jurors in Newark returned their verdicts on Wednesday, April 3. Healy "recruited men to kill someone he thought was an informant, and even when they killed the wrong person – a bystander – he ord…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Sports
Dan Hurley Reflects On Jersey City Lessons, Dad's 'Tough Love' Before NCAA Final Four Dan Hurley Reflects On Jersey City Lessons, Dad's 'Tough Love' Before NCAA Final Four
Dan Hurley Reflects On Jersey City Lessons, Dad's 'Tough Love' Before NCAA Final Four Dan Hurley is never shy when telling people what he learned growing up in Jersey City has helped him reach the top of the college basketball world. The UConn men's head basketball coach has led the Huskies to back-to-back Final Fours for the first time in program history.  UConn's dominant run to Glendale, AZ, was capped off with a second-half avalanche of points in the Huskies' 77-52 win over Illinois in the Elite Eight on Saturday, Mar. 30. And the Hurley family is a basketball dynasty in the Garden State, started by Dan's father Bob Hurley Sr. at the now-closed St. Anthony High Sch…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Ridgewood Contractor Who Ducked Taxes On $3.27 Million Charged In 18-Count Indictment: Feds Ridgewood Contractor Who Ducked Taxes On $3.27 Million Charged In 18-Count Indictment: Feds
Ridgewood Contractor Who Ducked Taxes On $3.27 Million Charged In 18-Count Indictment: Feds A Bergen County contractor avoided taxes on $3.275 million in income over six years through a scheme that the IRS sniffed out, federal authorities said. John Constantino, 67, of Ridgewood, ended up stiffing the government out of $682,735 in corporate and personal income taxes, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said. As sole owner and president, Constantino took steps to conceal both his personal income and assets and those of his fireproofing and painting business between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. attorney said. For starters, Constantino used a false address on his driver’s licen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Five Teens Arrested In Ocean County After Stealing Luxury SUV In North Jersey: Police Five Teens Arrested In Ocean County After Stealing Luxury SUV In North Jersey: Police
Five Teens Arrested In Ocean County After Stealing Luxury SUV In North Jersey: Police Five teens were accused of stealing a luxury SUV in North Jersey and leading police in Ocean County on a chase, authorities said. Stafford Township police received a report of a stolen vehicle traveling near Route 72 and the Garden State Parkway at around 9:57 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 29. The black 2019 Mercedes GLC was reported stolen from Nutley and was liked to a hit-and-run involving a pedestrian in Newark earlier that day. Officers responded to the area and found the SUV heading with on Route 72 near Marsha Drive. The driver refused to pull over for police and sped away from them. Spike s…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM A career criminal from Passaic County who's been busted dozens of times in North Jersey in just the past few years used an explosive device to damage an ATM, federal authorities charged. Nicolas Torres, 41, of Passaic, has amassed a lengthy rap sheet over much of his adult life, mostly involving business break-ins that local police and county prosecutors have dealt with. This time, though, the FBI's got him. Torres was captured on surveillance video igniting the device in front of the Chase Bank ATM on North 6th Street in Prospect Park in the early morning hours of July 5, 2022, U.S. Attor…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Former Newark Public Safety Director Accidentally Shot Himself — With Someone Else's Gun: PD Former Newark Public Safety Director Accidentally Shot Himself — With Someone Else's Gun: PD
Former Newark Public Safety Director Accidentally Shot Himself — With Someone Else's Gun: PD Anthony Ambrose, who has a lengthy career in law enforcement in Essex County, accidentally shot himself with another person's gun on Friday, March 22, police said. Responding to many unanswered questions about the shooting, Cedar Grove police issued a news release laying out what happened to Ambrose at 2 Village Park Road, where Ambrose keeps an office as a private investigator.  Ambrose previously served as chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and public safety director for the City of Newark. After the discharge, Ambrose was taken to the hospital by another m…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
HORRIFYING: Convicted Sex Offender Lured Foreign Woman To NJ To Abuse Her Kids, Feds Say HORRIFYING: Convicted Sex Offender Lured Foreign Woman To NJ To Abuse Her Kids, Feds Say
Horrifying: Convicted Sex Offender Lured Foreign Woman To NJ To Abuse Her Kids, Feds Say WARNING: The allegations described in this report are horrific in the extreme. A registered sex offender from Bergen County lured a woman from the other side of the world to the United States so he could sexually abuse her two young children, federal authorities charged. Corey Hipscher, 52, of Lodi first got the woman's 11-year-old daughter to take naked selfies and send them to him after connecting directly with the youngster on social media, the FBI said. Among the horrific images, federal authorities said, is a video of the youngster self-penetrating with the top of a bowling pin. Soon…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Jenny On The Block: J-Lo Shooting New Movie In New Jersey Jenny On The Block: J-Lo Shooting New Movie In New Jersey
Jenny On The Block: J-Lo Shooting New Movie In New Jersey If you were walking around Hudson County and thought, "Wait, is that Jennifer Lopez," well, it probably was. Jennifer Lopez is in town shooting the new movie "Kiss of the Spider Woman," according to Steven Gorelick, the director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.  The movie is filming at Cinelease Studios Caven Point in Jersey City and 10 Basin Studios in Kearny. "Kiss of the Spider Woman" is an adaption of the 1992 Broadway musical about a gay hairdresser who while imprisoned in brutal conditions in 1980s Argentina, imagines films starring an actress, Au…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Grand Jury Finds Police Shooting In Woodbridge Was Justified Grand Jury Finds Police Shooting In Woodbridge Was Justified
Grand Jury Finds Police Shooting In Woodbridge Was Justified A Middlesex County grand jury has voted not to file any criminal charges against two Woodbridge police officers in a non-fatal police-involved shooting last summer. Juan Martinez, 40, of Newark, suffered non-life-threatening wounds in the shooting in June 2023. Here is a synopsis of the confrontation provided by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office: On June 27, 2023, Woodbridge police received a report that a Dodge Ram parked at the Sansone Auto Mall had “suffered an impact.”  In response, Woodbridge Police Officer Jean Rastegarpanah and Officer Vincent Pa…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Former Essex County Chief Of Detectives Accidentally Shoots Himself: Prosecutor Former Essex County Chief Of Detectives Accidentally Shoots Himself: Prosecutor
Former Essex County Chief Of Detectives Accidentally Shoots Himself: Prosecutor Authorities are investigating after Anthony Ambrose, the former chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, accidentally shot himself on Friday, March 22. The incident occurred at a private office complex in Cedar Grove, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II said.  He was treated and released at a nearby hospital for a non-life-threatening wound, Stephens said. Ambrose joined the Newark Police Department in 1986 and became chief in 1999. He was an undersheriff in the Essex County Sheriff's Office and was public safety director for Newark from 2016 to 2021. A…

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by Sam Barron
News
Family Of Newark Cheerleader Critically Injured In Crash Takes Legal Action Family Of Newark Cheerleader Critically Injured In Crash Takes Legal Action
Family Of Newark Cheerleader Critically Injured In Crash Takes Legal Action The family of an 18-year-old Newark cheerleader critically injured in a crash outside of her school last month has taken legal action against the Newark Board of Education and others they say are responsible for the accident. The family of Chiara Jones, the 18-year-old Newark cheerleader who was critically injured after she was struck by a hit-and-run vehicle outside her high school while coming home from a competition, announced on Monday, March 25, they have filed a notice of claim against the school district.  Chiara Jones was struck by a vehicle outside Arts High School while getti…

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by Sam Barron