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Police & Fire
Undercover Prostitution Sting At NJ Spas Nets 4 Arrests, Nearly $9.5K Seized Undercover Prostitution Sting At NJ Spas Nets 4 Arrests, Nearly $9.5K Seized
Undercover Prostitution Sting At NJ Spas Nets 4 Arrests, Nearly $9.5K Seized Authorities dismantled a prostitution operation at two Passaic County spas, arresting four people and seizing nearly $9,500 in suspected proceeds, officials announced Wednesday, Dec. 5. The operation conducted on Tuesday, Dec. 3, began after concerned residents tipped off authorities about suspicious activities at the New Paterson Massage & Coco Healthy Spa on McBride Avenue in Paterson and the Eastern Cozy Spa on Overmount Avenue in Woodland Park, Sheriff Thomas Adamo said. Undercover detectives conducting surveillance at the locations reported being offered sexual acts, Adamo sai…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Widow Of FDNY Lt. Who Died In Apartment Fire Located Hours After Going Missing Widow Of FDNY Lt. Who Died In Apartment Fire Located Hours After Going Missing
Widow Of Fdny Lt. Who Died In Apartment Fire Located Hours After Going Missing The Long Island widow of a late FDNY lieutenant who died in a double fatal fire decades ago was located hours after relatives reported her missing. Susan Blackmore, age 68, of South Farmingdale, had last been seen leaving her Plitt Avenue residence at around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, Nassau County Police said. At around 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, her sister Jeanne Santora informed her Facebook followers that Blackmore had been found and was safe. “Thank you everyone,” she wrote. No other details were given. News of Blackmore’s disappearance quickly gained traction on social media, where…

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by Michael Mashburn
Police & Fire
27-Year-Old Dies Day After Lyndhurst House Fire (UPDATE) 27-Year-Old Dies Day After Lyndhurst House Fire (UPDATE)
27-Year-Old Dies Day After Lyndhurst House Fire (Update) A 27-year-old man has died one day after he was found by firefighters outside of his bedroom as a fire ripped through his Lyndhurst home, authorities said. The two-alarm blaze that killed Ahmed Abidar broke out just before 5:34 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, at a multi-family home on Jay Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Lyndhurst police and firefighters, with mutual aid from surrounding departments, responded to find flames engulfing the residence, officials said. During fire suppression efforts, first responders evacuated Abidar from the third floor of the home. He was unrespons…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Driver Hospitalized After Car Overturns In Crash With DOT Truck On Route 80 In Bergen County Driver Hospitalized After Car Overturns In Crash With DOT Truck On Route 80 In Bergen County
Driver Hospitalized After Car Overturns In Crash With DOT Truck On Route 80 In Bergen County A crash involving a Ford passenger vehicle and a DOT truck on Route 80 left one person hospitalized this week in Bergen County, police said. Troopers responded to a motor vehicle crash in the westbound lanes at milepost 63 in Saddle Brook Township, at 1:43 p.m. on Dec. 5, NJSP Trooper Jeffrey Lebron said. A preliminary investigation revealed that a Ford passenger vehicle struck the rear of a Department of Transportation (DOT) truck, causing the Ford to overturn. The driver of the Ford sustained minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital, police reported. No other injuries were …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
BREAKING: Baby Found Dead In Wayne, Prosecutor Says BREAKING: Baby Found Dead In Wayne, Prosecutor Says
Breaking: Baby Found Dead In Wayne, Prosecutor Says A 7-month-old baby was found dead in Wayne on Wednesday, Dec. 4, authorities said. Wayne police officers were called to Route 23 and Ratzer Road around 1:40 p.m. on reports of a deceased infant, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Wayne Police Deputy Chief Joseph Rooney said. Upon arrival, the police located a possible crime scene and a 7- 7-month-old infant, who was subsequently pronounced dead. It was not immediately clear where exactly the harrowing discovery was made. The investigation remains active and ongoing. More information will be released once it becomes avail…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Paterson Cop Exposes Himself To Child: Police Paterson Cop Exposes Himself To Child: Police
Paterson Cop Exposes Himself To Child: Police A Paterson police officer has been arrested and charged with lewdness and endangering the welfare of a child after an incident involving a juvenile, Bloomfield Police said. Angel Acevedo, 31, of Newark, was taken into custody on Monday, Dec. 2, after officers responded to reports of an adult male exposing himself to a juvenile on Franklin Street, local police said. Police said the juvenile was walking home when Acevedo allegedly called out from a vehicle and exposed himself. He then fled the area in his vehicle, authorities said. Officers quickly located the suspect’s vehicle, and the juve…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Exxon Workers Disarm Masked Gunman In Attempted Route 23 Armed Robbery: Police Exxon Workers Disarm Masked Gunman In Attempted Route 23 Armed Robbery: Police
Exxon Workers Disarm Masked Gunman In Attempted Route 23 Armed Robbery: Police A masked man who attempted to rob a Passaic County gas station at gunpoint was arrested after employees fought him off and wrestled the weapon away, police said. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, at the Exxon Gas Station on Route 23 South, according to New Milford police. The suspect, later identified as Cole Labita, of Oak Ridge in Jefferson Township, entered the station with a firearm and demanded cash from the register, police said. A scuffle broke out between Labita and the employees, spilling into the parking lot, where the employees managed to …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Former NJ Corrections Officer Confesses To Beating Resident Who Died From Stroke, AG Says Former NJ Corrections Officer Confesses To Beating Resident Who Died From Stroke, AG Says
Former NJ Corrections Officer Confesses To Beating Resident Who Died From Stroke, AG Says A former New Jersey corrections officer admitted to assaulting a resident who died several days after the attack, authorities said. Giuseppe Mandara of Brick Township pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Dec. 3 to third-degree aggravated assault, Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the state's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability said in a news release on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Mandara confessed to attacking Darrell "Malik" Smith on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. Smith served more than 23 years in state prison on convictions for kidnapping and aggravated assault on a police officer. Man…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Man Tries Carjacking Woman After GWB Crash, Found With High-Capacity Magazine: PAPD Man Tries Carjacking Woman After GWB Crash, Found With High-Capacity Magazine: PAPD
Man Tries Carjacking Woman After GWB Crash, Found With High-Capacity Magazine: Papd A 26-year-old New Jersey man was arrested and charged after a two-car crash turned into an attempted carjacking on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 1, authorities said. A car with two men, including Frederick Antonio Castillo, crashed into another car, the New York Daily News reported, citing a source with Port Authority police. Castillo and the other man ran over to the woman's car and tried to open the doors, but she locked them, the Daily News said. One of the men was brandishing a firearm as he demanded the woman open the doors, the Daily News said. After failing to get in the car, Castillo …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Crashed Car, Gunshot Wounds: Arrest Made In Deadly Paterson Shooting Crashed Car, Gunshot Wounds: Arrest Made In Deadly Paterson Shooting
Crashed Car, Gunshot Wounds: Arrest Made In Deadly Paterson Shooting A 43-year-old Paterson man has been arrested and charged in connection with a shooting that left a 21-year-old Staten Island man dead and another man injured last month, authorities said. Robert Davis was arrested on Monday, Dec. 2, following an investigation by the Paterson Police Department and Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Officer-in-Charge Patrick Murray. Authorities have filed a motion for pre-trial detention, which will be heard by a Superior Court judge. The incident began around 3:49 a.m. on Nov…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Violent NJ Human Trafficking Rings Dismantled Where Women, Teens Were Forced Into Sex: AG Violent NJ Human Trafficking Rings Dismantled Where Women, Teens Were Forced Into Sex: AG
Violent NJ Human Trafficking Rings Dismantled Where Women, Teens Were Forced Into Sex: AG Seven people have been arrested in the dismantling two human trafficking rings, one in North Jersey and one in South Jersey, authorities said. The rings were based in Essex County and Cumberland County, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said at a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Khailah Meekins, 21 and Donte Barkley, 28, both Newark residents, trafficked two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old in Essex County, Platkin said. Meekins and Barkley arranged sexual encounters for the girls through mobile apps that included online ads featuring nude photos of the minors. The girls would be…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Paterson Man Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting 10-Year-Old For Two Years: Prosecutor Paterson Man Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting 10-Year-Old For Two Years: Prosecutor
Paterson Man Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting 10-Year-Old For Two Years: Prosecutor A 54-year-old Paterson man was convicted on Monday, Dec. 2 of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old, authorities said. Cirilo Tello sexually abused the child on multiple occasions between October 2020 and October 2022 at a residence in Paterson, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. The victim's brother was present during the assaults, Valdes said.  A jury convicted Tello of two counts of sexual assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Valdes said. Tello will be sentenced next month, Valdes said. 

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by Sam Barron