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Bail Reform Was Once This Bergen Serial Burglar's Friend — Not Anymore: Authorities Bail Reform Was Once This Bergen Serial Burglar's Friend — Not Anymore: Authorities
Bail Reform Was Once This Bergen Serial Burglar's Friend — Not Anymore: Authorities Charges continue to mount against a one-man crime wave – and onetime bail reform poster boy – whom judges have kept held in the Bergen County Jail since mid-October. Police in Glen Rock and Wyckoff became the latest to charge Nicola Torres, 40, of Passaic, with commercial burglaries in their towns. That makes more than a dozen municipal police departments in four New Jersey counties just this year alone. Torres has a criminal record that stretches back more than 15 years, mostly for business break-ins. More recently, the 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pound felon has been repeatedly arrested and the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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
Business
Bergen County Cafe Closing After 16 Years Bergen County Cafe Closing After 16 Years
Bergen County Cafe Closing After 16 Years A popular Bergen County cafe is closing its doors for good after what the owners call “16 wonderful years.” Jack’s Cafe made the announcement on its Facebook page on Monday, Nov. 28, stating that its last day open would be Saturday, Dec. 10. “THANK YOU WESTWOOD AND GOODBYE!” reads the post. “It is with a heavy heart, that after an amazing 16 years, Risa and I are announcing the closing of Jack's Cafe.” Known for its fresh, never frozen breakfast, lunch, and dinner specialties and its BYOB policy, Jack’s Cafe has long been considered a staple in the heart of Westwood. Cooking for a d…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Four Suffer Smoke Inhalation In Overnight Old Tappan House Fire Four Suffer Smoke Inhalation In Overnight Old Tappan House Fire
Four Suffer Smoke Inhalation In Overnight Old Tappan House Fire Four people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation from an overnight house fire in Old Tappan, responders said. The blaze in the $1 million home at the end of a cul-de-sac on Parker Place broke out in the kitchen around 2:45 a.m. It immediately went to a second alarm on arrival, with a third alarm called roughly 20 minutes later. Old Tappan firefighters were met with heavy smoke at the Parker Place fire.OLD TAPPAN FD The Parker Place house fire in Old Tappan before dawn Saturday, Nov. 19 quickly went to three alarms.WOODCLIFF LAKE FD Firefighters had the blaze knocked down and under…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Teaneck Stabbing: Offender With Violent History Denied Release On Attempted Murder Charges Teaneck Stabbing: Offender With Violent History Denied Release On Attempted Murder Charges
Teaneck Stabbing: Offender With Violent History Denied Release On Attempted Murder Charges UPDATE: A judge denied the release of a career criminal charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of another man early this month at a newly-opened luxury apartment complex in Teaneck. Jacob Gibbs, 26, who is 6-foot-2 and has dreadlocks, was quickly identified following the stabbing at the One500 on Teaneck Road shortly before 4 p.m. Nov. 1, Deputy Police Chief Andrew R. McGurr said. “Detectives following up leads” seized him at a Bogota home the next day, the deputy chief said. It turned out Gibbs, of Teaneck, was already wanted on warrants out of Fair Lawn and the township, records…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Arrest Made In Teaneck Stabbing UPDATE: Arrest Made In Teaneck Stabbing
Update: Arrest Made In Teaneck Stabbing A judge in Hackensack denied the release of a career criminal accused of stabbing another man in Teaneck. Jacob Gibbs, 26, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and illegal weapons possession in the stabbing at the recently opened One500 luxury apartment complex on Teaneck Road shortly before 4 p.m. Nov. 1. Gibbs, who is 6-foot-2 and has dreadlocks, was quickly identified, authorities said. “Detectives following up leads” captured him at a Bogota home the next day, Deputy Police Chief Andrew R. McGurr said. It turned out Gibbs, of Teaneck, was already wanted on warrants out…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passing Of Upper Saddle River Firefighting Veteran Follows Death Of Fellow Area Responder Passing Of Upper Saddle River Firefighting Veteran Follows Death Of Fellow Area Responder
Passing Of Upper Saddle River Firefighting Veteran Follows Death Of Fellow Area Responder Already reeling from the death of a local firefighter following an intense house blaze, the community of area responders sadly learned that they'd lost another. Upper Saddle River Firefighter Alex Moss, 54, had dedicated more than 30 years of his life to the service of others. Colleagues officially announced his death early Sunday evening, Oct. 30: "It is with deep regret and great sadness the Upper Saddle River Fire Department announces the untimely passing and Line of Duty Death of Firefighter Alex Moss. Please keep the Moss family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this to…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Loved By Many': Family Of Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By Many': Family Of Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident
'Loved By Many': Family Of Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident Shock and sorrow spread with the news that a young Westwood man was accidentally dragged and killed by a subway train at the Columbus Circle station in Manhattan. Joseph Ancona, 20, apparently tried to board a southbound No. 1 train when his clothing got caught in a subway door at the station off 59th Street around 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, city police said. “The victim was then dragged and struck by [another] train,” the NYPD reported. Ancona was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. It wasn't clear whether the conductor was aware of what was happening or why the doors didn't automati…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By So Many' Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By So Many'
Bergen County Man, 20, Killed In Tragic Manhattan Subway Accident 'Loved By So Many' Shock and sorrow spread with the news that a young Westwood man was accidentally dragged and killed by a subway train at the Columbus Circle station in Manhattan. Joseph Ancona, 20, apparently tried to board a southbound No. 1 train when his clothing got caught in a subway door at the station off 59th Street around 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, city police said. “The victim was then dragged and struck by [another] train,” the NYPD reported. Ancona was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. It wasn't clear whether the conductor was aware of what was happening or why the doors didn't automati…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Firefighters Contain Destructive Kitchen Fire At Westwood Restaurant Firefighters Contain Destructive Kitchen Fire At Westwood Restaurant
Firefighters Contain Destructive Kitchen Fire At Westwood Restaurant Firefighters kept a blaze that severely damaged a Guatemalan restaurant from spreading to the rest of a small shopping center in Westwood. The fire broke out in the kitchen and extended to the cockloft of Mi Flor Latin Cafe on Kinderkamack Road across from Kingsberry Avenue shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Firefighters quickly climbed up and opened the roof as part of an aggressive attack that kept the blaze in check and was over in minutes. Their colleagues from Emerson and River Vale provided mutual aid. Fire inspectors were investigating the cause. The fire broke out in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bail Reform Poster Boy Wanted On Warrants Out Of Eight North Jersey Towns Nabbed By Maywood PD Bail Reform Poster Boy Wanted On Warrants Out Of Eight North Jersey Towns Nabbed By Maywood PD
Bail Reform Poster Boy Wanted On Warrants Out Of Eight North Jersey Towns Nabbed By Maywood PD A serial burglar wanted on warrants out of no fewer than eight towns in four counties was captured by Maywood police and charged with a break-in at a local dry cleaner. Nicolas G. Torres, 40, of Passaic, has been repeatedly arrested and then subsequently released under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law, mostly on commercial burglary charges, over the past several years, records show. His criminal record stretches back more than a decade before that, however. Earlier this year, Torres was linked to break-ins at businesses in Fort Lee, Leonia, Englewood Cliffs, Little Falls, Montclair, Ridg…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
William Borgersen Of Bergen County Dies Suddenly, 21 William Borgersen Of Bergen County Dies Suddenly, 21
William Borgersen Of Bergen County Dies Suddenly, 21 Support was surging for the family of 21-year-old William Borgersen, a Bergen County native, who died suddenly on Thursday, Oct. 6. Borgersen's obituary says only that he died in a "tragic shooting accident." "Our lives are broken and will never be the same," his parents Janine and Chris said in a joint statement on social media. "Anyone who knew Willy was better for it.  "He was a breath of fresh air in the room, and a light in the lives of us all. That light has dimmed here on earth, but his spirt will shine brightly forever." William was raised in Westwood and, after graduati…

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by Cecilia Levine