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Paterson Worker, 33, Dies In Fall From Roof At Abandoned Marlboro Hospital Paterson Worker, 33, Dies In Fall From Roof At Abandoned Marlboro Hospital
Paterson Worker, 33, Dies In Fall From Roof At Abandoned Marlboro Hospital A worker at an abandoned New Jersey psychiatric hospital fell to his death on Wednesday, authorities said. Cristian Velez-Hurtado, 33, of Paterson had been working on the roof of Marlboro State Hospital on Springs Road (Monmouth County location) when he fell inside the building around 9:30 a.m., NJSP Sgt. Lawrence Peele said. The incident was deemed accidental in nature and remains under investigation. The hospital apparently closed in 1998 and was slated for demolition in 2011, but was turned into open parkland, instead, NJ Advance Media says. Condolences poured in on social media for Ve…

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by Jon Craig & Cecilia Levine
News
Jersey Shore Contractor Gets 19 Months In Fed Pen For Ducking $1M In Taxes Jersey Shore Contractor Gets 19 Months In Fed Pen For Ducking $1M In Taxes
Jersey Shore Contractor Gets 19 Months In Fed Pen For Ducking $1M In Taxes A Jersey Shore man was sent to federal prison for 19 months for dodging nearly $1 million in taxes at his Manhattan construction company. Bilal Salaj, 55, of the Morganville section of Marlboro, will have to serve out nearly the entire term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Salaj admitted in U.S. District Court in Manhattan last October that he avoided the payroll and personal income taxes for five years, in part, by putting the company in an associate’s name and paying workers under the table. The cash came from $3.2 million in business checks that should’ve gone int…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Prosecutor: Morris Thief Stashed $1M In Heavy Equipment, Arms, Ammo At Rural Sussex Site Bergen Prosecutor: Morris Thief Stashed $1M In Heavy Equipment, Arms, Ammo At Rural Sussex Site
Bergen Prosecutor: Morris Thief Stashed $1M In Heavy Equipment, Arms, Ammo At Rural Sussex Site Managers at one of the country’s most renowned construction companies were confounded when they discovered a piece of heavy machinery gone from one of their Bergen County yards and its GPS device attached to a battery. “Usually by the time you realize something like that is stolen, it’s already been shipped out of one of the ports,” a veteran investigator said. On Wednesday, however, authorities announced that they’d recovered a bulldozer and other pieces of stolen equipment – valued at more than $1 million combined -- along with a trove of illegal guns and more stashed on a rural property …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Essex OSHA Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor Feds: Essex OSHA Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor
Feds: Essex Osha Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor An OSHA officer from Bloomfield and his brother conspired to extort a general contractor at a North Bergen work site, said federal authorities who tapped one of their meetings. Assigned to investigate the alleged misuse of an extension ladder, Alvaro Idrovo, 44, told the contractor he was violating OSHA regulations for not having the necessary safety training certificates for his workers to be on ladders, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Idrovo told the owner he’d be “subject to exorbitant fines and possible arrest” if he didn’t obtain the certificates, which he said were available throu…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
St. Peter’s University Seniors Fight Commencement Move From PNC To 'Gym' St. Peter’s University Seniors Fight Commencement Move From PNC To 'Gym'
St. Peter’s University Seniors Fight Commencement Move From PNC To 'Gym' This spring’s St. Peter’s University graduates learned Friday that they won’t be getting their degrees at the massive PNC Bank Center – but, instead, at the school’s on-campus recreational facility. And they're steamed. Brenda Coates, 21, of Linden said she’d knuckled down for four years at the Jesuit university in Jersey City “just for me to find out that I have to graduate in the gym.” The Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center, to be exact, the Montgomery Street home of the Peacocks and Peahens of basketball, swimming and volleyball. SPU commencements for years had been held…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Barnegat Contractor Gets Plea-Bargained 3 Years For Ripping Off Hurricane Victims Barnegat Contractor Gets Plea-Bargained 3 Years For Ripping Off Hurricane Victims
Barnegat Contractor Gets Plea-Bargained 3 Years For Ripping Off Hurricane Victims A 50-year-old contractor from Barnegat was sentenced to a plea-bargained three years in prison Friday for overcharging 19 homeowners in repairs following Hurricane Sandy. George LaRosa was also ordered to pay $456,650 in restitution to the victims in Stafford Township, Lacey Township, Toms River Township, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Little Egg Harbor, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. LaRosa, the owner and operator of GL Construction, entered into 2014-15 contracts for agreed upon hurricane repairs.  He kept the vast majority of …

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by Jon Craig