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Prosecutor: Clifton Man Tried To Get Kidnap Victim To Drop Charges Against Instagram Influencer Prosecutor: Clifton Man Tried To Get Kidnap Victim To Drop Charges Against Instagram Influencer
Prosecutor: Clifton Man Tried To Get Kidnap Victim To Drop Charges Against Instagram Influencer A Clifton businessman tried to bribe a kidnapping victim into dropping charges against Bergen County-based Instagram influencer “Jay Mazini,” authorities charged. Bassam Patrick Aljanadi, 56, “contacted the victim and his family on numerous occasions,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Thursday afternoon. Aljanadi, who owns a heating and air conditioning company, offered the victim cash in exchange for dropping kidnapping charges filed against Jebara Igbara, the prosecutor said. He did this to “try and obstruct and/or impede the investigation and prosecution of Igbara,” Musella sa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Trio Charged With Helping Bergen Instagram Celeb Kidnap, Terrorize Man Who Trashed Him Online Trio Charged With Helping Bergen Instagram Celeb Kidnap, Terrorize Man Who Trashed Him Online
Trio Charged With Helping Bergen Instagram Celeb Kidnap, Terrorize Man Who Trashed Him Online Authorities on Friday captured a third accused accomplice of an Instagram influencer who they said kidnapped a man in Bergen County, stripped him naked and held a machete to his neck while threatening to kill him if he didn’t remove negative social media posts. Alaziz Dalmida, 21, was the last piece of a puzzle involving “Jay Mazini” – real name Jebara J. Igbara – authorities said. Igbara, 25, of Edgewater had claimed a net worth of $33 million while cultivating a reputation for distributing stacks of cash to random people in New York. That was before federal authorities in Brooklyn charge…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Police: Rapper Fivio Foreign Busted With Loaded Gun During Struggle Near GWB Police: Rapper Fivio Foreign Busted With Loaded Gun During Struggle Near GWB
Police: Rapper Fivio Foreign Busted With Loaded Gun During Struggle Near GWB A loaded handgun fell from his jacket as rapper Fivio Foreign fought Fort Lee police who nabbed him during a foot chase near the George Washington Bridge, authorities said. Maxie Ryles III had left his 2018 Mercedes Benz running in a no-parking zone on Lemoine Avenue at Bruce Reynolds Boulevard as he went into the nearby Citibank around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Capt. Ricky Mirkovic said. Sgt. Howard Ginsburg requested Ryles's driver’s license as he approached the vehicle and asked whether he was getting a ticket, Mirkovic said. Instead of complying, Ryles simply walked away, he said.  T…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Lawmakers Aim To Block Increased Tolls Into Manhattan NJ Lawmakers Aim To Block Increased Tolls Into Manhattan
NJ Lawmakers Aim To Block Increased Tolls Into Manhattan Two New Jersey congressman are pulling out the stops to block a surcharge on drivers entering Manhattan. Democratic U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Bill Pascrell Jr. put a formal request in to the U.S. Department of Transportation to stop the plan. New Jersey commuters -- specifically those who take the George Washington Bridge to and from Manhattan -- fear that they'll be charged a toll for the bridge and a congestion pricing fee to drive south of 61st street: A "double toll." “We’re standing here in Fort Lee to say this will not stand the light of day,” NJ.com said citing Pascrell. “It’s…

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by Jon Craig
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DMX Marks Spot: Hip-Hop Legend Drops Final Track On Day He Dies DMX Marks Spot: Hip-Hop Legend Drops Final Track On Day He Dies
DMX Marks Spot: Hip-Hop Legend Drops Final Track On Day He Dies “I make moves to get me where I’m going,” DMX announces on a unique track released just hours before the hardcore hip-hop artist and actor died on Friday. DMX – whose real name was Earl Simmons – teamed up on “X Moves” with fellow legend Bootsy Collins, formerly of Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as Steve Howe, formerly of Yes and Asia, and Deep Purple dummer Ian Paice. DMX, 50, had been on life support at White Plains Hospital since suffering an overdose-induced “catastrophic” heart attack at his Westchester home a week ago Friday. "We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved o…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Releases Hate Crime Totals By Town, Race, More: Guess Which County Had The Most NJ Releases Hate Crime Totals By Town, Race, More: Guess Which County Had The Most
NJ Releases Hate Crime Totals By Town, Race, More: Guess Which County Had The Most Nearly 40% of all hate crimes reported in New Jersey last year were against Blacks, more than the combined total against whites, Jews, Latinos and Muslims, according to State Police crime figures released Tuesday. The town with the most reported bias incidents in 2020 was Lakewood, the figures show. More than half of all reported bias incidents in New Jersey last year involved straight harassment, as opposed to vandalism and other related crimes. More than 13% occurred at schools, parks or playgrounds. The county with the most, overall, was Monmouth. The preliminary data released Tuesday…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Instagram Celeb Held In Bergen Jail For Kidnapping, Terrorizing Man Who Trashed Him Online Instagram Celeb Held In Bergen Jail For Kidnapping, Terrorizing Man Who Trashed Him Online
Instagram Celeb Held In Bergen Jail For Kidnapping, Terrorizing Man Who Trashed Him Online An Instagram influencer and two associates kidnapped a man in Bergen County, then stripped him naked and held a machete to his neck while threatening to kill him if he didn’t remove negative social media posts, authorities charged. Jebara J. Igbara, 25, told the victim that a video of the kidnapping would be released to social media if he didn’t do what he was told, they said. Earlier this week, federal authorities in Brooklyn charged Ibarra with scamming four of his nearly 1 million followers out of Bitcoin virtual currency by sending them worthless wire transfers in exchange for more than…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Community Grieves Double COVID Deaths At Popular Bergen County Pizzeria Community Grieves Double COVID Deaths At Popular Bergen County Pizzeria
Community Grieves Double COVID Deaths At Popular Bergen County Pizzeria A community reeled as news spread that COVID-19 had claimed the lives of two longtime members of an extended family from the same Bergen County pizzeria. Friends, loved ones and customers from Linwood Pizza in Fort Lee prayed hard for manager Gus Karageorge and primary pie guy Manny Macancela to survive the disease. “Our hearts are broken after this week’s tragic turn of events,” the Missiris family, who own the landmark eatery near the George Washington Bridge, wrote Thursday. Karageorge and Macancela “touched both the people they worked with and the community they served,” they added. J…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Units Damaged In Fort Lee Condo Fire Units Damaged In Fort Lee Condo Fire
Units Damaged In Fort Lee Condo Fire Firefighters doused a Thursday afternoon blaze that damaged units on two floors of a Fort Lee condominium. Flames blew through two first-floor windows after breaking out in a crawlspace in the five-story brick Central Court Condominiums on Central Road shortly before 2 p.m. Firefighters had the two-alarm blaze knocked down in about an hour and under control before 3:30 p.m. It was later ruled accidental. No injuries were reported. Firefighters from Edgewater, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fairview, Leonia, Palisades Park and Ridgefield were among the mutual aid responders. Tony Greco took…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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SEE ANYTHING? Fort Lee Pedestrian Struck, Critically Injured Walking In Middle Of Road Near GWB SEE ANYTHING? Fort Lee Pedestrian Struck, Critically Injured Walking In Middle Of Road Near GWB
SEE Anything? Fort Lee Pedestrian Struck, Critically Injured Walking In Middle Of Road Near GWB A 62-year-old Fort Lee man was walking in the middle of the road beneath a highway underpass when he was struck and critically injured by an SUV Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. The victim was walking in the middle of the exit ramp from Route 46/Route 1 toward Bergen Boulevard when he was struck by a 2011 Porsche Cayenne outside the Plaza West shopping center shortly after 3 p.m., Police Capt. Ricky Mirkovic said. The 71-year-old driver stopped immediately and dialed 911, he said. The pedestrian was breathing but unresponsive with a severe head injury when Fort Lee police and EMS arr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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'I Just Shot My Father': Bogus Swatting Call Draws Mass Response To Palisades Park Apartment 'I Just Shot My Father': Bogus Swatting Call Draws Mass Response To Palisades Park Apartment
'I Just Shot My Father': Bogus Swatting Call Draws Mass Response To Palisades Park Apartment A throng of police and tactical units descended on a Palisades Park garden apartment complex Friday night in response to what turned out to be a bogus 911 call of a man with a bomb strapped to his chest. The swatting incident forced the evacuation of the West Central Boulevard complex off Grand Avenue after a 911 caller told a dispatcher around 9 p.m. that "I just shot my father," Detective Alex Monteleone said. Units were rushing to the site when the swatter called again, saying he'd shot his dad a second time, he said. The third time, he said he had a pipe bomb strapped to his chest that…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Authorities ID Woman Found Dead In Florida As Palisades Park Native, 65, Still Don't Know Cause Authorities ID Woman Found Dead In Florida As Palisades Park Native, 65, Still Don't Know Cause
Authorities ID Woman Found Dead In Florida As Palisades Park Native, 65, Still Don't Know Cause Two months after the barefoot body of a Palisades Park native was found in a rural area of Florida, authorities have finally identified her – but they still don’t know how she died. Relatives from North Jersey who's seen social media posts helped identify Maryann Zoon, 65, who’d apparently lived alone in Fort Pierce near a stretch of road with no surrounding houses where a work crew found her decomposing remains in November. She hadn't been reported missing, authorities said. Although they don’t suspect any wrongdoing, detectives with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office were trying to pi…

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by Jerry DeMarco