Fair 48°
Politics
George Santos Is Out: Here's How NJ Delegates Voted George Santos Is Out: Here's How NJ Delegates Voted
George Santos Is Out: Here's How NJ Delegates Voted New Jersey's congressional delegation all shared the same sentiment when it comes to Rep. George Santos. They wanted him out, and they got it. The serial fabulist (R-Long Island) was expelled by the US House 311-114, with all 12 New Jersey representatives, including three Republicans, voting in favor of his ouster. The resolution required a two-thirds majority vote in order to pass. Santos was expelled amid mounting accusations of criminality. He is only the sixth member of Congress to be expelled in American history. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) and Ch…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients A handyman from Paterson was ordered to immediately stop refusing to serve Jews and take several remedial steps or face serious charges, state authorities in Trenton said on Thursday. Melquisedec Francis must satisfy eight specific demands to keep from being prosecuted, including announcing that he no longer discriminates against Jewish customers, attending training on anti-Semitism and paying a fine, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Nov. 30. In advertisements on TaskRabbit and elsewhere last month, Francis wrote: "I am expressing my solidarity with the Palestinian Peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ARMED ROBBERY RAMPAGE: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups ARMED ROBBERY RAMPAGE: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups
Armed Robbery Rampage: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups A third man who authorities said was involved in a terrifying string of armed robberies in Passaic County has been identified. Kareem Powell, 30, of Willingboro, was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in connection with the August 2022 holdups, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday. He joins Carlos Diaz and Edward Porter, both 30 of Paterson, who’ve been in federal custody since last December. A new indictment names Powell while boosting the charges against the other two. The masked trio menaced customers with semiautomatic handguns -- ordering them to lie …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules
Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules UPDATE: A plainclothes Paterson police detective was justified in shooting a man who’d just crashed his car into two others, then tried to carjack multiple drivers, a state grand jury has found. Hui Zhang, 33, of Pensacola, FL, was seen in area surveillance video crashing his car into two others that were stopped at the corner of Straight and Van Houten streets late on the afternoon of Oct. 10, 2022. Zhang fled the scene, leaving his car behind, then threatened a group of people who were sitting in a car parked around the corner with what looked like a gun. Zhang fired the weapon, then tri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Ex-Con Who Murdered Woman About To Have His Baby Sentenced To Life Paterson Ex-Con Who Murdered Woman About To Have His Baby Sentenced To Life
Paterson Ex-Con Who Murdered Woman About To Have His Baby Sentenced To Life UPDATE: A Paterson ex-con who shot and killed a woman who was two weeks away from delivering his baby was sentenced to life in prison. Donqua Thomas, 33, was convicted by a jury in Paterson this past summer of murder in the cold-blooded killing of Remy Lee, a 31-year-old mother of two. It was early afternoon on Oct. 29, 2020 when “Quay” Thomas parked a red Scion coupe in a rear lot at the Brooks-Sloate Terrace co-ops, prosecutors said. Lee, returning from a doctor's visit, pulled up an hour and a half later, got out of her car and headed to her apartment.Thomas then pointed a gun out his …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police Were Justified Killing Fugitive Who Shot Woman In Elmwood Park, Grand Jury Finds Police Were Justified Killing Fugitive Who Shot Woman In Elmwood Park, Grand Jury Finds
Police Were Justified Killing Fugitive Who Shot Woman In Elmwood Park, Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: Police were justified in killing an armed ex-con wanted for shooting a New Milford woman in Elmwood Park, a grand jury has found. James Allandale, 61, immediately opened fire on officers who found him at the Knights Inn Pinebook on Route 46 in Montville this past New Year's Eve. He was shot and killed in the exchange of gunfire. Allandale -- whose real name is James Allan -- became the target of an intense manhunt after he shot Cynthia Greco of New Milford at 113 Lincoln Avenue shortly before 5:30 p.m. Dec. 27, 2022. The home is owned by Allandale's girlfriend, Lisa Dolack, who …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hawthorne Ex-Con Convicted Of Fatally Beating Gunman Who Shot His Friend Hawthorne Ex-Con Convicted Of Fatally Beating Gunman Who Shot His Friend
Hawthorne Ex-Con Convicted Of Fatally Beating Gunman Who Shot His Friend Jurors in Paterson convicted a 40-year-old ex-con from Hawthorne of beating a city man to death moments after the victim had shot a friend of his. “I f–ked him up,” authorities said Tyheem Jones told police after he and three companions chased down and jumped Nicolas Reyes, then kicked, punched and pistol-whipped him near the corner of Auburn Street and Godwin Avenue on Aug. 27, 2020. Reyes died of his injuries at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson the very next day. “Evidence of the assault was captured on surveillance camera which depicted the entirety of the incident, wh…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
14-Year-Old Shot In Paterson 14-Year-Old Shot In Paterson
14-Year-Old Shot In Paterson A 14-year-old was wounded in the first of two shootings in Paterson just hours apart, authorities said. Police found the shot teen near the corner of Halpine and North 2nd streets shortly after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In-Charge Isa Abbassi said in a joint announcement on Sunday. He was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, they said. It was less than four hours later when a 25-year-old man was found shot in the chest at the corner of Belmont Avenue and North 8th Street less than a dozen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
Paterson Council Prez, Wife, Campaign Chief Charged In Hare-Brained Scheme To Steal Election Paterson Council Prez, Wife, Campaign Chief Charged In Hare-Brained Scheme To Steal Election
Paterson Council Prez, Wife, Campaign Chief Charged In Hare-Brained Scheme To Steal Election State authorities announced a bunch of new election fraud charges on Wednesday against Paterson’s council president along with allegations against his wife and campaign manager, as well. Alex Mendez, 48, has been awaiting trial in a case, stemming from 2020 council races, that has undergone a series of one delay after another. The contests were conducted entirely by mail-in ballots as COVID was spreading. The new charges involved what the attorney general described on Oct. 25 as a hare-brained plot to steal ballots from mailboxes outside people’s homes, toss out those that didn’t vote for…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Biz Partner Of Power 105.1 DJ Envy Busted By Feds In Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme Bergen Biz Partner Of Power 105.1 DJ Envy Busted By Feds In Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme
Bergen Biz Partner Of Power 105.1 DJ Envy Busted By Feds In Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme A New Jersey real estate investor and influencer who's business partners with Power 105.1 DJ Envy was seized early Wednesday by federal agents who charged him with orchestrating a multimillion-dollar Ponzi-like investment scheme. Promising returns that were too good to be true, Cesar Humberto Piña "exploited celebrity status and social media" to scam dozens of people out of millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said on Oct. 18. Piña, 45, who lives in the suburban Bergen County town of Franklin Lakes, craftily "developed a devoted following" whom he then victi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Propane To Blame In NJ House Explosion That Injured 5, One Critically, Fire Marshal Says Propane To Blame In NJ House Explosion That Injured 5, One Critically, Fire Marshal Says
Propane To Blame In NJ House Explosion That Injured 5, One Critically, Fire Marshal Says UPDATE: A house explosion last month in West Milford that sent five people to the hospital – one of whom remains in critical condition – apparently was due to a propane leak, the township’s fire marshal said. The other four victims injured when the home in the Upper Greenwood Lake section exploded and collapsed on Sept. 22 have since been released from the hospital, Fire Marshal Michael Moscatello said on Friday, Oct. 13. The fifth remains in the burn unit at the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, he said. Everyone feared the worst at the time. The first unit at the scene, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Pair Convicted In Ambush Killing Of Rival Gang Member From Newark Paterson Pair Convicted In Ambush Killing Of Rival Gang Member From Newark
Paterson Pair Convicted In Ambush Killing Of Rival Gang Member From Newark UPDATE: The mastermind behind the cold-blooded killing of a 21-year-old rival gang member from Newark during an ambush in Paterson was convicted of first-degree murder and one of his cronies of aggravated manslaughter on Friday. Jurors in Superior Court in Paterson needed only a day to reach guilty verdicts on Oct. 13 against Silk City residents Jaquan Thomas, 33, and Ismael Leon, 21, for gunning down Jose Figueroa. Authorities said the slaying was a “coordinated attack involving multiple shooters in multiple locations.” Thomas sent members of his gang to the area of Totowa and Redwood ave…

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by Jerry DeMarco