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UPDATE: Senior Homeowner, Daughter's Fiancé Killed In South Hackensack House Fire UPDATE: Senior Homeowner, Daughter's Fiancé Killed In South Hackensack House Fire
Update: Senior Homeowner, Daughter's Fiancé Killed In South Hackensack House Fire UPDATE: An elderly homeowner and her daughter's fiancé died in an overnight house fire in South Hackensack, authorities confirmed. The Agar Place fire broke out in the rear of the 1½-story home shortly after 3 a.m. and instantly spread, responders and neighbors said. An off-duty South Hackensack police sergeant who lives next door to the victims tried to extinguish the flames with a garden hose, but the blaze spread too quickly. Firefighters had to beat back heavy flames and extreme heat, in fact, before finding 80-year-old homeowner Teresa Savino and Anton Pechal (Merkulov), 29. The…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Call Of Masturbator Outside Hasbrouck Heights Building Leads To Arrest Of Bronx Resident Call Of Masturbator Outside Hasbrouck Heights Building Leads To Arrest Of Bronx Resident
Call Of Masturbator Outside Hasbrouck Heights Building Leads To Arrest Of Bronx Resident Police responding to a 911 call of a suspicious man in front of a Hasbrouck Heights apartment building arrested a Bronx resident who they said was carrying a kitchen knife and some cocaine. An officer responded to the Heights Apartments, at the corner of Williams and Burton avenues, on a call of a man who "appeared to be masturbating" outside shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday, according to a police report. The officer arrested Brandon Rivera, 32, after reportedly finding the knife and coke. Rivera remained held Friday in the Bergen County Jail, charged with drug and weapons possession.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Dog Rescued In Lodi House Fire Dog Rescued In Lodi House Fire
Dog Rescued In Lodi House Fire A dog was rescued during an early Wednesday evening house fire in Lodi. No injuries were reported in the two-alarm Harrison Avenue blaze, which broke out in a second-floor room of the brick single-family home around 5:20 p.m. Firefighters had it doused within 15 minutes. Mutual aid was provided at the scene or in coverage by firefighters from Hasbrouck Heights, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook and Wallington. Damien Danis took the photos and contributed to this story. Everyone got out safely from the two-alarm Harrison Avenue blaze in Lodi.Damien Danis for DAILY VOICE

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Police: Hit-Run Driver Nabbed By Wood-Ridge PD Had Loaded Gun In Waistband, Large Knife In Car Police: Hit-Run Driver Nabbed By Wood-Ridge PD Had Loaded Gun In Waistband, Large Knife In Car
Police: Hit-Run Driver Nabbed By Wood-Ridge PD Had Loaded Gun In Waistband, Large Knife In Car A hit-and-run driver was carrying a gun loaded with hollow-point bullets along with a large butcher knife when Wood-Ridge police found him, authorities said. Brandon Morales, 18, of Passaic had pulled into dead-ended Sussex Road when Sgt. Joseph Rutigliano and Officer Mark Torsiello found him and a woman in a severely damaged 2009 Audi A4 around 2:30 p.m. Monday, April 2, Capt. Joseph Biamonte said. The Audi had been involved in a hit and run without injuries moments earlier on Passaic Street, the captain said. Rutigliano and Torsiello spotted the knife while speaking with Mo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wood-Ridge Firefighters Douse Blaze At Route 17 Auto Dealership Wood-Ridge Firefighters Douse Blaze At Route 17 Auto Dealership
Wood-Ridge Firefighters Douse Blaze At Route 17 Auto Dealership Firefighters doused a small blaze at a Route 17 auto dealership. The two-alarm debris fire ignited in the detailing room at East Coast Toyota on the southbound highway in Wood-Ridge around 10:30 p.m. Friday, April 22, responders said. Borough firefighters knocked it down within 20 minutes. A security guard wasn't immediately accounted for, responders said. Mutual aid responders at the scene or in coverage included firefighters from Carlstadt, East Rutherford and Hasbrouck Heights.

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Ejected Driver Thrown Nearly 30 Feet In Rollover Crash Off Route 46 Ejected Driver Thrown Nearly 30 Feet In Rollover Crash Off Route 46
Ejected Driver Thrown Nearly 30 Feet In Rollover Crash Off Route 46 An ejected Clifton driver was found nearly 30 feet from a Smart car that barreled off the road and rolled down an embankment off Route 46 in Hasbrouck Heights, authorities said. The vehicle veered off the eastbound highway to Boulevard and shot across the entrance ramp before tumbling down the embankment shortly after 11:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, Police Capt. Joseph Rinke said. Hasbrouck Heights firefighters stabilized the victim, 31, who was unconscious but breathing when taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, Rinke said. Borough Officers Cosimo Marino and Joseph Olivo were joi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Career Criminal Caught With Drugs, Theft Proceeds After Stolen Car Crash: Hasbrouck Heights PD Career Criminal Caught With Drugs, Theft Proceeds After Stolen Car Crash: Hasbrouck Heights PD
Career Criminal Caught With Drugs, Theft Proceeds After Stolen Car Crash: Hasbrouck Heights PD A convicted drug-addicted car thief with a decades-long criminal record was found with crack, heroin and the proceeds from several vehicle burglaries after he crashed a stolen car overnight, Hasbrouck Heights police said. John Petsu, 42, of West Milford failed a field sobriety test administered by Sgt. John Behr after crashing a 2019 Nissan Altima near the interchange for Routes 17 and 46, Detective Sgt. Jeffrey Werner said. The sedan had been stolen out of Hackensack, although the owner didn’t immediately know it was gone, the sergeant said. Besides the drugs, Petsu had “multiple items fr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Garage Fire Extends To Hasbrouck Heights Home (PHOTOS) Garage Fire Extends To Hasbrouck Heights Home (PHOTOS)
Garage Fire Extends To Hasbrouck Heights Home (Photos) Heavy flames from a basement garage fire extended to a Hasbrouck Heights home. The fire broke out at the Jefferson Avenue ranch-style home behind the Hasbrouck Heights football field shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 30. The blaze extended to the first floor, but firefighters had it knocked down in under a half-hour. The Jefferson Avenue fire in Hasbrouck Heights extended to the first floor.Damien Danis for DAILY VOICE The fire was knocked down in under a half-hour.Tony Greco for DAILY VOICE The two-alarmer went to three bells for coverage. No injuries were reported. Seve…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Live Wire Fire Damages Lodi Home Live Wire Fire Damages Lodi Home
Live Wire Fire Damages Lodi Home Fire from a downed powerline extended to a Lodi home and a stretch of plastic fence. No injuries were reported in the fire on Passaic Street at Charles Street around 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 28. The first floor sustained minor damage. Hasbrouck Heights, Saddle Brook, Wallington and Wood-Ridge firefighters assisted. Part of the fence melted, as well, in the Lodi fire.Damien Danis for DAILY VOICE Passaic Street was temporarily closed at Charles Street.Jo Fehl for DAILY VOICE

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by Jerry DeMarco
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'Invincible' Harrison Firefighter Who Served In US Marines, Law Enforcement Dies 'Invincible' Harrison Firefighter Who Served In US Marines, Law Enforcement Dies
'Invincible' Harrison Firefighter Who Served In US Marines, Law Enforcement Dies Vincent Doffont spent much of his life serving and protecting his country as a U.S. Marine and, later, his community in Hudson County as a sheriff's officer, police officer and firefighter. Doffont, 37, died suddenly this weekend, leaving those who knew him in shock and profound grief. "He was one of the hardest men I have ever met," wrote friend Blake Upton. "I always thought of him as invincible." Doffont, indeed, seemed indestructible as a football running back, defensive back and placekicked for the St. Mary's High School Gaels from 1999 through 2002. He was praised for his "speed, s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Nationally-Recognized NJ Catholic School Teacher Jailed On Child Sex Charges Nationally-Recognized NJ Catholic School Teacher Jailed On Child Sex Charges
Nationally-Recognized NJ Catholic School Teacher Jailed On Child Sex Charges A teacher at a Hasbrouck Heights Catholic school who once made national headlines for participating in a prestigious space program was charged with sexually assaulting a child. James Falletti, 43, of Hackensack was released from the Bergen County Jail on Wednesday, March 15, pending court action following his arrest on Monday, records show. Falletti "sexually assaulted [a] child, who was younger than 16 years old, in Elmwood Park," Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The married Falletti taught science and world languages for seven years at St. Leo's Catholic School in Elmwood Par…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
$2 Million Fine For NJ's 'Most Flagrant' OSHA Violator Upheld By Judge $2 Million Fine For NJ's 'Most Flagrant' OSHA Violator Upheld By Judge
$2 Million Fine For NJ's 'Most Flagrant' Osha Violator Upheld By Judge A Bergen County framing contractor dubbed New Jersey’s "most flagrant violator" of federal workplace safety laws the past decade must pay $2 million in back fines to the government, an administrative law judge has ruled. Juan Quevedo-Garcia, 42, of Palisades Park "deliberately failed to pay the fines and displayed a total disregard for the safety of his workers and for the law," Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker said. In doing so, he "continually put workers at risk of serious injuries or worse" at four different job sites in Bergen County, a federa…

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by Jerry DeMarco