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Ridgefield Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm Palisades Park Warehouse Fire Ridgefield Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm Palisades Park Warehouse Fire
Ridgefield Adult, Juvenile Charged With Arson In Multi-Alarm Palisades Park Warehouse Fire UPDATE: A vacant warehouse blaze that injured a firefighter in Palisades Park was deliberately set by two Ridgefield residents, authorities charged. Alexander Regalado, 18, was arrested and a juvenile was detained after they were identified as responsible for the multi-alarm Fourth of July weekend fire on Fairview Street off Grand Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The fire, which ravaged the warehouse and damaged a neighboring building, wasn’t fully extinguished for nearly six hours. Route 46 was closed in both directions at one point because of the thick smoke and a fi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Investigators Probe Fort Lee Apartment Building Blaze Investigators Probe Fort Lee Apartment Building Blaze
Investigators Probe Fort Lee Apartment Building Blaze People shooting off fireworks apparently were responsible for igniting a fire at a Fort Lee apartment complex, authorities said. Members of the borough Fire Prevention Bureau were investigating what responders said was an accidental July 4th blaze at Arrive Fort Lee on Crest Lane. Firefighters doused the flames, which had spread to the building from two Dumpsters ignited by fireworks shortly after 9:30 p.m. Monday. Mutual aid responders at the scene or in coverage included firefighters from Cliffside Park, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Leonia, Palisades Park and Ridgefield. PHOTOS: Werner…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Pharmacist Needed Double Lung Transplant But Insurance Denied It — Now He's Gone NJ Pharmacist Needed Double Lung Transplant But Insurance Denied It — Now He's Gone
NJ Pharmacist Needed Double Lung Transplant But Insurance Denied It — Now He's Gone John Jukić's family says he would still be alive today had his insurance company granted him the double lung transplant he needed back in April. The 46-year-old Clark dad and Colonia pharmacist suffered lung damage from COVID-19 he contracted last October, and needed a double lung transplant. His only hope was a double lung transplant, his wife Mirla said. However, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois apparently denied him the life-saving treatment, and while his family was in the process of appealing the decision, John on Monday, June 13. Blue Cross Blue Shield did not immediately resp…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Cliffside Man Hospitalized After Disturbance Brings SWAT, Police From Surrounding Towns Cliffside Man Hospitalized After Disturbance Brings SWAT, Police From Surrounding Towns
Cliffside Man Hospitalized After Disturbance Brings SWAT, Police From Surrounding Towns A troubled Cliffside Park man surrendered peacefully after a disturbance at his home triggered a sizable law enforcement response. The 37-year-old resident, who authorities said has a history of emotional trouble, began breaking windows in his Washington Avenue home around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, neighbors said. No one answered the door, so police checked a neighbor's Ring and saw the man going inside his house, they said. Members of a Bergen County Regional SWAT team, a tactical Fort Lee police team and officers from Edgewater, Fairview and Ridgefield joined their Cliffside Park colleagues at…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Prosecutor: CT Pair Nabbed In NJ Turnpike Stop With Ghost Gun, Hollow-Nose Bullets Prosecutor: CT Pair Nabbed In NJ Turnpike Stop With Ghost Gun, Hollow-Nose Bullets
Prosecutor: CT Pair Nabbed In NJ Turnpike Stop With Ghost Gun, Hollow-Nose Bullets Two unemployed Connecticut men stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in Bergen County were packing two handguns and hollow-nosed bullets in their vehicle, authorities said. One of the weapons was a homemade ghost gun, they said. The passenger, Jeffrey Torres, 23, of Bristol, CT, bailed out and tried to run after Narcotic Task Force detectives stopped them on northbound Route 95 in Ridgefield, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. A Superior Court judge in Hackensack later ordered that both Torres and the driver, Angel Ramos-Ortiz, 24, of Hartford, CT, remain held in the Bergen County Ja…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Fierce Fire Destroys Trailer, Several Vehicles, Sends Smoke Column Skyward In Fort Lee Fierce Fire Destroys Trailer, Several Vehicles, Sends Smoke Column Skyward In Fort Lee
Fierce Fire Destroys Trailer, Several Vehicles, Sends Smoke Column Skyward In Fort Lee Investigators were probing the cause of a fire early Saturday that engulfed a storage trailer and several vehicles behind a Fort Lee gas station. Huge columns of black, then gray, then white smoke could be seen from Washington Heights and Upper Manhattan after the fire broke out in the office-like trailer behind Fort Lee Getty on Palisade Avenue around 6 a.m. Fort Lee firefighters confined the rampaging blaze, protecting the gas station and other nearby buildings and vehicles. Assisting were their colleagues from Cliffside Park and Ridgefield. Eight vehicles in all were reportedly either…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY
Guilty: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, torched a used car dealership in Paterson and crashed a stolen SUV into police cars on either side of the George Washington Bridge rolled the dice and lost. After originally pleading guilty to several charges, Luis Figueroa, 41, withdrew his plea and took his chances with federal jurors in Newark. They ended up convicting him following a two-week trial. So now, instead of the 26-year deal that he originally accepted from the government, Figueroa could be sentenced to nearly 50 years in federal prison. The rampage had an “…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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UPDATE: Suspicious Fire Near NJ Turnpike In Ridgefield Engulfs Box Trucks, Tire Stacks UPDATE: Suspicious Fire Near NJ Turnpike In Ridgefield Engulfs Box Trucks, Tire Stacks
Update: Suspicious Fire Near NJ Turnpike In Ridgefield Engulfs Box Trucks, Tire Stacks A suspected arson fire consumed the cabs of four box trucks and multiple stacks of large tires in an industrial area along Overpeck Creek in Ridgefield, responders said. Billowy black smoke could be seen from the nearby New Jersey Turnpike to the west and Route 46 to the north after the fire broke out on Bell Drive -- off Edgewater Avenue and Bergen Turnpike -- shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, May 21. Temperatures that broke 90 degrees required additional manpower supplied by firefighters from Fort Lee, Palisades Park and Ridgefield Park. Their colleagues from Cliffside Park and Fairview prov…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Turnpike Gas Station Sells $10K Mega Millions Winner Turnpike Gas Station Sells $10K Mega Millions Winner
Turnpike Gas Station Sells $10K Mega Millions Winner A lottery ticket from the Friday, April 22 Mega Millions drawing was sold at a gas station on the New Jersey Turnpike in Bergen County. The $10,000 winner matched four of the five white balls and the Gold Mega Ball drawn.  The winning numbers were 07, 28, 29, 58, and 59. The Gold Mega Ball was 10, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 03. The ticket was purchased at Sunoco #701 on the New Jersey Turnpike Milepost 116E/115W, Ridgefield in Bergen County.

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by Cecilia Levine
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CAPTURED! Prisoner Who Escaped From Palisades Park Police HQ Nabbed In Rhode Island CAPTURED! Prisoner Who Escaped From Palisades Park Police HQ Nabbed In Rhode Island
Captured! Prisoner Who Escaped From Palisades Park Police HQ Nabbed In Rhode Island GOTCHA! The manhunt for a purported MS-13 gang member who escaped from Palisades Park police headquarters in handcuffs three days ago ended with his capture in Rhode Island, authorities announced. Working around the clock, Palisades Park police "were right with" Adilson Estrada-Garcia of Cliffside Park when he arrived in Providence to stay with a cousin, Detective Lt. Alex Monteleone said. Members of the US Marshals Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force were notified and nabbed the 24-year-old Guatemalan national without incident at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, March 6, Monteleone said. Estrada-G…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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MANHUNT: Prisoner Escapes From Palisades Park Police HQ MANHUNT: Prisoner Escapes From Palisades Park Police HQ
Manhunt: Prisoner Escapes From Palisades Park Police HQ GOTCHA! The manhunt for a purported MS-13 gang member who escaped from Palisades Park police headquarters in handcuffs three days ago ended with his capture in Rhode Island, authorities announced. Working around the clock, Palisades Park police "were right with" Adilson Estrada-Garcia of Cliffside Park when he arrived in Providence to stay with a cousin, Detective Lt. Alex Monteleone said. Members of the US Marshals Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force nabbed the 24-year-old Guatemalan national without incident at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, March 6, Monteleone said. Estrada-Garcia -- whose fami…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Driver Reports Rented Range Rover Stolen From Outside Bergen Restaurant With $70G Inside Driver Reports Rented Range Rover Stolen From Outside Bergen Restaurant With $70G Inside
Driver Reports Rented Range Rover Stolen From Outside Bergen Restaurant With $70G Inside An out-of-towner who stopped for some Korean barbecue in Ridgefield told police he emerged to find his rented Range Rover missing -- along with $70,000 in cash that he said a friend had loaned him. The 50-year-old Asian traveler from Chicago said he'd gotten the vehicle from the Enterprise-Rent-A-Car at O'Hare Airport, Ridgefield Police Chief Thomas Gallagher said. He told police he'd stopped in Philadelphia to visit a friend who loaned him the fat stacks. Last week, he grabbed dinner at the Dae Ji Ssonday restaurant in the HMart shopping center on Broad Avenue. He told police he came…

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by Jerry DeMarco