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Police & Fire
Accused Child Molester From Cliffside Park Held For ICE Accused Child Molester From Cliffside Park Held For ICE
Accused Child Molester From Cliffside Park Held For ICE A married construction worker from Cliffside Park who's accused of sexually assaulting a preteen is being held for federal authorities, jail records show. Delfino Simon-Roca, 56, was charged with sexual assault and child endangerment following a month-long investigation that began with a tip from the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The prosecutor’s detectives arrested him last Tuesday, Nov, 21, and sent him to the Bergen County Jail, Musella said. Simon-Roca, who’s listed in jail records as a Guatemalan national, has remained t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Arson Investigator, Expert Fire Photographer Richard Wolfson Leaves Lasting Impact In NJ Arson Investigator, Expert Fire Photographer Richard Wolfson Leaves Lasting Impact In NJ
Arson Investigator, Expert Fire Photographer Richard Wolfson Leaves Lasting Impact In NJ Whether he was capturing it through his lens, fighting it or investigating it, Richard Wolfson was likely at the fire. Wolfson volunteered 40 of the 50 years he lived in Garfield as one of his city's bravest. He was also a regional arson investigator, often serving as an expert witness in criminal cases.  And he single-handedly founded the NJ Metro Fire Photographers Association in 1985, serving as its first-ever president. Rich Wolfson's impact was felt throughout North Jersey's firefighting, fire photography and fire investigating communities, which is why his death last week leaves suc…

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by Jerry DeMarco and Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Bogota Man Killed In Predawn House Fire Bogota Man Killed In Predawn House Fire
Bogota Man Killed In Predawn House Fire UPDATE: A senior resident was killed in an intense house fire before dawn Saturday in Bogota, authorities confirmed. CPR was in progress as the unresponsive 74-year-old military veteran was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, responders said. A woman who lived with him in the single-family house at the corner of River Road at West Main Street escaped after the three-alarm fire ignited around 6 a.m. Nov. 18, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She declined being taken to a hospital, the prosecutor said. Aftermath. Damien Danis for DAIL…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Lyndhurst Man Wanted On Warrants Charged With Trashing Relative's Home, Fighting Police Lyndhurst Man Wanted On Warrants Charged With Trashing Relative's Home, Fighting Police
Lyndhurst Man Wanted On Warrants Charged With Trashing Relative's Home, Fighting Police A Lyndhurst man wanted for trashing a relative's home ran from police, then fought with them before being subdued, authorities said. Officers responding to a call from a Stuyvesant Avenue home learned that Faiz Mohammad, 27, had become irate and vandalized the place, causing $1,300 worth of damage before fleeing, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. Police were looking out for Mohammad when he returned, prompting the relative to hide in a bathroom and call police, Auteri said. He fled again but was spotted soon after by Officer Matthew Dudek on 5th Avenue, the lieutenant said. Dudek ended u…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Married, Unemployed Englewood Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teen Married, Unemployed Englewood Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teen
Married, Unemployed Englewood Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teen A married and unemployed man living in Englewood sexually assaulted a pre-teen, authorities charged. Juan Carlos Ortiz-Avendano, 43, was arrested following a joint investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit and Englewood police. Investigators charged Ortiz-Avendano with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a victim under 13, sexual assault of the same victim and child endangerment through “sexual conduct.” He remained held in the Bergen County Jail. Federal authorities have placed a detainer on Ortiz-Avendano, who is listed in Bergen County Jail records as…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Veteran Responder Charged With Torching Service Vans At Bergen Optimum Store Veteran Responder Charged With Torching Service Vans At Bergen Optimum Store
Veteran Responder Charged With Torching Service Vans At Bergen Optimum Store A veteran firefighter from Passaic County torched two Optimum service vans behind the company’s Oakland store, said authorities who arrested him on Thursday. Randy S. McMaster Jr., 42, of Bloomingdale, intentionally set the fires that were reported behind the Potash Road store at 3:15 p.m. Oct. 19, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The blazes were quickly suppressed, leaving both service vehicles with fire and smoke damage, before emergency responders arrived, the prosecutor said following McMasters's arrest on Nov. 16. A father of two, McMaster lives in the Waterfall Village off…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Familiar Foe Nabbed With Knife Following Failed McDonald's Bathroom Robbery Bid: Hackensack PD Familiar Foe Nabbed With Knife Following Failed McDonald's Bathroom Robbery Bid: Hackensack PD
Familiar Foe Nabbed With Knife Following Failed McDonald's Bathroom Robbery Bid: Hackensack PD An ex-con with the proverbial arm's-length rap sheet unsuccessfully tried to rob a man at knifepoint in the bathroom of a Hackensack McDonald's, authorities said. Shajee Jackson, 30, wasn’t difficult to identify following the aborted holdup at the Essex Street eatery at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13. Calling him "known to police" would be an understatement. The 28-year-old victim told police Jackson followed him into the bathroom, then pulled a large knife, demanded money and threatened to stab him, the victim told police. The victim refused and his assailant fled empty-handed, said Capt…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Theft Of Drugs From Bergen Prosecutor's Evidence Room Centers On Veteran Detective: Sources Theft Of Drugs From Bergen Prosecutor's Evidence Room Centers On Veteran Detective: Sources
Theft Of Drugs From Bergen Prosecutor's Evidence Room Centers On Veteran Detective: Sources A ranking detective with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office is at the center of an investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office into the sale of several kilos worth of drugs stolen from an evidence room, multiple sources said. At least one arrest was expected as part of what sources say was an undercover sting involving the New Jersey State Police that led to the theft and sale of more than a dozen kilos of narcotics that had been seized as evidence. An investigation was confirmed -- without elaboration -- by both agencies. Neither has publicly identified the department vet…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Loaded Gun Found In Children's Toys: 5 Adults, Two Juveniles Seized In Little Ferry House Raid Loaded Gun Found In Children's Toys: 5 Adults, Two Juveniles Seized In Little Ferry House Raid
Loaded Gun Found In Children's Toys: 5 Adults, Two Juveniles Seized In Little Ferry House Raid Police who raided a rented Little Ferry home found a loaded gun in a children’s play area in a bag atop a pile of toys, authorities said. Six adults and three juveniles were initially taken into custody following the joint raid of the troubled John Street home by tactical squads from the Little Ferry and Lyndhurst police departments. Five adults were charged, only two of whom actually live there, according to police records. In addition to a loaded .22-caliber revolver that reportedly turned up in a children's basement play area, police said they located a loaded Glock 32 handgun with an a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Manager At Bergen-Based Entertainment Union Charged With Embezzling $1.7M Manager At Bergen-Based Entertainment Union Charged With Embezzling $1.7M
Manager At Bergen-Based Entertainment Union Charged With Embezzling $1.7M The former office manager of a Bergen County-based union representing behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry was arrested on charges of embezzling $1.7 million from the local. Theresa Gremillot, 58, of Saddle Brook, pocketed an estimated 3,000 debits from the operating accounts of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local #632 between Jan. 1, 2019 and July 1, 2023, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. That’s an average of nearly 13 transactions a week. Gremillot was arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 8, and booked into the Bergen County Jail to…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Repeat Offender Released From Jail Caught Stealing In Teaneck Again: Police Repeat Offender Released From Jail Caught Stealing In Teaneck Again: Police
Repeat Offender Released From Jail Caught Stealing In Teaneck Again: Police Career criminal Aley Beretay had been released from jail barely 24 hours earlier when Teaneck police arrested him yet again. It was nothing new for them – or for Beretay, who’s been busted dozens of times in his adult life, although never for anything significant enough to put him away for very long. Beretay, 40, had served several months in the Bergen County Jail for a previous incident when he was released on Nov. 1. Three days later, he was back behind bars. Beretay was caught on Saturday trying to hide a $600 bicycle stolen from a Cedar Lane home in an Oakdene resident’s backyard, Tea…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Hackensack Kosher Pitmaster Spotlighted On New Show Hackensack Kosher Pitmaster Spotlighted On New Show
Hackensack Kosher Pitmaster Spotlighted On New Show A Hackensack kosher BBQ food truck/pop-up will be featured on the first episode of a new show devoted to the best in kosher cuisine.  The Wandering Que, located at 75 Burlews Court and appearing a is being profiled on the new TV show "Schmoozing and Cruising", streaming on ChaiFlicks and premiering on Thursday, Nov 16.  On "Schmoozing and Cruising", host CW Silverberg visits innovative kosher restaurants. ChaiFlicks describes itself as the leading streaming service for Jewish storytelling. The pitmaster at The Wandering Que is Ari White, a native of El Paso. He bought a BBQ pit on Ebay an…

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by Sam Barron