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Police & Fire
Jersey City Charter School Teacher Had Sexual Conduct With Student, Prosecutor Says Jersey City Charter School Teacher Had Sexual Conduct With Student, Prosecutor Says
Jersey City Charter School Teacher Had Sexual Conduct With Student, Prosecutor Says A 67-year-old Jersey City charter school teacher was charged with having sexual conduct with a student, authorities said. Steven Gordon was released after being processed following alleged "Inappropriate contact" at the University Academy Charter High School on West Side Avenue in Jersey City during school hours on May 29, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Gordon was charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, as well as child endangerment, Suarez said in announcing the arrest on Monday, June 17.  He immediately resigned from his job at the 9-12 public charter …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Woman In Teaneck Street Fight Arrested, Victim Douses Her, Several Others With Pepper Spray Woman In Teaneck Street Fight Arrested, Victim Douses Her, Several Others With Pepper Spray
Woman In Teaneck Street Fight Arrested, Victim Douses Her, Several Others With Pepper Spray Teaneck police responding to a street fight between two women arrested one of them and summoned EMS after the other discharged pepper spray, authorities said. Fransheska Liriano-Benitez, 32, of Palisades Park had punched the other woman in the head outside a Palisade Avenue home between Griggs and Sherman avenues shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Police Chief Andrew R. McGurr said. The victim then tried to blast her with pepper spray, which affected Liriano-Benitz and several bystanders, the chief said. Members of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps treated Liriano-Benitez and t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Charged With Pointing Illegal Gun During Dispute In Garfield Ex-Con Charged With Pointing Illegal Gun During Dispute In Garfield
Ex-Con Charged With Pointing Illegal Gun During Dispute In Garfield Garfield police investigating a report of a man pointing a gun at a victim during a dispute seized an ex-con from Paterson. Officers responding to a John Street residence found a defaced .22-caliber handgun and a magazine loaded with 10 rounds that belonged to Kelvin Merello, 37, Garfield Police Capt. Mario Pozo said. They arrested Merello and charged him with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and multiple weapons counts -- including illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Merello -- whose online bio lists him as a personal trainer -- has remained in the Bergen Co…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes
NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes The 75-year-old owner-operator of a New Jersey Italian restaurant faces up to three years in prison after admitting he stiffed the state out of nearly a half-million dollars in sales taxes over a period of nearly seven years. John Garofalo Sr. of Union Township – who owns Mario’s Tutto Bene restaurant in the township -- paid the outstanding $496,374.99 to the state as part of a plea deal that he hopes will get him leniency, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. His assistants will recommend that Superior Court Judge Sherry L. Wilson send Garofalo to state prison for three years …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Attorney From Bergen Charged With Assault Attorney From Bergen Charged With Assault
Attorney From Bergen Charged With Assault An attorney from Bergen County was charged with grabbing a woman by the throat, slamming her into a refrigerator and threatening to kill her, according to a law enforcement report. Brian T. Giblin Jr., 35, of Paramus was arrested by Mahwah police following the alleged domestic incident in the township on Feb 17, an affidavit on file in Superior Court in Hackensack says. A responding officer cited "visible signs of injuries" on the alleged victim's neck, the complaint says. "Their verbal argument turned physical when the suspect grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the refrigerato…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man, 57, Sexually Assaulted Child For Years At Warren County Home, Prosecutor Says Man, 57, Sexually Assaulted Child For Years At Warren County Home, Prosecutor Says
Man, 57, Sexually Assaulted Child For Years At Warren County Home, Prosecutor Says A Warren County man has been charged in connection to a series of sexual assaults on a girl spanning five years, authorities said. Mark Van Grouw, 57, “engaged the victim in multiple sexual acts” between 1990 and 1995 at his home in Blairstown, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said in a joint release Friday. The abuse began when the victim was 10 years old, Pfeiffer added. Van Grouw, of Dutch Hill Road, was charged with two counts each of first-degree sexual assault and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, as well as four counts of second-degree sexual assault. He was being he…

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by Valerie Musson
News
New Jerseyans Hurt In Railing Collapse File Lawsuit Against Washington Commanders New Jerseyans Hurt In Railing Collapse File Lawsuit Against Washington Commanders
New Jerseyans Hurt In Railing Collapse File Lawsuit Against Washington Commanders A handful of New Jersey football fans are suing the Washington Commanders over a nearly-fatal incident after a game in January 2021, as reported by various news outlets. After a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts was greeting fans when a railing collapsed, injuring multiple spectators who fell between five and 10 feet onto concrete at FedEx Field. Four of the individuals who were hurt in the incident are suing the Commanders for gross negligence, seeking $300,000 to compensate for their physical and emotional pain, ESPN says. Soon after the incident, Hurts asked …

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by AJ Goldbloom
News
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too UPDATE: A New Jersey man already serving federal prison time for a GoFundMe scheme that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran got a state prison sentence, as well. The plea-bargained five-year term approved by a Superior Court judge in Mount Holly on Friday will run at the same time as the 27-month federal sentence that Mark D'Amico of Trenton received in April. The difference is that there's no parole in the federal prison system, which keeps D'Amico in the medium-security United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA for more than…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Hackensack Man Jailed On Child Porn Charges Hackensack Man Jailed On Child Porn Charges
Hackensack Man Jailed On Child Porn Charges UPDATE: A Bergen County-based insurance underwriter for entertainers, athletes and corporate executives was released pending court action on child porn charges, records show. Matthew Heitman, 33, was arrested Thursday during a raid of his Hackensack home, Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The former Upper Saddle River resident "used the Internet to view, download, and possess more than 1,000 digital files and distributed multiple digital files depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children," the prosecutor said. Heitman was discovered during a "months-long Internet…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: NJ Mom Set Apartment On Fire Then Fled With 3 Kids To Perth Amboy Authorities: NJ Mom Set Apartment On Fire Then Fled With 3 Kids To Perth Amboy
Authorities: NJ Mom Set Apartment On Fire Then Fled With 3 Kids To Perth Amboy A Hillsborough mom was charged with intentionally starting three fires inside of her apartment before fleeing the scene to Perth Amboy with her three kids, authorities said. Hillsborough police got a 9-1-1 call around 11:10 p.m. April 20 for a fire at a Treeman Drive apartment, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson announced in a joint release. A neighbor told police she saw Jacklyn McLoughlin, 33, fleeing the unit where she lived with her kids just before fire companies and police responded, Robertson said. An investigation found that the fires were planned and deliber…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things 'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things
'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things A Morris County man was caught on surveillance video coughing on and touching objects in his estranged wife’s home, saying he had “the 'rona,” authorities charged. “Do you want the 'rona?” Nikolas Whitehill, 39, of Parsippany, is heard asking on the video, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. A court order allowed Whitehill to enter his wife’s house on alternating dates when she isn’t home to feed the fish, Grewal said. She provided video footage to the police from March 28, he added. Police charged Whitehill with violating an executive order issued by Gov. Phil Murphy that make …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Murphy Relents, Allows Gun Shops To Open Amid Coronavirus Crisis Murphy Relents, Allows Gun Shops To Open Amid Coronavirus Crisis
Murphy Relents, Allows Gun Shops To Open Amid Coronavirus Crisis Gun shops in New Jersey can now open as an essential business during the coronavirus outbreak -- but "by appointment only and under limited hours," Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. Murphy originally classified gun shops as "non-essential" businesses required to be closed as part of an executive order. He changed that on Monday, saying that he was following U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidelines, which added gun dealers, ranges and manufacturers to its essential business guide for its coronavirus response on Saturday. “It wouldn’t be my definition, but that’s the definition at the fed…

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by Jon Craig
News
LAWSUIT: Leaked Shell Station Toxins Caused Cancer That Killed Northvale Girl LAWSUIT: Leaked Shell Station Toxins Caused Cancer That Killed Northvale Girl
Lawsuit: Leaked Shell Station Toxins Caused Cancer That Killed Northvale Girl The family of a late Northvale girl has filed a lawsuit alleging her deadly brain cancer was caused by a contaminant leak from a nearby gas station. Vivienne Knopp, 7, had been living at one of the homes in which toxic chemicals had seeped into the garden soil from an underground Shell station tank, NorthJersey.com reports. The lawsuit was filed last Thursday in Superior Court -- exactly two years after Vivienne's death - and names Shell Oil Co. and the station's owner, Tappan Realty. The Tappan Road gas station is one of the thousands of contaminated New Jersey sites on a list by the…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
LAWSUIT: Bergenfield Man Wants $5M From Family Fun Day Mechanical Bull Injury LAWSUIT: Bergenfield Man Wants $5M From Family Fun Day Mechanical Bull Injury
Lawsuit: Bergenfield Man Wants $5M From Family Fun Day Mechanical Bull Injury A Bergenfield man who says he was injured while riding a mechanical bull at a local annual event is seeking $5 million from the borough. Ryan Nelson had no time to secure himself on the ride when the operator "unreasonably and unexpectedly jolted and jerked" him on the bull at the Bergenfield Family Fun Day in June 2017, NorthJersey.com reports. Nelson was out of work and under went surgery for some permanent injuries to his head, neck, limbs and nervous system endured on the ride at Veteran's Memorial Park, his lawyer Christopher DiGirolamo said. The suit was filed in Berge…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Delaware Man Accused Of Bringing Gun To Westfield Grade School Indicted Delaware Man Accused Of Bringing Gun To Westfield Grade School Indicted
Delaware Man Accused Of Bringing Gun To Westfield Grade School Indicted The Delaware man who was arrested in June when authorities said he was found with a handgun, hollow-point bullets and other weaponry in the parking lot of a Westfield grade school has been indicted by a grand jury, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said.  Thomas J. Wilkie, 46, of Bear, has been charged with possession of a weapon on or near the grounds of an educational institution, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and other offenses.  Police in Delaware's New Castle County called Westfield police and alerted them June 13 that Wilkie was headed to Tamaques Element…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
UPDATE: 5th Grade Teacher Had Dozens Of Child Porn Images, Bergen Investigators Charge UPDATE: 5th Grade Teacher Had Dozens Of Child Porn Images, Bergen Investigators Charge
Update: 5th Grade Teacher Had Dozens Of Child Porn Images, Bergen Investigators Charge A Tenafly elementary school teacher was arrested by investigators who said they found 32 child pornography images belonging to him stored on a cloud. Pasquale Bernaldo-Antonelli, 42, remained held in the Bergen County Jail on Friday, charged with child endangerment by possessing and/or viewing images of child pornography and/or abuse following his arrest the day before by detectives from Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella's office. The investigators said they traced a child-porn complaint from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in January to Bernaldo-Antonelli. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
POLL: Sussex County's New ICE Ballot Question Similar To Another That AG Nixed POLL: Sussex County's New ICE Ballot Question Similar To Another That AG Nixed
Poll: Sussex County's New ICE Ballot Question Similar To Another That AG Nixed The Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders unanimously voted to put a question on the ballot similar to the one New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told them not to: "Should Sussex County aid ICE?"  (Story continues below poll). The board is asking voters to weigh-in on if it should "make county-owned tools, resources, personnel, and real and intellectual property" should be made reasonably available to ICE. Grewal last month criticized a similar ballot question that would have asked the county sheriff to ignore his "immigrant trust directive," and gave the Free…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Former Hudson County Official Accused Of Taking Bribes Former Hudson County Official Accused Of Taking Bribes
Former Hudson County Official Accused Of Taking Bribes A Jersey City woman who worked for Hudson County’s Office on Aging took bribes to funnel patients in need of health aides to a businessperson who turned out to be a witness for the government, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said. Myrtha Nicolas, 61, was charged last week with extortion under color of official right. She was released on a $100,000 bond. Nicolas served as a referral coordinator who connected disabled patients with companies that provide health aides as part of an effort by the state to help patients live independently.  In June 2016, a self-employed executive of a ho…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Mahwah Generic Drug Maker Among 20 Companies, 16 Individuals Accused In Price-Fixing Scheme Mahwah Generic Drug Maker Among 20 Companies, 16 Individuals Accused In Price-Fixing Scheme
Mahwah Generic Drug Maker Among 20 Companies, 16 Individuals Accused In Price-Fixing Scheme A Mahwah-based generic drug manufacturer was among 20 companies accused of participating in what authorities called “one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.”  A complaint filed by the 44 states in U.S. District Court in Connecticut also accuses 16 individuals of participating in the scheme. More than half of the drug companies and five of the individual defendants – all of whom are drug company executives responsible for sales, marketing, pricing and operations -- are from New Jersey. They include Glenmark Pharmaceuticals I…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Man Admits Extorting Professional Morris County Athlete With Naked Photos, Report Says Man Admits Extorting Professional Morris County Athlete With Naked Photos, Report Says
Man Admits Extorting Professional Morris County Athlete With Naked Photos, Report Says A man pleaded guilty to extorting a Morris County-based professional athlete with naked and sexually explicit photos, the DailyRecord reports. Patrick M. Avognon Jr. was represented by a public defender and tested positive for marijuana at federal court in Newark Monday, when he admitted to demanding $5,600 from the athlete and threatening to post nude photos of him to a website if he failed to do so, the article says. The victim, who was not identified, was forced to hire a lawyer and a private investigator, who turned evidence of the extortion over to law enforcement, DailyRecord say…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Cleaning Service Worker Stole $1,105 From 3 Glen Rock Homes, Possibly Others, Police Say Cleaning Service Worker Stole $1,105 From 3 Glen Rock Homes, Possibly Others, Police Say
Cleaning Service Worker Stole $1,105 From 3 Glen Rock Homes, Possibly Others, Police Say A cleaning service employee altered and cashed $1,105 worth of checks stolen from three different Glen Rock homes, said police who suspect similar thefts in other towns. Detective Lucas Doney identified and busted 39-year-old Monica Gonzalez of Hopatcong after the cleaning service owner told police that she “suspected one of her employees of stealing checks from clients’ homes,” Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Monday. Gonzalez – who didn’t maintain a consistent address -- took 10 checks in all from the three homes, the chief said. It’s believed she also stole from homes in other towns, he…

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by Jerry DeMarco