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Police & Fire
Newark Teen, Grandmother Busted: Guns, Ammo Seized After Secaucus Car Burglary Arrest Newark Teen, Grandmother Busted: Guns, Ammo Seized After Secaucus Car Burglary Arrest
Newark Teen, Grandmother Busted: Guns, Ammo Seized After Secaucus Car Burglary Arrest Police who nabbed a Newark teen for a car burglary in Secaucus ended up seizing both him and his grandmother after finding three handguns and 400 rounds of ammunition at their home, authorities said. Secaucus police originally charged Malahki E. Issac, 18, with burglary and theft for the vehicle break-in and released him last month. A deeper dive by members of the department’s Anti-Crime Unit led them to even more serious offenses, Police Chief Dennis Miller said. After obtaining an arrest warrant, the detectives scoop up Isaac on Springfield Avenue in Newark on Thursday, April 4. Members…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ICE Seizes Turkish National Charged With Sexually Assaulting Drive-Share Passenger In Fair Lawn ICE Seizes Turkish National Charged With Sexually Assaulting Drive-Share Passenger In Fair Lawn
ICE Seizes Turkish National Charged With Sexually Assaulting Drive-Share Passenger In Fair Lawn ICE agents took custody of a 33-year-old ride-share driver from Turkey after he was jailed on charges of sexually assaulting a female passenger in Fair Lawn. Ahmet Yusuf Aydemir sexually assaulted the woman “while she was a passenger in his vehicle” on Wednesday, April 3, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He didn’t specify which ride-share service, however. Aydemir, a Turkish national who's been living in Garfield, was arrested on Thursday and charged with sexual assault and criminal sexual contact charges, records show. He was sent to the Bergen County Jail -- but he didn’…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment
Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment A Teaneck tax preparer illegally collected $1.43 million for himself and $40 million for clients from the IRS by purposefully exploiting COVID-related credits that neither he nor they were entitled to, a federal indictment alleges. Leon Haynes, 50, was originally arrested on a criminal complaint last July. The investigation leading to the charges continued before a grand jury in Newark. The result: a 55-count indictment for tax evasion, preparing false returns, aggravated ID theft and mail fraud, authorities said. Haynes fraudulently sought more than $150 million from the IRS by claim…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Trio Nabbed With Thousands Worth Of Designer Clothes, Bags, Anti-Security Device: Lyndhurst PD Trio Nabbed With Thousands Worth Of Designer Clothes, Bags, Anti-Security Device: Lyndhurst PD
Trio Nabbed With Thousands Worth Of Designer Clothes, Bags, Anti-Security Device: Lyndhurst PD Three out-of-towners traveling with thousands of dollars worth of stolen designer clothing and purses were busted by Lyndhurst police after the driver made an illegal turn in a vehicle that was missing both a front license plate and an inspection sticker. Officer Michael Clifford was on patrol in the area of Schuyler and Page avenues when it happened. As Clifford approached the vehicle after stopping it, he saw the rear passenger "remove her jacket and place it over something on the seat next to her," Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. She, the driver and a second passenger all said they d…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Ruthless' Brick City Brims Druglord From Montclair Convicted Of Three Murders, More 'Ruthless' Brick City Brims Druglord From Montclair Convicted Of Three Murders, More
'Ruthless' Brick City Brims Druglord From Montclair Convicted Of Three Murders, More The leader of a notorious Essex County street gang that dominated the region's drug trade was convicted by a federal jury of three murders, among other counts, authorities said. Michael Healy, 43, of Montclair, "ruthlessly ordered murders so that he could protect his narcotics operation and continue to sell large quantities of dangerous [drugs],” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said after federal jurors in Newark returned their verdicts on Wednesday, April 3. Healy "recruited men to kill someone he thought was an informant, and even when they killed the wrong person – a bystander – he ord…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Sports
Dan Hurley Reflects On Jersey City Lessons, Dad's 'Tough Love' Before NCAA Final Four Dan Hurley Reflects On Jersey City Lessons, Dad's 'Tough Love' Before NCAA Final Four
Dan Hurley Reflects On Jersey City Lessons, Dad's 'Tough Love' Before NCAA Final Four Dan Hurley is never shy when telling people what he learned growing up in Jersey City has helped him reach the top of the college basketball world. The UConn men's head basketball coach has led the Huskies to back-to-back Final Fours for the first time in program history.  UConn's dominant run to Glendale, AZ, was capped off with a second-half avalanche of points in the Huskies' 77-52 win over Illinois in the Elite Eight on Saturday, Mar. 30. And the Hurley family is a basketball dynasty in the Garden State, started by Dan's father Bob Hurley Sr. at the now-closed St. Anthony High Sch…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Woman's Throat Sliced In Cliffside, Man Charged With Attempted Murder Woman's Throat Sliced In Cliffside, Man Charged With Attempted Murder
Woman's Throat Sliced In Cliffside, Man Charged With Attempted Murder A woman narrowly escaped death when a man slit her throat in a horrific domestic assault during a gathering in Cliffside Park, authorities said. Ernesto Lara Rojo, a 49-year-old Cuban national who lives in West New York, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses and sent to the Bergen County Jail early Monday evening, April 1. ICE immediately issued a detainer on Rojo so he can be brought before a federal immigration judge in Newark to determine his residency status in the United States, jail records show. Rojo was with a group of people in an apartment jus…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ridgewood Contractor Who Ducked Taxes On $3.27 Million Charged In 18-Count Indictment: Feds Ridgewood Contractor Who Ducked Taxes On $3.27 Million Charged In 18-Count Indictment: Feds
Ridgewood Contractor Who Ducked Taxes On $3.27 Million Charged In 18-Count Indictment: Feds A Bergen County contractor avoided taxes on $3.275 million in income over six years through a scheme that the IRS sniffed out, federal authorities said. John Constantino, 67, of Ridgewood, ended up stiffing the government out of $682,735 in corporate and personal income taxes, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said. As sole owner and president, Constantino took steps to conceal both his personal income and assets and those of his fireproofing and painting business between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. attorney said. For starters, Constantino used a false address on his driver’s licen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM A career criminal from Passaic County who's been busted dozens of times in North Jersey in just the past few years used an explosive device to damage an ATM, federal authorities charged. Nicolas Torres, 41, of Passaic, has amassed a lengthy rap sheet over much of his adult life, mostly involving business break-ins that local police and county prosecutors have dealt with. This time, though, the FBI's got him. Torres was captured on surveillance video igniting the device in front of the Chase Bank ATM on North 6th Street in Prospect Park in the early morning hours of July 5, 2022, U.S. Attor…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police Car Struck, Vehicle Thieves Captured After Crash In Garfield: Authorities Police Car Struck, Vehicle Thieves Captured After Crash In Garfield: Authorities
Police Car Struck, Vehicle Thieves Captured After Crash In Garfield: Authorities A driver wanted for hitting a police cruiser with a stolen BMW was nabbed by Garfield police after he crashed into a pole, igniting a fire, and took off on foot, authorities said. Garfield police spotted the orange 2020 BMW M4 shortly before noon Wednesday, March 27, after colleagues from Newark who were tracking the vehicle via GPS pointed them to Prospect Street after one of their vehicles was hit, Capt. Mario Pozo said. Garfield Police Officer Noah Murphy tried stopping the sedan moments later, the captain said, but the driver threw it in reverse, hit the gas and accidentally slammed int…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wanted Driver Crashes Off Route 17, Subdued After Grabbing Mahwah Officer's Gun Wanted Driver Crashes Off Route 17, Subdued After Grabbing Mahwah Officer's Gun
Wanted Driver Crashes Off Route 17, Subdued After Grabbing Mahwah Officer's Gun A fugitive who'd just crashed a car off Route 17 shouted at pursuing Mahwah police to shoot him, then grabbed at an officer's gun and bit him while being handcuffed Thursday morning, authorities said. Officer Christopher Lupo tried to stop Miles Harris, 32, of Newark for several violations on the southbound highway around 10:45 a.m. March 28, Lt. Michael Blondin said. Officer Nick Williams joined Lupo as the sedan exited the highway and fled onto Myrtle Avenue in Ramsey, the lieutenant said. It slammed into a tree moments later. Harris bailed out and ran behind some area businesses, Blond…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Former Newark Public Safety Director Accidentally Shot Himself — With Someone Else's Gun: PD Former Newark Public Safety Director Accidentally Shot Himself — With Someone Else's Gun: PD
Former Newark Public Safety Director Accidentally Shot Himself — With Someone Else's Gun: PD Anthony Ambrose, who has a lengthy career in law enforcement in Essex County, accidentally shot himself with another person's gun on Friday, March 22, police said. Responding to many unanswered questions about the shooting, Cedar Grove police issued a news release laying out what happened to Ambrose at 2 Village Park Road, where Ambrose keeps an office as a private investigator.  Ambrose previously served as chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and public safety director for the City of Newark. After the discharge, Ambrose was taken to the hospital by another m…

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by Sam Barron