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Police & Fire
GHOULISH: Englewood Pair Caught Burglarizing Bogota Home Where Military Vet, 74, Died In Fire GHOULISH: Englewood Pair Caught Burglarizing Bogota Home Where Military Vet, 74, Died In Fire
Ghoulish: Englewood Pair Caught Burglarizing Bogota Home Where Military Vet, 74, Died In Fire A rookie policeman and a veteran sergeant nabbed two Englewood men moments after they burglarized a home where a 74-year-old military veteran was killed in a fire four months ago, authorities said. Officer Anthony Montano and Sgt. Thomas Riedel were on patrol around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, March 27, when they saw a 2008 Jeep Commander back out of the driveway of the River Road home where Gerald Gaimo died in an intense pre-dawn house fire last November, Lt. Geoffrey Cole said. The home had been boarded up following the fire, he noted.The Jeep driver suddenly turned the wrong way down a one-wa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Arrest Made In Brazen Overnight Robbery On South Hackensack Street Arrest Made In Brazen Overnight Robbery On South Hackensack Street
Arrest Made In Brazen Overnight Robbery On South Hackensack Street Bergen County prosecutor's detectives captured a Passaic man who they said brandished a handgun during a brazen street robbery in South Hackensack. Using a Honda Insight that he'd rented, Bryan Tineo-Infante, 25, and an as-yet unidentified companion pulled in front of another vehicle with three occupants on Michael Street shortly after 4:30 a.m. last Aug. 20, authorities said. Tineo-Infante and the other robber were both clad all in black and brandishing handguns when they got out, they said. The robbers "pointed the handguns at all three victims while demanding their personal belongings,"…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Sprocket Scientists: Bicycle Thieves Chased Down, Caught By Glen Rock Police Sprocket Scientists: Bicycle Thieves Chased Down, Caught By Glen Rock Police
Sprocket Scientists: Bicycle Thieves Chased Down, Caught By Glen Rock Police Two adults and a juvenile from Paterson who’d just stolen a trio of bicycles from some Glen Rock teens were pursued through several backyards and over fences before a patrol officer and his sergeant nabbed all three. Friends of the victims flagged down Officer Andrew Magro on Harristown Road near Wilde Park and pointed him toward the three bandits, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The trio hopped off the stolen bikes and ran, with Magro close behind, the chief said. The officer and Sgt. Mike Trover took all three into custody at Iris Circle, he said. Arrested on theft charges were Romeo …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bayonne Detectives Sting Staten Island Man Selling Stolen Cars On Facebook Marketplace: Police Bayonne Detectives Sting Staten Island Man Selling Stolen Cars On Facebook Marketplace: Police
Bayonne Detectives Sting Staten Island Man Selling Stolen Cars On Facebook Marketplace: Police A Staten Island man was off to the races selling stolen cars on Facebook Marketplace when Bayonne detectives put the brakes on the operation, authorities said. Using bogus identification, Devonte A. Thomas, 23, recently raked in $26,650 that police know about as “Alazim Olasupo Odu, selling a 2013 Infiniti and two Hondas from 2019 and 2020, Bayonne Police Capt. Eric R. Amato said. One of the victims called police after crossing paths with Thomas while looking for another car, the captain said. After quickly confirming that the car Thomas was selling had been stolen out of Newark, detective…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GOTCHA: Ex-BF Accused Of Swindling $71K From Local Realtor Lodged In Bergen County Jail GOTCHA: Ex-BF Accused Of Swindling $71K From Local Realtor Lodged In Bergen County Jail
Gotcha: Ex-BF Accused Of Swindling $71K From Local Realtor Lodged In Bergen County Jail Christina LaBarbiera says four months is way too long — but it's something. Last November, she filed a lawsuit accusing Robert D. Harris of swindling more than $71,000 from her in the months after they matched on the dating app Hinge. On Monday, March 18, LaBarbiera says she got the call from police she has been waiting for: Harris surrendered, she said. Records show 30-year-old Harris was lodged in the Bergen County Jail on March 18, and is facing two counts of credit card theft and one count of theft by unlawful taking/disposition moveable property. "I'm just looking forward to the just…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Four Caught, One Sought In Brutal Stabbing Death Outside Garfield Bar Four Caught, One Sought In Brutal Stabbing Death Outside Garfield Bar
Four Caught, One Sought In Brutal Stabbing Death Outside Garfield Bar Authorities who’ve charged four men with the brutal murder of a man outside a Garfield bar last month turned to the public for help finding a fugitive gang member from Pennsylvania who sources said repeatedly stabbed the victim in the chest. Ricky “Angel” Vargas, 35, of East Stroudsburg, PA, and his four companions confronted Richard Franceschi, 31, of Hawthorne outside JoJo's Bar & Grill on Monroe Street before dawn this past Feb. 4, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Vargas had a knife and co-defendant Jayson William Rivera, 23, also of East Stroudsburg, had a handgun, the pr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SIBLING THIEVERY: Brothers Captured Same Day, Charged With Separate Crimes, Haledon Police Say SIBLING THIEVERY: Brothers Captured Same Day, Charged With Separate Crimes, Haledon Police Say
Sibling Thievery: Brothers Captured Same Day, Charged With Separate Crimes, Haledon Police Say A thief tried to outrun Haledon police while pushing a shopping cart packed with nearly $2,800 worth of hot merchandise on the very same day that they arrested his older brother for stealing a car, authorities said. Borough resident Ahmad Elfki, 20, was still in the Walgreens on Belmont Avenue when Officer Kris Duci, Corporal April Latona and Detective Lt. Tim Lindberg arrived, they said. Elfki (above, left), who was previously banned from the store, bolted out an emergency fire exit, triggering an alarm, Deputy Police Chief George Guzman Jr. said. He hustled toward Morrissee Avenue with “…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Scammer Jailed After Collecting $27,000 For Car He Never Delivered: Wayne PD Scammer Jailed After Collecting $27,000 For Car He Never Delivered: Wayne PD
Scammer Jailed After Collecting $27,000 For Car He Never Delivered: Wayne PD A notorious scammer pocketed $27,900 for a car he didn’t deliver, then bounced a refund check after a Wayne detective got involved, authorities said. Anthony Antoniello, 38, of Totowa essentially gave Detective Michael Polifrone no choice but to charge him after offering a series of empty excuses, Detective Capt. Dan Daly said. Polifrone also discovered similar cases against Antoniello. Antoniello agreed both to refund the money and surrender to police to be processed on theft charges, the captain said. When he didn’t show, members of the Wayne Police Enforcement Unit went out and arreste…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Five Charged With Rash Of Bergen Armed Wristwatch Robberies, Stabbing In PalPark GOTCHA! Five Charged With Rash Of Bergen Armed Wristwatch Robberies, Stabbing In PalPark
Gotcha! Five Charged With Rash Of Bergen Armed Wristwatch Robberies, Stabbing In PalPark Authorities have charged five men with robbing three separate victims of wristwatches – stabbing one of them – in two Bergen County towns, thanks to an arrest by Port Authority police. Two of the robberies occurred in broad daylight on River Road in Edgewater last fall, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday, March 1. The third included a stabbing in the victim’s driveway in Palisades Park, the prosecutor said. One of two robbers brandished a handgun while a colleague stood lookout when they robbed the first Edgewater victim shortly after 3 a.m. Oct. 24, Musella said. The ro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Woman Using Counterfeit $100 Bills Busted At Florida Business: Police NJ Woman Using Counterfeit $100 Bills Busted At Florida Business: Police
NJ Woman Using Counterfeit $100 Bills Busted At Florida Business: Police A 33-year-old New Jersey woman was arrested and charged in Florida with using multiple $100 bills, authorities said. Police in Brevard County were initially notified by two businesses about the phony money, the Cocoa Beach Police Department said on Facebook.  After an investigation, police arrested Brenda Stefan Silvera Klembert and discovered additional victims, officers said.  Klembert was charged with uttering forged instruments and theft, police said. Police did not say where in the Garden State, Klembert was from. Police didn't say where Klembert is from but online rec…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Shoplifters Fresh Off Heist Busted With Ecstasy, $5K In Merch On Route 23: Wayne PD Shoplifters Fresh Off Heist Busted With Ecstasy, $5K In Merch On Route 23: Wayne PD
Shoplifters Fresh Off Heist Busted With Ecstasy, $5K In Merch On Route 23: Wayne PD Police arrested three shoplifters found with more than $5,300 in stolen merchandise after keen-eyed stopped their car on Route 23 last week in Wayne, officials said. Dugleidy Gonzalez-Riera, 28; Yefferson Prieto-Galviz, 23; and Morelis Blanco-Cineros, 41; all of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, were being held in the Passaic County Jail on various theft and drug charges, Wayne Detective Capt. Dan Daly said. Trouble began around 3:35 p.m. last Valentine's Day when Wayne Officers Harrison Kirby and David Talerico saw the Toyota sedan following another vehicle too…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! South American Theft Network Fugitive Pegged In $25,000 Dumont Home Burglary, More GOTCHA! South American Theft Network Fugitive Pegged In $25,000 Dumont Home Burglary, More
Gotcha! South American Theft Network Fugitive Pegged In $25,000 Dumont Home Burglary, More A wanted member of a notorious transnational group of thieves was tied by Dumont detectives to the theft of $25,000 in cash during a home break-in two months ago. Jhan Michael Rodriguez-Fonseca, 26, lives in Jersey City and most recently worked as a food delivery driver, Dumont Police Chief Brian Joyce said. He really belongs to what’s known as the South American Theft Group network and is tied to other burglaries in the state, the chief said. He was also wanted by the NYPD and by agents with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), he said. Primarily from Colombia, the members of the…

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by Jerry DeMarco