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Police & Fire
UPDATE: 12-Year-Old Boy In Union Hit-Run Has Died UPDATE: 12-Year-Old Boy In Union Hit-Run Has Died
Update: 12-Year-Old Boy In Union Hit-Run Has Died UPDATE, July 19: The child died Friday morning. Click here for more.  A driver struck a child in Union Wednesday night and left the scene, police said.  The 12-year-old* boy was hit around 8:30 p.m. near Galloping Hill Road and Forest Drive. The child was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he was listed in critical condition Thursday morning.  A police spokesman said Thursday morning there may be additional updates later in the day.  *The boy was originally identified as a 10-year-old 

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by Paul Milo
News
Wine Dating Back To 1700s Found In Union Wine Dating Back To 1700s Found In Union
Wine Dating Back To 1700s Found In Union Bottles of centuries-old wine were recently found at a Colonial-era home in Union that also houses the Liberty Hall Museum, museum officials said. The home -- built in 1772 by the state’s first governor, William Livingston -- is affiliated with Kean University. During a recent renovation, 25 bottles of Madeira wine dating from 1796 were discovered in the wine cellar. Also found were dozens of demijohns -- a type of large, bulbous container -- dating from the 1820s. It is considered one of the largest collections of 18th-century Madeira wine in the United States, the museum said. The discov…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Jersey City Man Charged In House-Flipping Scam That Cost Banks Millions Jersey City Man Charged In House-Flipping Scam That Cost Banks Millions
Jersey City Man Charged In House-Flipping Scam That Cost Banks Millions A real estate investor from Jersey City has been charged for his part in a scheme to use false documents and other methods to artificially inflate the value of homes bought on short sale, U.S, Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. Anthony Garvin, 49, was charged Tuesday with bank fraud conspiracy in an indictment superseding earlier charges of bank fraud filed in January. Garvin belonged to a group that allegedly bought homes with mortgages in default using home-equity loans obtained with false information and documents. The group would persuade a bank to sell the property at a los…

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by Paul Milo
Obituaries
Former Star Athlete, Police Officer From Union Julia Caseres, 28, Loses Cancer Battle Former Star Athlete, Police Officer From Union Julia Caseres, 28, Loses Cancer Battle
Former Star Athlete, Police Officer From Union Julia Caseres, 28, Loses Cancer Battle A standout college soccer star who went on to become a police officer, Julia Jeanette Caseres died Friday. She was 28. She had been battling a rare form of lung cancer, NJ.com reported. Born in Glen Ridge, she spent most of her life in Union and a 2008 graduate of Union High School, she moved to Clinton a few years ago. Caseres played soccer for New Jersey City University in Jersey City, where she broke the record for goals scored in state collegiate history. She was also an academic All-American and was named the school’s Woman of the Year. She went on to the Essex County Police Acade…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Union Police Officers Save Baby Who’d Stopped Breathing Union Police Officers Save Baby Who’d Stopped Breathing
Union Police Officers Save Baby Who’d Stopped Breathing Two police officers in Union rushed into action to perform CPR on a nine-month-old, saving the infant’s life, Capt. Scott Breslow said in a statement. Officers Stephen Viaud and Gaetano D’Allesandro arrived at the Bertha Avenue home within two minutes after the 9-1-1 call in around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. Family members were waiting outside with the infant, who was “non-responsive,” Breslow said. Gaetano and Viaud, a trained paramedic who teaches CPR to fellow officers, began resuscitating the baby immediately on the front porch of the home. Moments later the baby spit out some water and…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Authorities ID Man Shot During Wild Union Police Chase Authorities ID Man Shot During Wild Union Police Chase
Authorities ID Man Shot During Wild Union Police Chase The man who was shot after fleeing from police in Union Friday afternoon has been identified as a 32-year-old Linden resident, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said.  Lester Krek was pulled over for a traffic violation on Rt. 22 in Union around 2:15 p.m. Krek took off during the stop, according to authorities.  Shortly afterward, Union police found his smashed pickup a few miles west in Mountainside. A Union police sergeant found Krek on foot in the 1600 block of Larkspur Drive and the two scuffled, the prosecutor's office said.  As the sergeant, who was not identified, …

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by Paul Milo
News
Man Gets $1M To Settle Lawsuit Against Union Liquor Store: Report Man Gets $1M To Settle Lawsuit Against Union Liquor Store: Report
Man Gets $1M To Settle Lawsuit Against Union Liquor Store: Report A man who slipped on the ice in front of a Union liquor store and was hit by a vehicle has settled a lawsuit filed against the business for $1 million, the New Jersey Law Journal reported. Ciriano Tene-Garcia fell in front of Aarti’s Liquors Jan. 25, 2015 and ended up in the roadway on Vauxhall Road, where he was struck by a vehicle. An attorney for Tene-Garcia said he suffered serious injuries that have permanently affected his concentration and memory. He also has some difficulty walking as a result of the accident, his attorney said. In his suit, Tene-Garcia said the sidewalk in front o…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Troubled Comedian And Union Native Artie Lange Arrested Again Troubled Comedian And Union Native Artie Lange Arrested Again
Troubled Comedian And Union Native Artie Lange Arrested Again Artie Lange, the comedian best known as a sidekick on Howard Stern's radio show, has been arrested for violating the terms of a court-mandated drug rehab program, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.  Lange, 51, who grew up in Union and lives in Hoboken, has been candid about his struggles with addiction. He was staying at a halfway house in Clinton as part of the program.  Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura told NJ 101.5 that Lange had failed to follow a court-ordered regimen imposed as a condition of his rehab.   "If they don't follow them the court wants to …

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by Paul Milo
Business
Mahwah-Based DressBarn Closing All 650 Stores Mahwah-Based DressBarn Closing All 650 Stores
Mahwah-Based DressBarn Closing All 650 Stores DressBarn, the women's clothing chain, is closing all 650 of its stores after being in business for nearly 60 years. Parent company Ascena Retail Group based in Mahwah said it plans to focus on its more profitable brands, such as Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant. DressBarn CFO Steven Taylor said the chain "has not been operating at an acceptable level of profitability in today’s retail environment.” Dressbarn has locations in Bloomfield, Edgewater, Hackensack, Kearny, Paramus, Westwood, Clifton, Florham Park, Parsippany, Wayne, Succasunna, Rockaway, Watchung, Union and more. The closures w…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Union Man Indicted In Crash That Killed Off-Duty Hillside Police Officer Union Man Indicted In Crash That Killed Off-Duty Hillside Police Officer
Union Man Indicted In Crash That Killed Off-Duty Hillside Police Officer A 29-year-old Union resident has been indicted on charges of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide for what authorities said was an alcohol-fuelled vehicle crash that killed his passenger last year.  Authorities say Ricardo Dos-Santos was driving an Acura SUV when it crashed into the back of a truck stopped for a red light near 1&9 and Pleasant Street in Linden  around 2:15 a.m. Oct. 15.  Dos-Santos was driving around 90 mph when he slammed into the truck, authorities also said.  Responders found Dos-Santos and a passenger, Giovanni Esposito, 30, at the sce…

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by Paul Milo
News
USPS: Undelivered Union Mail Dumped In Trash USPS: Undelivered Union Mail Dumped In Trash
USPS: Undelivered Union Mail Dumped In Trash Mail that had not been delivered was found in a recycling container in Union Saturday, police said.  In a release, Union police said the mail was found at a home on Elberson Court. An "abandoned" USPS vehicle was found nearby, police also said.  Police held the mail until it could be picked up by investigators from the United States Postal Service.  London Mulcahy, a spokeswoman for the USPS Office of the Inspector General, said the vehicle was not abandoned but had broken down and was later retrieved by USPS personnel.  But she did say Friday that the inspector genera…

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by Paul Milo
Events
'Plot Against America,' 'Sopranos' Prequel Both Filming In N.J. This Week 'Plot Against America,' 'Sopranos' Prequel Both Filming In N.J. This Week
'Plot Against America,' 'Sopranos' Prequel Both Filming In N.J. This Week Scenes for two productions set in New Jersey and based on works by famous New Jersey natives are being shot this week in -- where else? -- New Jersey.  Material for "The Plot Against America," an HBO miniseries based on Philip Roth's 2004 novel, is being filmed Monday in Union, according to letters sent to residents asking for permission to relocate vehicles. Residents and families with children who attend St. Michael's School on Kelly Street said the school will be closed Monday to accommodate filming.  Also this week, in Newark,  Sopranos prequel film "The Many Saints of Ne…

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by Paul Milo