Fair 63°
Police & Fire
BUSTED: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme BUSTED: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme
Busted: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme Thirty-one people were arrested following a months-long New Jersey drug distribution scheme that netted 14.3 pounds of cocaine, two firearms and more than $193,000 in cash, authorities announced. An investigation into “Operation Triple Tragedy” involved law enforcement agencies from Somerset, Union, and Middlesex counties and the U.S. Postal Service. Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said the following arrests were made on June 4: Arrests made in “Operation Triple Tragedy”Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Joselin Castillo, aka “Tragedy," 30, Grandview Avenue Edison Po…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police: Pursuit Of 3 Armed Robbers Ends In Getaway Car Rollover Crash On Route 22 Police: Pursuit Of 3 Armed Robbers Ends In Getaway Car Rollover Crash On Route 22
Police: Pursuit Of 3 Armed Robbers Ends In Getaway Car Rollover Crash On Route 22 Three armed robbery suspects were in custody after their vehicle overturned during a police pursuit Wednesday afternoon in Essex County, authorities said. A gunman demanded an employee of the AT&T store on the Morris Turnpike in Short Hills open a safe in a back room, while another man loaded 38 iPhones into a backpack around 3 p.m., Millburn police said. The men ordered a pair of employees and a customer into a back room near the safe, and stole the customer and employees' personal cell phone, too, police said. The trio fled in a silver vehicle, spotted heading eastbound on Route 22 i…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Business
Sticky's Finger Joint Opening 4th NJ Location Sticky's Finger Joint Opening 4th NJ Location
Sticky's Finger Joint Opening 4th NJ Location Sticky's Finger joint is opening its fourth New Jersey location. The latest shop will be replacing Cluck-U in Hoboken, as reported by Hoboken Girl. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alison K (@alisonlivestoeat) Sticky's has other locations in Paramus (Bergen Town Center), Bridgewater and Union. The gourmet chicken finger restaurant was launched in 2012 by childhood friends Jon Sherman and Paul Abrahamian in New York City.  An opening date has not yet been announced. Sticky's Finger Joint, 112 Washington St., Hoboken

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
WINNERS: 3 Winning Mega Millions Tickets Good For $10K Sold In NJ WINNERS: 3 Winning Mega Millions Tickets Good For $10K Sold In NJ
Winners: 3 Winning Mega Millions Tickets Good For $10K Sold In NJ Three third-tier prizewinning tickets from Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing were sold in New Jersey. The winning numbers were 03, 05, 56, 61, and 66. The Gold Mega Ball was 04, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 02. The tickets that win the $10,000 prize were purchased from the following locations: Bergen County: Krauszer’s Food Store, 394 Ramapo Valley Rd., Oakland; Cumberland County: Xpress Mart, 67 Oak Rd. East, Vineland; and, Union County: $.99 Cents Plus of Union, 350 Chestnut St., Union. In addition to the third-tier prizes won, 50 players matched four of the five white balls …

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Multi-Agency Probe Ties Quartet To 84 Burglaries In Eight NJ Counties, Rockland Multi-Agency Probe Ties Quartet To 84 Burglaries In Eight NJ Counties, Rockland
Multi-Agency Probe Ties Quartet To 84 Burglaries In Eight NJ Counties, Rockland A car crash in Hackensack and an alert officer in Cedar Grove produced key evidence in the takedown of a mixed-gender crew believed responsible for 84 home burglaries in eight New Jersey counties and Rockland, authorities said. Investigators armed with a search warrant found proceeds from one of the burglaries in a Mercedes-Benz GL 450 that Keith Perry, 38, of Teaneck crashed in March, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Perry was identified as a burglar who threatened an Englewood homeowner by "making a motion with his hand inside his sweatshirt as though he had a gun" and saying…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash A large-scale drug trafficker from Somerset County who led investigators on a high-speed chase was dealing major quantities of heroin laced with deadly fentanyl, federal authorities said. William T. Bouza, 46, of Watchung, initially eluded police during a chase but was captured a week later, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Authorities targeted Bouza after intercepting 33 pounds of heroin stashed in a secret compartment of a Mercedes shipped to New Jersey from California on a car carrier in February 2019, authorities said. Bouza was waiting for the drugs in Union but bolted afte…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
LAWSUITS: 9 More Men Accuse North Jersey Shop Teacher Robert Goodlin Of Sex Assault LAWSUITS: 9 More Men Accuse North Jersey Shop Teacher Robert Goodlin Of Sex Assault
Lawsuits: 9 More Men Accuse North Jersey Shop Teacher Robert Goodlin Of Sex Assault A New Jersey shop teacher previously accused of sexually assaulting a pair of students is facing similar accusations from nine more men, NJ.com reports. The suits were filed in Union and Hudson Superior Courts against Robert Goodlin, who is incarcerated at the Adult Diagnostic Treatment Center in Avenel. In 2019, Goodlin was convicted of sexually assaulting a pair of students at Battin Middle School in Elizabeth, where he taught from 1993 to 2004. Two of the latest suits come from former Elizabeth students, while seven were students in Secaucus -- where Goodlin taught in the 1980s, NJ.com…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Business
Popular Morris County Sub Shop Suddenly Closes Doors Popular Morris County Sub Shop Suddenly Closes Doors
Popular Morris County Sub Shop Suddenly Closes Doors A popular sub chain suddenly closed the doors of its Morris County store, leaving just six Garden State locations. Firehouse Subs at the Columbia Turnpike in Florham Park has shut down for good, according to a sign posted to the front door over the weekend. “Thank you for your patronage. We are permanently closed,” the message says. The Florham Park eatery closed because the franchise owner decided to "explore other business ventures," a company representative told Daily Voice. "We are sorry for any inconvenience this has created for our guests and invite them to visit the Union location,…

SHARE

by Valerie Musson
News
NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam
NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam A twice-convicted tax preparer who helped New Jersey clients scam the IRS out of $1.6 million is headed to federal prison for the next five years. Joseph Kenny Batts, 52, of Elkridge, MD became the third of five men sentenced for preparing bogus tax returns at Tax Pro’s and Tax Solutions & Associates in Essex and Union counties. Batts, who already had a federal tax fraud conviction on his record, was the only one of the group to go to trial. U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp convicted him of conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as five counts of aiding in preparing fals…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes
NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes A Union County contractor admitted cheating the federal government out of $1.7 million in personal and corporate income taxes. Olger Fallas, 49, of Union, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference this week that he used a check-cashing business to pocket payments form customers to his Essex County companies, Olger Fallas Painting and Olger Fallas Properties. He also admitted depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer payments into bank accounts that weren’t associated with either business. Rather than go to trial, Fallas accepted a deal from the governmen…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco