NJ Man Conned $1.5M From Boston Buddy To Fund Casino Trips, Fund NY Restaurant: Feds Say NJ Man Conned $1.5M From Boston Buddy To Fund Casino Trips, Fund NY Restaurant: Feds Say
NJ Man Conned $1.5M From Boston Buddy To Fund Casino Trips, Fund NY Restaurant: Feds Say A New Jersey man who admitted to conning a friend out of $1.5 million on a fake investment scheme in Boston to fund his restaurant and casino vacations will serve 18 months in prison, authorities announced.  Edwin Tavarez, 48, of Garfield, N.J., pleaded guilty to wire fraud in May and was sentenced on Monday, Dec. 18, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He must also repay the $1,515,836 million he stole.  Tavarez conned a decades-long friend into "investing" in an industrial property in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, authorities said. Tavarez told his friend they …
Thousands Without Power, Roads Flooded, Schools Delayed In North Jersey After Storm Thousands Without Power, Roads Flooded, Schools Delayed In North Jersey After Storm
Thousands Without Power, Roads Flooded, Schools Delayed In North Jersey After Storm Rain from a Sunday, Dec. 17 storm closed roads and delayed school openings across New Jersey on Monday, Dec. 18. Thousands of residents were without power as of 9 a.m. According to the PSE&G outage map, the following areas did not have power: Bergen: 3,764 (Most in New Milford, Elmwood Park, Garfield) Hudson: 4,095 (Most in Bayonne, North Bergen) Passaic: 2,718 (Most in Clifton, Passaic) Union: 660 Flooding is ongoing in several areas this morning with 2 to 5 inches of rain reported so far. DO NOT drive through... Posted by US National Weather Service Philadelphia/M…
Tenant With 1,700 Child Porn Files Secretly Recorded Garfield Kid For Gratification: Prosecutor Tenant With 1,700 Child Porn Files Secretly Recorded Garfield Kid For Gratification: Prosecutor
Tenant With 1,700 Child Porn Files Secretly Recorded Garfield Kid For Gratification: Prosecutor A Garfield kiddie porn collector planted a camera that secretly recorded a child for his sexual gratification, authorities charged. Jorge E. Mendez, a 56-year-old married product inspector, was arrested during a raid of his second-floor apartment on Tuesday, Dec. 5, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Mendez was charged with production and possession of child sexual abuse material by Cyber Crimes Unit investigators who seized 1,700 images of “nude and/or sexually explicit pubescent and prepubescent children,” the prosecutor said. He remained held in the Bergen County Jail pending …
GOTCHA! Leonia Officer Quickly Finds Familiar Face Who Fled Traffic Stop: Police GOTCHA! Leonia Officer Quickly Finds Familiar Face Who Fled Traffic Stop: Police
Gotcha! Leonia Officer Quickly Finds Familiar Face Who Fled Traffic Stop: Police A repeat offender who might’ve thought he’d given a Leonia police sergeant the slip would've been wrong. It began when Leonia Police Sgt. Ray Forsdahl tried to stop a BMW with New York plates for a violation in the area of Broad and Lakeview avenues, Capt. Chris Garris said. The driver kept going, though, getting onto southbound Route 95, the captain said on Friday, Dec. 1. Forsdahl pursued him for a ways, then dropped back out of safety reasons, he said. Besides, he knew who the driver was.  Didn’t take long to figure out where he laid his head, either. To call Brandon Warren, 28,…
Arson Investigator, Expert Fire Photographer Richard Wolfson Leaves Lasting Impact In NJ Arson Investigator, Expert Fire Photographer Richard Wolfson Leaves Lasting Impact In NJ
Arson Investigator, Expert Fire Photographer Richard Wolfson Leaves Lasting Impact In NJ Whether he was capturing it through his lens, fighting it or investigating it, Richard Wolfson was likely at the fire. Wolfson volunteered 40 of the 50 years he lived in Garfield as one of his city's bravest. He was also a regional arson investigator, often serving as an expert witness in criminal cases.  And he single-handedly founded the NJ Metro Fire Photographers Association in 1985, serving as its first-ever president. Rich Wolfson's impact was felt throughout North Jersey's firefighting, fire photography and fire investigating communities, which is why his death last week leaves suc…
Firefighters Douse Intense Attic Blaze In Garfield Firefighters Douse Intense Attic Blaze In Garfield
Firefighters Douse Intense Attic Blaze In Garfield Firefighters in Garfield contained an intense attic blaze that severely damaged a single-family home. They got there quickly after smoke was reported coming out an attic window of the two-story, wood-frame home on Bergen Street shortly before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1. It took barely a half-hour for the firefighters to knock it down. No injuries were reported. GARFIELD FD Wallington firefighters assisted. The Garfield Fire Prevention Bureau is investigating the cause. GARFIELD FD Damien Danis for DAILY VOICE (both photos) GARFIELD FD GARFIELD FD
'No Criminality' Suspected In Sudden Death Of Garfield Man, 33, Investigation Continues 'No Criminality' Suspected In Sudden Death Of Garfield Man, 33, Investigation Continues
'No Criminality' Suspected In Sudden Death Of Garfield Man, 33, Investigation Continues The sudden unattended death of a 33-year-old Garfield man wasn’t believed to be suspicious, although an investigation hasn’t yet been completed, authorities said Tuesday. City police responding to a 911 call for medical aid found Tadeusz Soltys unresponsive in a Palisade Avenue apartment at the corner of Van Winkle Avenue shortly after 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Elizabeth Rebein confirmed on Tuesday. His girlfriend apparently had last seen Soltys there Friday night, then found him on the floor and called for help when she returned the next morning, a so…
Violent Garfield Ex-Con Charged With Englewood Shooting Violent Garfield Ex-Con Charged With Englewood Shooting
Violent Garfield Ex-Con Charged With Englewood Shooting A Garfield ex-con with a violent criminal history was charged with firing a gunshot at another man in Englewood earlier this year. Michael Dashawn Lockett, 31, apparently had some kind of beef with the victim when he squeezed off a shot on an otherwise quiet Green Street near Argonne Park in broad daylight this past Feb. 15, authorities said. No one was struck, they said. Englewood detectives and members of the US Marshals Service captured Lockett in Hackensack on Tuesday, Oct. 3. He was charged with aggravated assault and weapons possession and sent him to the Bergen County Jail, where h…
Habitual Offender Charged With Death Of Garfield Man From Fake Oxy Pills Full Of Fentanyl Habitual Offender Charged With Death Of Garfield Man From Fake Oxy Pills Full Of Fentanyl
Habitual Offender Charged With Death Of Garfield Man From Fake Oxy Pills Full Of Fentanyl A habitual offender killed a fellow Garfield resident by giving him bogus oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl, authorities charged. Juhaan Justice Hammond, 30, is charged with strict liability for the drug-induced death this past Sunday of Ivan Santiago in Garfield, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on Friday, Sept. 22. Santiago and an unidentified second person were hospitalized after overdosing on Lincoln Place shortly after 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17, Musella said. Narcan was administered, the prosecutor said, adding that Santiago was pronounced dead at the hospital. Detectiv…
These Nine NJ Schools Won Prestigious Blue Ribbon Award These Nine NJ Schools Won Prestigious Blue Ribbon Award
These Nine NJ Schools Won Prestigious Blue Ribbon Award Nine New Jersey schools won the prestigious National Blue Ribbon School Award. The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday, Sept. 19 recognized 353 schools across the country as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023.  The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student groups on assessments. The nine New Jersey schools that won are: Claremont Avenue Elementary School, Colonia High Technology High School, Lincroft Princeton Charter School, Princeton Hilltop Elementary School, Mendham Technology High School, Newark …
Downed Wires Halt Train Service In Bergen Downed Wires Halt Train Service In Bergen
Downed Wires Halt Train Service In Bergen NJ TRANSIT announced at 3 p.m.: "Bergen County Line rail service has resumed in both directions and is subject to up to 45-minute delays." ****** Service along NJ TRANSIT's Bergen Line was suspended in both directions for hours on Tuesday after a power line fell onto the tracks. A No. 58 train had left Port Jervis at 9:21 a.m. Sept. 19 and was due to arrive in Hoboken at 11:38 a.m. Sept. 19. However, at 11:15 a.m., the wire stopped the train near the Plauderville Station in Garfield. "There were no reported injuries to the 110 customers and crew on board," NJ TRANSIT reported. "PSE&G…
HORRIFIC: Passaic Man Charged With Abducting, Raping, Beating Young Girl HORRIFIC: Passaic Man Charged With Abducting, Raping, Beating Young Girl
Horrific: Passaic Man Charged With Abducting, Raping, Beating Young Girl Holding her against her will, a 22-year-old Passaic man repeatedly sexually assaulted and beat a child, authorities charged. Stiven Peralta “sexually assaulted and repeatedly physically assaulted a child at a residence in Passaic, restraining the child when she attempted to leave the residence,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Passaic Police Chief Luis A. Guzman said Authorities seized Peralta near the corner of Washington Place and Columbia Avenue shortly after 12:30 a.m. last Wednesday, Sept. 13, they said. He remained held Monday in the Bergen County Jail. The Dominica…