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Ramsey Man Admits Embezzling $516,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm Ramsey Man Admits Embezzling $516,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm
Ramsey Man Admits Embezzling $516,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm A Ramsey man who worked at a Ridgefield Park security systems firm told a federal judge that he and an accomplice diverted $516,000 of the company’s money to spend on themselves. Joseph Spaccavento, 41, was an accounts payable manager and assistant controller at the firm, which developed hardware and software for video surveillance, federal authorities said. His accomplice, Melissa Corso, coordinated the collection of customer payments and applied them to invoices, they said. For more than 5 ½ years, the two diverted customer payments to themselves, Spaccavento admitted during a videoconfe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Paterson Man Charged For Causing Fatal Overdose In Bathroom Of Morris County Target Prosecutor: Paterson Man Charged For Causing Fatal Overdose In Bathroom Of Morris County Target
Prosecutor: Paterson Man Charged For Causing Fatal Overdose In Bathroom Of Morris County Target A Paterson man has been charged in connection with a fatal January overdose in the bathroom of a Morris County Target, authorities said. Quamaine T. King, 31, was charged with first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, Morris County Acting Prosecutor Robert Carroll said Friday in a joint release with other top officials. King is accused of selling heroin and fentanyl to the victim, identified only as M.R., 23, who was found dead from an overdose in the bathroom of Target in Riverdale on Jan. 10, Carroll said. An investigation by the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office determ…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Amazon Fulfillment Center Replacing Vacant Jersey Shore Sears Store Amazon Fulfillment Center Replacing Vacant Jersey Shore Sears Store
Amazon Fulfillment Center Replacing Vacant Jersey Shore Sears Store Amazon plans to open another fulfillment center in Central Jersey at the site of a vacant Sears store. The approximately 93,000-square-foot Monmouth County location — at Seaview Square Shopping Center in Ocean Township — is expected to open in October, Mayor Chris Siciliano told NJ Advance Media. “It’s a win-win for us and for Amazon," Siciliano told NJ.com. "It’s really an ideal spot and it will serve the needs of several communities." Amazon customers will be able to pick up packages at the center, which will create up to 200 jobs. Fulfillment centers are used to store inventory like el…

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by Jon Craig
News
Feds: Former Bergen Resident From CT Embezzled $540,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm Feds: Former Bergen Resident From CT Embezzled $540,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm
Feds: Former Bergen Resident From CT Embezzled $540,000 From Ridgefield Park Security Firm A former Bergen County resident now living in Connecticut embezzled $540,000 intended for a local company that she diverted into a PayPal account for herself, her husband and a co-worker, federal authorities charged. A federal judge in Connecticut ordered Melissa Corso, 50, of Groton, held pending transfer to New Jersey to face wire fraud charges after the FBI arrested her on Thursday. Corso and her husband lived in Closter when she worked for a Delaware-based security systems supplier with an office in Ridgefield Park, federal authorities said. For more than six years, beginning in early …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Parole Officer Stole From Target Store In Sneaky Way For Months, Prosecutor Says NJ Parole Officer Stole From Target Store In Sneaky Way For Months, Prosecutor Says
NJ Parole Officer Stole From Target Store In Sneaky Way For Months, Prosecutor Says A 41-year-old New Jersey parole officer was caught stealing from the North Bergen Target store in a sneaky way for months, authorities said. Jorge Ortega, of Jersey City, used the commonly-called "ticket-switch fraud" method to change labels on various Target store items between July and October of this year, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Particularly, Ortega would take labels of lower-priced items and stick them on higher-priced items in the Tonnele Avenue store, Suarez said. Ortega was arrested Friday, Dec. 11, and charged with theft by deception then issued a disorderly p…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
WATCH: Hero Paramus Officer Breaks Doll Stroller Rescuing Girl -- Then Buys Her Brand New One WATCH: Hero Paramus Officer Breaks Doll Stroller Rescuing Girl -- Then Buys Her Brand New One
Watch: Hero Paramus Officer Breaks Doll Stroller Rescuing Girl -- Then Buys Her Brand New One All that a pair of Paramus police officers had to do on one particular call Tuesday afternoon was free a toddler who had somehow gotten her doll's stroller stuck around her waist. But that wasn't enough for one of the officers, who not only talked 4-year-old Yasmeen "Nina" Saleh through the whole rescue, but returned less than an hour later with a brand new stroller since he broke the other one during the rescue. "I felt like it was the right thing to do," Officer Robert Sobocinski said "This is a human job. When you're dealing with people, everything is different." "Our emergency service…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Another Giant Clothier Falls: These NJ, NY, CT Brooks Brothers Stores Are Closed For Good Another Giant Clothier Falls: These NJ, NY, CT Brooks Brothers Stores Are Closed For Good
Another Giant Clothier Falls: These NJ, NY, CT Brooks Brothers Stores Are Closed For Good It was the clothier that dressed 40 presidents, brought us the button-down polo shirt and survived not only the Great Depression and two world wars but also casual Fridays. But like so many other traditional retailers, Brooks Brothers was no match for the coronavirus. The 202-year-old company – considered America's oldest apparel seller -- on Wednesday filed for bankruptcy protection while announcing that 38 stores that it closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic weren't reopening. The shuttered stores in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut include: The Shops at Riverside, Hackensack; 2381…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Firefighters Douse Hackensack Apartment Blaze Firefighters Douse Hackensack Apartment Blaze
Firefighters Douse Hackensack Apartment Blaze Firefighters doused a roaring garden apartment blaze before dawn Saturday. City firefighters had to cut a fence behind the Main Street apartments and enter the property through the Target parking lot to conduct searches and ventilate the roof after the blaze broke out around 1:15 a.m. Firefighters extinguished heavy flames that shot out the window on the first floor and extended to the second. The two-alarm fire was knocked down within 25 minutes and declared under control within an hour. Three minor injuries were reported, including one involving a firefighter who responders said had dif…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
JCPenney Closing 242 Stores JCPenney Closing 242 Stores
JCPenney Closing 242 Stores JCPenney plans to permanently close 242 stores this year and next as it continues to reel from billions of dollars of debt, severe competitive disadvantages and the coronavirus pandemic. “Penney’s” cited COVID-19 when filing for bankruptcy late last week – the fourth national retailer to do so this month following J.Crew, Neiman Marcus and Stage Stores. "Until this pandemic struck, we had made significant progress rebuilding our company," CEO Jill Soltau said in a statement Friday. "Implementing this financial restructuring plan through a court-supervised process is the best path to ensure…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Target Shelf Stocker Charged With Raping Wood-Ridge Pre-Teen Target Shelf Stocker Charged With Raping Wood-Ridge Pre-Teen
Target Shelf Stocker Charged With Raping Wood-Ridge Pre-Teen A 20-year-old Target shelf stocker from Wood-Ridge raped a pre-teen, authorities charged. Steven Cabrera remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail pending a May 18 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack following his arrest the day before. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Wood-Ridge police contacted members of his Special Victims Unit after receiving a report that Cabrera had sexually assaulted a child under 13 on Monday. Cabrera is charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a victim under 13, sexual assault and child endangerment …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Drone Helps Police Nab 'Go Back To Lakewood' Fugitive From Jersey Shore Target Drone Helps Police Nab 'Go Back To Lakewood' Fugitive From Jersey Shore Target
Drone Helps Police Nab 'Go Back To Lakewood' Fugitive From Jersey Shore Target UPDATE:  With help from the public -- and a drone -- police captured a 51-year-old fugitive accused of shouting "Go back to Lakewood" while threatening a Target shopper. Brick police released a surveillance photo of Francis Dudas, 51, of Brick Township after they said he threatened a shopper at the Route 70 Target around 7:30 p.m. Monday. The victim told police he ignored the shout of "Go back to Lakewood," but then Dudas followed him into and around the store, repeating himself. When he finally turned to confront his assailant, the victim said, Dudas replied: "You'll have t…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Police: Paterson Furniture Store Owner From Morris Repeatedly Defies Coronavirus Order Police: Paterson Furniture Store Owner From Morris Repeatedly Defies Coronavirus Order
Police: Paterson Furniture Store Owner From Morris Repeatedly Defies Coronavirus Order A Morris County businessman who received a summons for keeping his Paterson furniture store open amid the coronavirus pandemic had to be cited and closed down again the next day, authorities said Tuesday. City police first ticketed Feras Abudaya, 33, of Kinnelon after they found his Buy and Save furniture store on Market Street open on Sunday, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. After ordering him to close, officers returned and found the store open again on Monday, Grewal said. They closed it down once more and gave Abudaya another summons for ignoring Gov. Phil Murphy’s order p…

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by Jerry DeMarco