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Police & Fire
HEARTLESS: 19 Catalytic Converters Swiped From Vehicles Serving Bergen Seniors, Disabled, More HEARTLESS: 19 Catalytic Converters Swiped From Vehicles Serving Bergen Seniors, Disabled, More
Heartless: 19 Catalytic Converters Swiped From Vehicles Serving Bergen Seniors, Disabled, More A pair of heartless thieves from Pennsylvania stole 19 catalytic converters from a lot off Route 17 packed with vehicles used to help seniors, the disabled and frail Bergen County residents get around, authorities said. Detectives grabbed one of them – identified as Noe Gabriel Hernandez, 24, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The other, Juan Rosario, 25, was being sought, he said on Tuesday, June 27. The unemployed thieves swiped 17 of the devices from county-owned vehicles parked in the Division of Community Transportation lot on Essex Street in Lodi on March 20, the prosecutor …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Volunteer Responder In Bergen, Passaic Charged With Theft Volunteer Responder In Bergen, Passaic Charged With Theft
Volunteer Responder In Bergen, Passaic Charged With Theft A volunteer first responder in two counties was arrested on theft charges in Bergen, records show. Tyler M. Kotchkowski, 21, was charged last week with two counts of theft from the North Arlington Volunteer Emergency Squad, for which sources said he'd served as treasurer. An exact amount couldn't immediately be determined. Kotchkowski, a North Arlington native who moved to Clifton last summer, studied criminal justice at Bergen Community College, according to his LinkedIn profile. He'd been with NAVES since May 2021 and also a volunteer with the West Paterson Fire Co. 3 since June 2021, i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Firefighter Snatched Jewelry From Hospitalized Prisoner: Authorities Paterson Firefighter Snatched Jewelry From Hospitalized Prisoner: Authorities
Paterson Firefighter Snatched Jewelry From Hospitalized Prisoner: Authorities A Paterson firefighter was caught on surveillance video stealing a gold chain from a prisoner brought to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, authorities said. Antonio Moore, 39, of Newark was released pending an initial appearance in Superior Court in Paterson after members of the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office Public Integrity Unit arrested him on Wednesday, June 21, they said. Clifton police had brought the victim in custody to the city hospital last Aug. 21, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. “The arrestee’s personal property, including a gold chain and the arrest…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
West New York Police Captain Stole $60K From Youth Academy: Prosecutor West New York Police Captain Stole $60K From Youth Academy: Prosecutor
West New York Police Captain Stole $60K From Youth Academy: Prosecutor A 49-year-old West New York police captain was charged with stealing from the West New York Youth Police Academy, which he helped raise money for, authorities said. Erwin Moreno was arrested on Thursday, June 15 after an investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Internal Affairs Unit, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Between 2016 and 2023, Moreno stole $60,000 from the organization's funds for his own benefit, Suarez said. In 2019, Moreno organized a GoFundMe for the Youth Academy, raising more than $5,000 from 66 donors. Moreno was charged with one count of theft …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Police Charge Career Burglar Shot By Homeowner With Wyckoff Jewelry Store Break-In Police Charge Career Burglar Shot By Homeowner With Wyckoff Jewelry Store Break-In
Police Charge Career Burglar Shot By Homeowner With Wyckoff Jewelry Store Break-In UPDATE: A career criminal who was once shot by a retired guidance counselor after breaking into his home was charged with burglarizing a Wyckoff jewelry store earlier this year. Alexander E. Manigat, 42, of Brooklyn, was arrested by Nassau County police last month in connection with a jewelry store burglary there, Wyckoff Police Lt. Joseph Soto said on Friday, June 2. Manigat quickly became a suspect in a 3:30 a.m. break-in at Hartger’s Jewelers on Wyckoff Avenue in Wyckoff on March 4, authorities said. Security cameras show one prowler entering Hartger’s by climbing a ladder and breaking …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Fairview Detectives Nab Habitual Criminal In Spree Of Smash-And-Grabs GOTCHA! Fairview Detectives Nab Habitual Criminal In Spree Of Smash-And-Grabs
Gotcha! Fairview Detectives Nab Habitual Criminal In Spree Of Smash-And-Grabs Fairview detectives cracked a string of smash-and-grab business burglaries after a local career criminal had a blowup with a woman over his drug use, authorities said. The phrase “known to police” was coined for offenders like Andrew Stanganelli, 32, who has a drug-related arrest record in both North Jersey and New York City that stretches back more than a decade. So it’s no surprise that he’d be on the list of usual suspects following last fall’s burglary spree. It began shortly after midnight Nov. 7 when an intruder forced open the front door of Romo Dry Cleaners on Fairview Avenue, sla…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Lodi Man Busted In Theft Of Snow Plow From New Milford School District Lodi Man Busted In Theft Of Snow Plow From New Milford School District
Lodi Man Busted In Theft Of Snow Plow From New Milford School District A Lodi man who authorities said has a thing for snow plows was arrested by New Milford police. Enzo Russo, 56, is also being eyed in similar thefts in Bergen and Passaic, they said. The snow plow in question in New Milford was taken from the local Board of Education while it was parked on school property, Police Capt. Kevin Van Saders said. Police recovered the snow plow and arrested Russon on Friday, May 12, Van Saders said. Russo remained held on Saturday in the Bergen County Jail, charged with theft, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and possession of burglary tools. Records show f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man Sexually Assaults Woman, 63, In Jersey City Business: Prosecutor Man Sexually Assaults Woman, 63, In Jersey City Business: Prosecutor
Man Sexually Assaults Woman, 63, In Jersey City Business: Prosecutor Authorities have arrested an 18-year-old man in the sexual assault of a 63-year-old woman inside of a Jersey City business. Elijah Lloyd, a city resident, is believed to have robbed and sexually assaulted the woman Wednesday, May 10 when she entered a business on West Side Avenue around 8:25 p.m., Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Jersey City Police Department with the investigation and arrest and multiple units of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance in the investigatio…

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by Sam Barron & Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Distraction Burglars Fool Montvale Resident, 87, But Joke's On Them, Chief Says Distraction Burglars Fool Montvale Resident, 87, But Joke's On Them, Chief Says
Distraction Burglars Fool Montvale Resident, 87, But Joke's On Them, Chief Says An 87-year-old Montvale homeowner was kept distracted by a burglar whose partner slipped in and swiped a lock box from the victim's home. The joke was on them, however: There weren't any valuables in it, authorities said. Dino Pizzo, 47, was arrested at his Edison home on Saturday, April 29, after Montvale Police Detective Sgt. Andrew Fedick identified him as the stealthy intruder, Police Chief Douglas McDowell said. Pizzo's partner went to the victim's home on a dead-end street on the east side of town shortly after 1:30 p.m. Thursday with a story about doing tree work and a question abou…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Disgruntled Employee Admits Torching Jersey Shore Business After Being Fired: Police Disgruntled Employee Admits Torching Jersey Shore Business After Being Fired: Police
Disgruntled Employee Admits Torching Jersey Shore Business After Being Fired: Police A 26-year-old Toms River man admitted to setting a Lakewood business on fire after being terminated, authorities aid. Jorge Euxaque-Ballesteros pleaded guilty on Friday, March 31, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. On Jan. 19, 2022, at approximately 2 a.m., Lakewood Township police and firefighters were dispatched to a business on Cross Street in reference to a sprinkler system alarm. Firefighters were able to extinguish a fire in the basement of the business.  Investigators determined that the cause of the fire was incendiary by an unknown …

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by Jon Craig
News
NO PAROLE: Ex-NJ Trooper Gets 5 Years For Using ID To Skate From Traffic Stops While Suspended NO PAROLE: Ex-NJ Trooper Gets 5 Years For Using ID To Skate From Traffic Stops While Suspended
NO Parole: Ex-NJ Trooper Gets 5 Years For Using ID To Skate From Traffic Stops While Suspended UPDATE: A disgraced former New Jersey State Police sergeant was sentenced to five years in prison without parole after a jury convicted him of using an ID card to get out of a string of Jersey Shore traffic stops while he was suspended from the force. Ex-NJSP Sgt. Marc Dennis, 51, of Waretown, also must forfeit his pension and cannot be publicly employed in New Jersey ever again, state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Dennis shouldn’t have had the identification card in his possession after being relieved of his authority during the suspension, Platkin said. The 17-year department…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Thief Convicted Of Stealing Home, $110K+ From Victim Causing Her To Lose NJ Home Thief Convicted Of Stealing Home, $110K+ From Victim Causing Her To Lose NJ Home
Thief Convicted Of Stealing Home, $110K+ From Victim Causing Her To Lose NJ Home A 36-year-old Newark man has been convicted of theft and forgery that caused a woman to lose her home, authorities said. The thefts also caused the woman with a mental health condition to lose more than $110,000, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens. ,After a four-day trial, the jury found  Obadiah Salters guilty on all 24 counts of theft and forgery charges, Stephens said on Friday, March 17. In December 2016, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit initiated an investigation into alleged acts of forgery and theft by Salters against…

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by Jon Craig