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Sparta, NJ

Police & Fire
10-Year Prison Minimum Awaits NJ Catholic School Teacher Who Took Upskirts Of Girls In Class 10-Year Prison Minimum Awaits NJ Catholic School Teacher Who Took Upskirts Of Girls In Class
10-Year Prison Minimum Awaits NJ Catholic School Teacher Who Took Upskirts Of Girls In Class UPDATE: A North Jersey school teacher who took upskirt photos and videos of female students faces at least 10 years in state prison when he’s sentenced next month. Michael F. Wagner, 41, of Hopatcong took a deal from prosecutors rather than risk the potential outcome of a trial, admitting that he recorded female 8th graders of his at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta during class and collected child porn. In order to secure the agreement – and whatever leniency may come at his July 26 sentencing in Newton -- Wagner had to plead guilty earlier this month to first-degree child en…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
$2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole $2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole
$2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole UPDATE: A scammer from Sussex County who fraudulently collected more than $2 million in federal funds by identifying people who'd been dead for more than a decade as business partners must spend the next three years in federal prison. John Jhong, 54, of Sparta, actually submitted bogus applications for more than $15 million in federal pandemic aid earmarked to help struggling companies during COVID-19, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Jhong "turned these vital relief programs into his personal ATM," spending the more than $2 million he illegally collected on personal expenses, the U.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
18-Year-Old Wins Seat On NJ Town's School Board 18-Year-Old Wins Seat On NJ Town's School Board
18-Year-Old Wins Seat On NJ Town's School Board Lifelong Sparta resident Chad Wood has been elected to the town’s Board of Education just five months after graduating from high school. The 18-year-old is one of the state’s youngest to hold a BOE position. Wood ran alongside Jennifer "Lonsky" Grana and Kaitlin Gagnon. The trio incumbents Christina "Longo" Keiling and LeeAnne M. Pitzer. Wood might be young, but he comes with plenty of experience, having served as Student Council President for three years at Sparta High School, and was elected Executive President his senior year. Wood was also elected as the BOE’s Student Representative d…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
North Jersey Fire Chief Locks Eyes With Woman While Masturbating In ShopRite Lot: Police North Jersey Fire Chief Locks Eyes With Woman While Masturbating In ShopRite Lot: Police
North Jersey Fire Chief Locks Eyes With Woman While Masturbating In ShopRite Lot: Police A North Jersey fire chief was arrested for masturbating in a vehicle parked in a ShopRite parking lot, authorities said. Budd Lake Fire Chief Joe Compano was arrested and charged with lewdness following the Tuesday, Sept. 19 incident in the parking lot of the Sparta ShopRite store on North Village Boulevard, Sparta police Detective Lt. Tom Snyder said. It began around 11:50 p.m., when a woman loading groceries into her car called police to say that the man in a maroon Ford Explorer next to her was masturbating with his penis exposed, Snyder said. He masturbated more aggressively and tried h…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
DRUG FRAUD: Crimebusters Smash Statewide NJ Ring That Stole, Forged Prescriptions For Codeine DRUG FRAUD: Crimebusters Smash Statewide NJ Ring That Stole, Forged Prescriptions For Codeine
Drug Fraud: Crimebusters Smash Statewide NJ Ring That Stole, Forged Prescriptions For Codeine An elaborate drug fraud ring operating in more than half the counties in New Jersey stole doctors’ prescription pads as part of a scheme to stock up on opioid-boosted cough syrup, authorities charged. Medical offices in various parts of the state – including Wayne, Morristown and Bridgewater – were broken into by Divinete Jeffries, 30, of East Orange, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Jefferies snatched prescription pads that were then forged and given to accomplices who submitted them to various pharmacies using stolen IDs and bogus driver’s licenses, according to an indictment return…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28 These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28
These NJ Schools Are Closed, Delayed Due To Snow Tuesday, Feb. 28 The first winter storm of the season is causing a change in plans for New Jersey schools on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Some districts have delayed openings while others are closed completely. Here's a list of which school are closed or delayed for Tuesday, Feb. 28. Check your school/district's website for details. Bedminster: 10: 50 a.m. start Bellville: Delayed Bergen County Tech: Closed Bergenfield: 2-hour delay Bernards: 2-hour delay Bloomfield: Delay Bloomingdale: Closed Bogota: Delayed Butler: Closed Cliffside Park: 10 a.m. start Clifton: Delayed Closter: Delayed Cresskill: Delayed Demarest: …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Earthquake? South Jersey Residents Shaken By Loud Rumbling Earthquake? South Jersey Residents Shaken By Loud Rumbling
Earthquake? South Jersey Residents Shaken By Loud Rumbling Residents from Cape May to Gloucester and Ocean counties reported a rumbling sound similar to an earthquake on Friday, Jan. 13. Within the first hour, hundreds of people reported the phenomenon on volcanodiscovery.com. The U.S. Geological Survey reported no signs of seismic activity in New Jersey or neighboring states on Friday afternoon. The internet was abuzz with reaction to what felt like an earthquake.Facebook/ Cape May Live On Cape May Live's Facebook page, Jane Hickman wrote: "At a few minutes after 2 p.m. today, my house shook and I felt and heard rumblings from the direction o…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Un-Flipping-Believable: Pickup Truck Towing Excavator Flips, Plows Into NJ Tire Shop (PHOTOS) Un-Flipping-Believable: Pickup Truck Towing Excavator Flips, Plows Into NJ Tire Shop (PHOTOS)
Un-Flipping-Believable: Pickup Truck Towing Excavator Flips, Plows Into NJ Tire Shop (Photos) You'd have to see it to believe it: police say brake failure was to blame after a pickup truck towing an excavator flipped and crashed into a North Jersey tire shop. Luciano Viera Dos Santos, 28, was driving a black pickup truck towing an excavator on a flatbed on Glen Road toward Main Street in Sparta when its brakes failed around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, Sparta Police said. Santos, of North Arlington, crossed Main Street and struck two parked vehicles before the flatbed flipped and crashed into Mavis Tire, causing the excavator to flip in the parking lot, authorities said. No one was…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Men Drop Sex Assault Suits Against Retired Bergen Judge Turned Fox Analyst Andrew Napolitano Men Drop Sex Assault Suits Against Retired Bergen Judge Turned Fox Analyst Andrew Napolitano
Men Drop Sex Assault Suits Against Retired Bergen Judge Turned Fox Analyst Andrew Napolitano Two men have dropped their lawsuits accusing disgraced former Bergen County judge turned Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano of sexually assaulting them. Napolitano, who was fired from Fox last August amid accusations of sexually harassing employees, had already made headlines this week for selling his condo at Trump International Hotel & Tower on Central Park West. Then came reports, first published in the New Jersey Law Journal, that Charles Corbishley and James Kruzelnick had withdrawn their suits accusing Napolitano of sexual abuse three decades apart. Napolitano also dropped a lib…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bear Kills Dog, Injures Woman In NJ Attack Bear Kills Dog, Injures Woman In NJ Attack
Bear Kills Dog, Injures Woman In NJ Attack A woman was hospitalized and her dog was killed after being attacked by a bear outside a North Jersey home Monday evening, police said. Officers responding to the attack on Echo Drive in Sparta found an 81-year-old woman with head and leg injuries around 7 p.m., Sparta Police Lt. John Lamon told DailyVoice.com. The woman stated that she had been bitten and scratched by a bear that had been attacking her dog. The woman had placed her garbage at the curb for disposal and later saw two bears that had torn open the bags and were eating the trash, Lamon said. The woman’s dogs, who were being l…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Elderly Man Drowns On Labor Day In Sparta's Lake Mohawk Elderly Man Drowns On Labor Day In Sparta's Lake Mohawk
Elderly Man Drowns On Labor Day In Sparta's Lake Mohawk The body of an 80-year-old Sussex County man was pulled from Lake Mohawk after an accidental drowning on Labor Day afternoon, police confirmed. Lawrence Botts, of Sparta, was attempting to use an inner tube to go around the side of his dock to get onto land from Lake Mohawk when the tube started to drift away from the boat into the water shortly after 12 p.m., Sparta Police Lt. John Lamon told Daily Voice. Botts then lost his grip and slipped underwater, Lamon said. Botts’ body was recovered and brought to shore by Lake Mohawk lifeguards a short time later. Rescue and dive teams were call…

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by Valerie Musson
News
FBI Arrests Sussex Mom For Producing, Sharing Child Porn FBI Arrests Sussex Mom For Producing, Sharing Child Porn
FBI Arrests Sussex Mom For Producing, Sharing Child Porn A Sussex County mom recorded and shared photos and video of a child being sexually abused, federal authorities charged A U.S. District Court magistrate judge in Newark ordered that Dominique Saczawa, 31, of Sparta remain in federal custody Tuesday afternoon via video conference in Newark, they said. Saczawa, who records show has a drug-related criminal history dating back 10 years, used an app to share files “depicting the sexual assault of a child,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. She also solicited others to do the same, Honig said. Saczawa, who has a young son, describ…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
21-Year-Old NJ Healthcare Worker Dies Of COVID-19 21-Year-Old NJ Healthcare Worker Dies Of COVID-19
21-Year-Old NJ Healthcare Worker Dies Of Covid-19 Sussex County high school graduate and local healthcare worker Abel Sanchez-Casas died from COVID-19 complications at Newton Medical Center on June 18. He was 21. Born in Veracruz, Mexico, Sanchez-Casas grew up in Newton and graduated from Newton High School in 2017, his obituary says. Sanchez-Casas worked in healthcare at Broad Step Willow Glen in Sparta. He was known as a loving son, brother and friend, his memorial says. Sanchez-Casas loved music, basketball and animals and had an extensive collection of sneakers. Sanchez-Casas is survived by his parents, Abel Sanchez and Francisca Cas…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief
Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief A Sussex County scammer identified people who’d been dead for years as business partners to help collect $1.9 million from the federal fund established to help struggling companies during COVID-19, authorities charged. John Jhong, 51, of Sparta, also submitted phony IRS documents with bogus Paycheck Protection Program applications to the lenders on behalf of 10 purported businesses, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Jhong converted a portion of the money intended for distressed businesses into a cashier’s check “that was used to fund a business account,” Honig said. Congress a ye…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Weather
How Much Snow Did Your Town Get? Here's The Breakdown Across NJ, PA How Much Snow Did Your Town Get? Here's The Breakdown Across NJ, PA
How Much Snow Did Your Town Get? Here's The Breakdown Across NJ, PA A major winter storm blasted the Northeast, dropping two feet or more on some areas. Here are the New Jersey and Pennsylvania towns with the highest and lowest snow totals, according to the National Weather Service. Don't see your area? Scroll down to search for your area. Springtown, PA (Bucks): 31.2 inches Sparta, NJ (Sussex): 28.3 Bloomingdale, NJ (Passaic): 26.2 Byram, NJ (Sussex): 26 Forks, PA (Northampton): 24 Bethlehem, PA (Northampton): 22 Bridgewater, NJ (Somerset): 22 Westwood, NJ (Bergen): 20 Ridgewood, NJ (Bergen): 19.4 North Caldwell, NJ (Essex): 17.3 Newark, NJ (Essex): 16.2…

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by Cecilia Levine