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Police & Fire
Stolen Car Left In Flames On Route 80, Trio Captured By NJSP, Teaneck PD Stolen Car Left In Flames On Route 80, Trio Captured By NJSP, Teaneck PD
Stolen Car Left In Flames On Route 80, Trio Captured By Njsp, Teaneck PD A young trio was captured by New Jersey State Police troopers and Teaneck police after they left a stolen car engulfed in flames on Route 80, authorities said. An intense search began after troopers found the fully engulfed Chevy Cruze, reported stolen out of Jersey City, on the westbound highway near milepost 69 at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22, NJSP Sgt. First Class Philip Curry said. Teaneck firefighters doused the blaze. Troopers snatched up two of the fleeing occupants and Teaneck police nabbed the third, the sergeant said. Horton Felder, 20, and Zahkir Coleman-Smith, 18, both …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Judge Dismisses Child Sex Charges Against 'Chopped' Kosher Chef From Teaneck Judge Dismisses Child Sex Charges Against 'Chopped' Kosher Chef From Teaneck
Judge Dismisses Child Sex Charges Against 'Chopped' Kosher Chef From Teaneck A judge in Hackensack dismissed child sex assault charges against a kosher chef from Teaneck who appeared on the Food Network show "Chopped.” Shalom Yehudiel, 41, had his rights violated by the FBI when federal authorities failed to surrender a video tied directly to the case, Bergen County Superior Court Judge Christopher Kazlau ruled on Monday, Aug. 7. The judge dismissed the charges without prejudice, which allows prosecutors to reinstate the case if any new evidence comes to light. Yehudiel had owned and operated The Humble Toast, a kosher eatery on Queen Anne Road, for several years …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud Teaneck Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud
Teaneck Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud A tax preparer from Teaneck was arrested Monday for illegally collecting more than $1 million for himself and $31.6 million for clients in tax refunds by filing fraudulent returns with the government, federal authorities said. Leon Haynes, 49, sought $124.8 million combined from the IRS in nearly 1,400 bogus tax formers that he filed claiming COVID-related employment tax credits, said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger and Acting Deputy U.S. Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg. "Based on Haynes’ false claims about his own companies, the U.S. Treasury mailed him multiple tax re…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Love Triangle: NYC Man Again Convicted Of Murdering Popular Teaneck Software Engineer Love Triangle: NYC Man Again Convicted Of Murdering Popular Teaneck Software Engineer
Love Triangle: NYC Man Again Convicted Of Murdering Popular Teaneck Software Engineer Jurors in Hackensack convicted a Manhattan man for a second time of brutally murdering a popular software engineer in his Teaneck home. Sui Kam "Tony" Tung was found guilty of all counts in the horrific killing of Robert Cantor, who authorities said was his estranged wife's lover, over a decade ago. Superior Court Judge Christopher Kazlau scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8. Tung faces a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Tung was found guilty of the same crimes in 2016, but a state appeals court overturned the convictions and sent the case…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Couple In Classic Car Killed In Fiery Turnpike Crash UPDATE: Couple In Classic Car Killed In Fiery Turnpike Crash
Update: Couple In Classic Car Killed In Fiery Turnpike Crash UPDATE: Two people were killed when their classic car was rear-ended overnight on the New Jersey Turnpike, authorities confirmed. The man and woman died after the 1950s-era Plymouth was struck by a Jeep Cherokee and both burst into flames near Exit 70B on northbound I-95 around midnight Sunday, June 11, they said. Identification of both of them was pending, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Philip Curry said. Two people in the Jeep sustained minor injuries, the sergeant said. Firefighters and other emergency personnel from Teaneck and Leonia responded along with the NJSP, who are investigating…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
E-Bike Rider, 62, Struck By SUV, Teaneck Police Chief Urges Caution E-Bike Rider, 62, Struck By SUV, Teaneck Police Chief Urges Caution
E-Bike Rider, 62, Struck By SUV, Teaneck Police Chief Urges Caution A 62-year-old electric bicycle rider from Teaneck suffered what appeared to be broken bones when he was struck by an SUV driven by a 69-year-old township woman, authorities said. Police Chief Andrew McGurr pointed to the crash at the intersection of Palisade Avenue and Colonial Court shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 31, while urging both motorists and riders of alternative vehicles to be wary of one another. The Philodo H8 motorized bicycle rider was conscious and alert when he was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, the chief said. He'd been headed north on Palisade Avenue w…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Accused $550,000 Mortgage Fraud Schemer From Bergen Already Had A History, Records Show Accused $550,000 Mortgage Fraud Schemer From Bergen Already Had A History, Records Show
Accused $550,000 Mortgage Fraud Schemer From Bergen Already Had A History, Records Show Gerrmaioud Chape was no stranger to police and prosecutors in Bergen County. So it wasn’t surprising to some when county prosecutors charged him with stealing $525,000 from unwitting investors through mortgage fraud. Chape, 43, already had a petty criminal history that included arrests for speeding, shoplifting and drugs when Bogota police charged him in 2015 with pocketing $40,000 that a Colombian brother and sister saved to come to America. The money was supposed to be a down payment on a mortgage for the siblings’ new home, authorities said at the time, but Chape used it instead on pers…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer UPDATE: A Teaneck con man who was captured after trying to flee the country must spend the next three years in state prison for running a Ponzi scheme with family and friends that fleeced dozens of unwitting investors out of $4.7 million. Chander Singh, 46, reshaped a failed company into an unscrupulous criminal venture by soliciting loans from investors to buy distressed properties, authorities said. Singh promised double-digit returns from what would be renovations of the ratholes, which he found with the help of his parents and brother, all of whom worked as real estate agents, they said…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Brutal Murderer Of Bergen County Woman Sent To Prison For 55 Years Brutal Murderer Of Bergen County Woman Sent To Prison For 55 Years
Brutal Murderer Of Bergen County Woman Sent To Prison For 55 Years UPDATE:  An East Rutherford man was sentenced to 55 years in state prison for brutally kidnapping, stabbing and strangling a female neighbor. Francis "Frank" Tattoli, 30, won't be eligible for parole for nearly 48 years for the Christmastime 2016 slaying of Mone’t Thomas, 25, in the Summer Street apartment building where both lived. Thomas, who was born in Teaneck, worked as a manager of group sales for the Holiday Inn in Secaucus. She lived in the building with her boyfriend and bulldog. She'd just taken the dog for a walk when she was attacked in the hallway. Surveillance…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA
Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA UPDATE: An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, then torched a used car dealership in Paterson and rammed a stolen SUV into police cars at both ends of the George Washington Bridge was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison. Luis Figueroa, 42, first took a plea deal from the government that called for him to serve 26 years in a federal penitentiary. Then he abruptly withdrew his plea, took his chances with a trial – and lost. Federal jurors in Newark convicted Figueroa in May 2022 of kidnapping, criminal sexual abuse, illegal gun possession and assaulting…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
TENSE MOMENT: Post Office Burglar From Teaneck Grabs Bogota Officer's Gun: Police TENSE MOMENT: Post Office Burglar From Teaneck Grabs Bogota Officer's Gun: Police
Tense Moment: Post Office Burglar From Teaneck Grabs Bogota Officer's Gun: Police A burglar from Teaneck found by police moments after he broke into the Bogota post office tried grabbing an officer’s gun while resisting arrest, authorities said. Calvin Torres-Vaughan, 33, already had a plastic bin of mail in his car when Officers Lewis Duenãs and Michael Torres responded to a burglar alarm at the West Main Street post office shortly after midnight Saturday, April 8, Sgt. Geoffrey Cole said. They found a front window pried open and Torres-Vaughan inside, the sergeant said. Torres-Vaughan, who was carrying a flashlight and a crowbar, “resisted by kicking and punchin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Mastermind Of 84 Brazen Burglaries In Nine NJ Counties, Rockland Gets Plea-Bargained 14 Years Mastermind Of 84 Brazen Burglaries In Nine NJ Counties, Rockland Gets Plea-Bargained 14 Years
Mastermind Of 84 Brazen Burglaries In Nine NJ Counties, Rockland Gets Plea-Bargained 14 Years UPDATE: A Teaneck ex-con was sentenced to 14 years in state prison for leading a band of brazen burglars who authorities said committed no fewer than 84 broad-daylight home break-ins throughout New Jersey and Rockland County. Keith Perry, 39, took a deal from prosecutors rather than risk the consequences of a trial, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Tuesday, March 14. Perry was among several people arrested in April 2021 for dozens of burglaries committed over the previous six months in nine New Jersey counties — Morris, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, Hunterdon, Union, Passai…

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by Jerry DeMarco