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Police & Fire
Hudson Company Pays Penalty, Damages For Denying Tour Bus Access To Paraplegic Army Vet Hudson Company Pays Penalty, Damages For Denying Tour Bus Access To Paraplegic Army Vet
Hudson Company Pays Penalty, Damages For Denying Tour Bus Access To Paraplegic Army Vet A Hoboken-based charter bus company that failed to provide access to a 74-year-old paraplegic U.S. Army veteran for a tour of Arlington National Cemetery has agreed to not let that happen again, authorities said. Academy Express will also pay a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States and $10,000 in damages to the aggrieved veteran, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The former 189th Assault Helicopter Company staff sergeant, who was gunned down in Vietnam, wanted to join dozens of fellow combat unit veterans on an Academy charter bus for a multi-day “Honor Flight” tour of Arlington Nati…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Army Vet Struck, Killed On NJ Turnpike While Changing Tire After Party With Wife, Son Army Vet Struck, Killed On NJ Turnpike While Changing Tire After Party With Wife, Son
Army Vet Struck, Killed On NJ Turnpike While Changing Tire After Party With Wife, Son A 33-year-old U.S. Army veteran returning from a birthday party with his wife and son was struck and killed by a car while changing a tire on the NJ Turnpike in Secaucus, authorities said. Police found East Newark's Jose Peralta lying in the roadway around 11:50 Saturday night, New Jersey State Police said. The driver did not stop after hitting Peralta on the right shoulder of the southbound eastern spur, state police said. More than $3,300 had been raised as of Monday afternoon on a GoFundMe for Peralta's family. Peralta had been returning home from a birthday party with his wife and son…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
South Jersey Man Who Threatened To Kill NJ Congressman, Staff Gets 7+ Years In Federal Prison South Jersey Man Who Threatened To Kill NJ Congressman, Staff Gets 7+ Years In Federal Prison
South Jersey Man Who Threatened To Kill NJ Congressman, Staff Gets 7+ Years In Federal Prison A South Jersey combat veteran who the government said threatened a “bloodbath” against former U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo and members of his staff must spend more than seven years in federal prison. Federal jurors in Camden convicted Joseph Brodie, 40, of Millville, last year of making threats to U.S. government officials, officers and employees through a phone call and emails. Brodie, a veteran of both the U.S. Army and U.S. Maine Corps, will have to serve just about all of his sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Federal prosecutors said Brodie intended to carry …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
WATCH: Soldier Surprises Son With Early Homecoming During Garfield Middle School Assembly WATCH: Soldier Surprises Son With Early Homecoming During Garfield Middle School Assembly
Watch: Soldier Surprises Son With Early Homecoming During Garfield Middle School Assembly Christmas came early for a 12-year-old Garfield middle schooler. Marvin Monroig Jr. was on stage leading his sixth grade class in a holiday sing-a-long last Friday when he felt someone's arm wrap around his shoulder. At first, he just kept singing. But when he looked over, he saw his father, 31-year-old U.S. Army soldier and Garfield police officer Marvin Monroig Sr. Completely shocked, Marvin Jr. hadn't seen his dad since he left for Somalia 10 months ago, and wasn't expecting him until sometime after Christmas. Monroig planned the surprise with help from his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez-R…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Former Bergen County Wrestler, 'Rising Star' Paratrooper Matthew Joskowitz Dies In U.S. Army Former Bergen County Wrestler, 'Rising Star' Paratrooper Matthew Joskowitz Dies In U.S. Army
Former Bergen County Wrestler, 'Rising Star' Paratrooper Matthew Joskowitz Dies In U.S. Army Former Bergen County wrestler and rising paratrooper in the U.S. Army Matthew Joskowitz died in North Carolina. Joskowitz's death was not training related and occurred around 9 p.m. on Halloween in his Fort Bragg barracks, division spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Burns said. The non military-related accident is under investigation, Army officials said. Joskowitz, 24, of Hackensack and originally of Fairview, enlisted into the Army in May 2014, and was an infantryman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, the U.S. Army said. T…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Emerson HS Music Teacher Who Fought In Korean War Found Dead Outside Westwood Home Emerson HS Music Teacher Who Fought In Korean War Found Dead Outside Westwood Home
Emerson HS Music Teacher Who Fought In Korean War Found Dead Outside Westwood Home A private cremation was planned this weekend for a popular retired Emerson High School music teacher and Korean War veteran whose body was found outside his Westwood apartment. Daniel Ludovici, 84, apparently was headed to the bathroom before dawn Monday when he either tripped or suffered a medical episode and went crashing through a window at the Coventry Square Apartments off Charles Street across Old Hook Road from Pascack Valley Medical Center, authorities said. The U.S. Army veteran was pronounced dead soon after. His apartment door was locked and there was no sign of foul play, poli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Emerson HS Music Teacher Found Dead After Crashing Through Westwood Apartment Window Emerson HS Music Teacher Found Dead After Crashing Through Westwood Apartment Window
Emerson HS Music Teacher Found Dead After Crashing Through Westwood Apartment Window A private cremation was planned this weekend for a popular 84-year-old retired Emerson High School music teacher and Korean War veteran whose body was found outside his Westwood apartment. Daniel Ludovici apparently was headed to the bathroom before dawn Monday when he either tripped or suffered a medical episode and went crashing through a window at the Coventry Square Apartments off Charles Street across Old Hook Road from Pascack Valley Medical Center, authorities said. The U.S. Army veteran was pronounced dead soon after. His apartment door was locked and there was no sign of foul pla…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Barricaded Park Ridge Gun Collector, 32, Surrenders Peacefully UPDATE: Barricaded Park Ridge Gun Collector, 32, Surrenders Peacefully
Update: Barricaded Park Ridge Gun Collector, 32, Surrenders Peacefully UPDATE: An agitated weapons collector who barricaded himself in a Park Ridge basement with a loaded gun during a family dispute finally emerged peacefully nearly 2½ hours later, thanks to a local police sergeant, authorities said. The 32-year-old former U.S. Army veteran had been drinking when he had words with his mother, grabbed a rifle and went to the basement of the Johnsvale Road home around 9:15 p.m., they said. Police were aware that he had "a large cache of weapons at the ready," Police Chief Joseph Madden said Friday morning. Inside the house were at least 30 legally-registered we…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen County Donates Jeep To Military Vet/Single Mom From Lyndhurst Bergen County Donates Jeep To Military Vet/Single Mom From Lyndhurst
Bergen County Donates Jeep To Military Vet/Single Mom From Lyndhurst Bergen County donated a refurbished 2006 Jeep Liberty to a disabled veteran who is a single mom from Lyndhurst. "Veterans are the reason why we enjoy the many freedoms we have," County Executive Jim Tedesco said. "That is why we will never stop working for them and their families while they serve and after they serve." “I was so surprised and am so grateful for this amazing gift,” said Patrine Ann Clark, 31, who served in the U.S. Army for five years. “It is going to change my life.  "Instead of driving a run-down Toyota, I can now drive my three children to school and to their docto…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
U.S. Army Major From Jersey City, 2 Daughters Dead In Kentucky Car Crash U.S. Army Major From Jersey City, 2 Daughters Dead In Kentucky Car Crash
U.S. Army Major From Jersey City, 2 Daughters Dead In Kentucky Car Crash A 36-year-old U.S. Army major with Jersey City roots his two daughters were killed in a Kentucky car crash Memorial Day Weekend. Augustin "Augie" Gonzalez had three of his children in the car when his 2013 Dodge Caravan struck a tow truck stopped in the lanes to help a driver involved in a previous crash Saturday night, local news outlets reported. The North Carolina dad was pronounced dead at the scene. His daughters Noelle, 6, and Gwendolyn, 2, died of their injuries at hospitals. Gonzalez' son Nicholas, 8, was treated for injuries at a local hospital. Gonzalez recently graduated from D…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
WATCH: Soldier Surprises Ramsey HS Sister On Her Birthday During Memorial Day Assembly WATCH: Soldier Surprises Ramsey HS Sister On Her Birthday During Memorial Day Assembly
Watch: Soldier Surprises Ramsey HS Sister On Her Birthday During Memorial Day Assembly Ramsey High School sophomore Amber Clark got exactly what she wanted for her birthday. She got to see be with her sister, Sophie-Leigh Baxter Clark, a U.S. Army soldier who took a six-day leave from service as a soldier in South Korea. The younger Clark was chosen to introduce the school's band at a Memorial Day ceremony, and just before she sat down, Principal Michael Thumm stopped her. "If you could have anything for your birthday," he said, "what would it be?" That's when Sophie-Leigh pulled up in a golf cart to surprise her sister.

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Rutherford Councilwoman Picks Up Tab For U.S. Marine Rutherford Councilwoman Picks Up Tab For U.S. Marine
Rutherford Councilwoman Picks Up Tab For U.S. Marine That she was in the right place at the right time was not a question to Rutherford councilwoman Stephanie McGowan. The Felician University School of Education dean had specifically chosen Jim Dandy's for lunch Monday to see how its workforce development program with the university's special needs students was going. But when a U.S. Marine walked in and McGowan overheard him telling owner Brian Flynn he was new to the area, McGowan felt compelled to welcome him. She paid for his lunch -- and feels it was meant to be. "I wound up being there for two things that I'm most passionate about," …

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by Cecilia Levine