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Police & Fire
Home Depot Employee From Hillburn Stole $1,500 In Cash A Bit At A Time, Police Say Home Depot Employee From Hillburn Stole $1,500 In Cash A Bit At A Time, Police Say
Home Depot Employee From Hillburn Stole $1,500 In Cash A Bit At A Time, Police Say A Home Depot employee from Hillburn swiped an estimated $1,500 in cash over more than a year’s time before she was caught, said police in New Jersey who arrested her. Video surveillance and register audits at the Route 17 store in Mahwah pointed to 52-year-old Ismay Gopie, township Police Chief James N. Batelli said Thursday. Gopie was charged with theft and released pending a hearing, he said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Tractor-Trailer Tips At Treacherous Stretch Of Route 17 Near NY Border In Mahwah Tractor-Trailer Tips At Treacherous Stretch Of Route 17 Near NY Border In Mahwah
Tractor-Trailer Tips At Treacherous Stretch Of Route 17 Near NY Border In Mahwah UPDATE: Three lanes of northbound Route 17 near the Route 287 ramp at the New York border in Mahwah were closed Thursday morning after a tractor-trailer tipped. Detours were being set up following the mishap, which occurred just after 10 a.m., Police Chief James N. Batelli said. The driver escaped unharmed, he said. The site eventually was cleared and normal traffic resumed after noon.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Oradell Ex-Con Admits Robbing Mahwah, Edgewater Banks, More Oradell Ex-Con Admits Robbing Mahwah, Edgewater Banks, More
Oradell Ex-Con Admits Robbing Mahwah, Edgewater Banks, More An Oradell man admitted in federal court Wednesday that he robbed banks in Edgewater and Mahwah – one of them with help from his girlfriend -- as well as an out-of-area bank, gas station and liquor store. Joel Robbins, a 47-year-old Tenafly native, was caught after he pointed a fake gun at two tellers at a TD Bank on Route 17 in Mahwah on Dec. 3 and demanded money, warning them not to “make me have to kill you,” authorities said. Soel, who wore a bandana over his face, then left with an undisclosed amount of cash – dropping bills along the way – and hopped into a waiting Toyota Corolla dr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GoFundMe Campaign Aids Family Of Beloved Mahwah Firefighter, 49 GoFundMe Campaign Aids Family Of Beloved Mahwah Firefighter, 49
GoFundMe Campaign Aids Family Of Beloved Mahwah Firefighter, 49 He was considered a solid man, a great dad, a reliable firefighter – which is why so many were as saddened as they were shocked to hear Monday that Mahwah firefighter Giovanni Pertuz had died. "Gio" Pertuz, the 49-year-old president of Co. 2 and proud married father of two, died suddenly on Monday. More than $600 had been raised as of Wednesday for his wife, Linda and children, Matthew and Nicole on a GoFundMe page launched by the township's fire department and employees. “Loved his kids. A great dad,” a colleague said. “We’re all a bit devastated.” A Hackensack native, Pertuz o…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Community Devastated By Sudden Death Of Popular Mahwah Firefighter, 49 Community Devastated By Sudden Death Of Popular Mahwah Firefighter, 49
Community Devastated By Sudden Death Of Popular Mahwah Firefighter, 49 He was considered a solid man, a great dad, a reliable firefighter – which is why so many were as saddened as they were shocked to hear Monday that Mahwah firefighter Giovanni Pertuz had died. Township fire officials were preparing an official release about the death of the popular "Gio" Pertuz, the 49-year-old president of Co. 2 and proud married father of two. “Loved his kids. A great dad,” a colleague said. “We’re all a bit devastated.” A Hackensack native, Pertuz owned Master Fire and Electric on Franklin Turnpike in Mahwah, which installed, service and inspected fire alarm …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
COLD CASE: DNA Nails Ex-Con In 2003 Mahwah Home Invasion Robbery Of Ramsey Pizzeria Owner COLD CASE: DNA Nails Ex-Con In 2003 Mahwah Home Invasion Robbery Of Ramsey Pizzeria Owner
Cold CASE: DNA Nails Ex-Con In 2003 Mahwah Home Invasion Robbery Of Ramsey Pizzeria Owner For 15 years, authorities were unable to find any of three robbers wearing masks who forced their way into the Mahwah home of a Ramsey pizzeria owner, tied him to a chair and made off with nearly $200,000 in cash – while leaving a gun and costume mask behind. Thanks to advances in DNA testing, however, Mahwah police have charged a Yonkers man who worked as a superintendent for an apartment building near the victim’s home and business. Paul Shkreli, 45, was served with the criminal complaint at the Westchester County Jail, where he was being held in connection with an attempted jewelry store…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mahwah Parents Charged With Murder Of Crying 4-Month-Old Son Mahwah Parents Charged With Murder Of Crying 4-Month-Old Son
Mahwah Parents Charged With Murder Of Crying 4-Month-Old Son A Mahwah couple, frustrated because their 4-month-old twin son wouldn’t stop crying, put him on his stomach and pulled a comforter over his head as they went outside their motel room to smoke – killing him, said authorities who charged both with murder. William Herring, 42, and Brianna Brochhausen, 22, were living at the Springfield Township hotel in Burlington County when police were called there on Feb. 14, authorities said. Herring and Brochhausen “were frustrated because their son, Hunter, would not stop crying on that night and decided he needed to be placed in a ‘time out’,” a joint r…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police ID Three Men Caught With 13 Firearms In Target Shooting Bust Police ID Three Men Caught With 13 Firearms In Target Shooting Bust
Police ID Three Men Caught With 13 Firearms In Target Shooting Bust Police have released the identities of three men from New Jersey who they said were busted with more than a dozen guns while firing them in broad daylight in Rockland County. Shortly before 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 8, police in Ramapo received a report from the Village of Suffern Police Department that officers had found three men who were allegedly target shooting on Creelman Road in Hillburn. The three men were found to be in possession of alleged illegal handguns and rifles, which violate the NY SAFE Act. In total, seven handguns, six rifles, high-capacity magazines, ammunition and marijua…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Mahwah Stop Yields Fireworks, Arrests Of Out-Of-Town Parolee, Probationer Mahwah Stop Yields Fireworks, Arrests Of Out-Of-Town Parolee, Probationer
Mahwah Stop Yields Fireworks, Arrests Of Out-Of-Town Parolee, Probationer Mahwah police spoiled the 4th of July party for two out-of-towners – one a parolee, the other a probationer – after catching them with an assortment of fireworks during a traffic stop, authorities said. Officer Christopher Fasulo stopped their New York-registered commercial van for a violation on MacArthur Boulevard, Police Chief James N. Batelli said. The driver, 40-year-old Joshua Requena of Equinunk, PA, told the officer they were “working at a job site in Pennsylvania for a cleaning company,” the chief said. Fasulo quickly spotted what turned out to be “an extensive assortment of illeg…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mahwah PD: Check Of Illegally Parked Car Produces THC Oil, Three Arrests Mahwah PD: Check Of Illegally Parked Car Produces THC Oil, Three Arrests
Mahwah PD: Check Of Illegally Parked Car Produces THC Oil, Three Arrests An illegally parked Bergen County trio was carrying nearly a dozen vape cartridges filled with THC oil, Mahwah police said. Officer John Rodriguez was on patrol when he saw the female driver park a white Infiniti in a restricted spot at a southbound Route 17 gas station, Police Chief James N. Batelli said. Two men got out and went into the station’s convenience store while Rodriguez approached the driver, he said. Seeing this as he emerged from the store, one of the men went back inside, joining the second, the chief said. The officer then spoke with the driver, identified as Antonia Terr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Tractor-Trailer Rollover At State Line Closes Route 287 Overpass Tractor-Trailer Rollover At State Line Closes Route 287 Overpass
Tractor-Trailer Rollover At State Line Closes Route 287 Overpass The driver got out OK after a tractor-trailer tipped over Wednesday afternoon on the Route 287 overpass in Mahwah at the Rockland County border -- but area traffic wasn't faring as well. New Jersey Department of Transportation officials temporarily closed the overpass, as well as Exit 66 off the northbound highway, following the 2:45 p.m. crash. New Jersey State Police and Mahwah police also responded.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Port Jervis Men Caught With 450 Heroin Bags In Route 287 Stop, Police Say Port Jervis Men Caught With 450 Heroin Bags In Route 287 Stop, Police Say
Port Jervis Men Caught With 450 Heroin Bags In Route 287 Stop, Police Say Three New York State men -- two of them from Port Jervis -- were arrested just across the New Jersey state line by police who said they found the trio carrying 450 bags of heroin during a stop on northbound Route 287. Officer Christopher Fasulo stopped the car, driven by Donovan Burton, 18, of Port Jervis for several motor vehicle violations, Mahwah Police Chief James N. Batelli said. Burton and his passengers gave conflicting stories about their travels, after which Fasulo obtained Burton’s consent to search the vehicle, the chief said. After finding nine bricks of heroin, he took passeng…

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by Jerry DeMarco