Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Passaic Sheriff Berdnik's Death By Suicide 'Unfathomable Loss' For NJ, Attorney General Says Passaic Sheriff Berdnik's Death By Suicide 'Unfathomable Loss' For NJ, Attorney General Says
Passaic Sheriff Berdnik's Death By Suicide 'Unfathomable Loss' For NJ, Attorney General Says Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik died by his own hand on Tuesday in his hometown Clifton, in what the Garden State's attorney general called "an unfathomable loss for New Jersey." Emergency responders rushed to Toro's Turkish Restaurant on Hazel Street a few minutes after 3:30 p.m. Jan. 23. Berdnik had just taken his life in the men's room, the sudden gunshot through the heart startling staff and patrons alike, sources told Daily Voice. Not even 15 minutes earlier, the popular sheriff had posed for cellphone photos. Then he got a phone call with some very unsettling news, reliable so…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Obituaries
Clifton Councilwoman Lauren Murphy Dies At 69: 'Champion For The Underdog' Clifton Councilwoman Lauren Murphy Dies At 69: 'Champion For The Underdog'
Clifton Councilwoman Lauren Murphy Dies At 69: 'Champion For The Underdog' Lauren Murphy, a Clifton councilwoman, died on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the age of 69, according to her obituary.  Murphy served as executive director of the Passaic County One Stop Career Center in Paterson and previously spent 34 years as an administrator at the Passaic County Board of Social Services, her obituary reads.  She was elected to the Clifton City Council 2014 and served as president of the Clifton Democratic Club, according to her obituary. "Our hearts are heavy," Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said on Facebook. "Lauren Murphy did so much for so many. She was a champion fo…

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by Sam Barron
Northern Valley, NJ
Police & Fire
'This Is Your Final Warning:' NJ Pair Set Off Bomb In Biz Associate's Driveway, Feds Say 'This Is Your Final Warning:' NJ Pair Set Off Bomb In Biz Associate's Driveway, Feds Say
'This Is Your Final Warning:' NJ Pair Set Off Bomb In Biz Associate's Driveway, Feds Say While being interviewed by investigators, a New York resident got the following text message: "Knock knock, show up, and what do you think is next. This is your final warning.”  The text was from Damjan Stanivukovic, a Closter resident, who was later arrested for exploding a bomb in the victim's New York driveway with help from Vladamir Radunovic, who has ties to Pompton Lakes, Clifton, and Paterson, according to court documents filed with the US District Court of the Southern District of New York. Stanivukovic and Radunovic were arrested Saturday morning, Jan…

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by Ben Crnic & Cecilia Levine
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Likely Prison Return Awaits DWI Ex-Con Who Clifton PD Says Had Gun Likely Prison Return Awaits DWI Ex-Con Who Clifton PD Says Had Gun
Likely Prison Return Awaits DWI Ex-Con Who Clifton PD Says Had Gun An ex-con faces a likely return to prison after Clifton police said they caught him with a gun. The new year was four hours old when police got the call of a man with a gun in the area of Cliff Hill Road and Long Hill Drive, Lt. Robert Anderson said. They arrived as an apparent disturbance was ending and people were leaving, he said. Still there, behind the wheel of a Mercedes SUV with the engine running, was city resident William Christmas, 35, the lieutenant said. He'd apparently been drinking, Anderson said. Christmas refused to participate in field sobriety tests and was taken into c…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Police & Fire
HIGHWAY ROBBERY: Armed Duo Sought In Overnight Gas Station Holdup Spree In Bergen, Passaic HIGHWAY ROBBERY: Armed Duo Sought In Overnight Gas Station Holdup Spree In Bergen, Passaic
Highway Robbery: Armed Duo Sought In Overnight Gas Station Holdup Spree In Bergen, Passaic Two bandits robbed multiple gas stations in Bergen and Passaic counties at gunpoint shortly before dawn on Sunday, responders said. The BP on eastbound Route 3 in Clifton was held up at 5 a.m. Jan. 7. One of the robbers had a handgun, the attendant told police. Less than 10 minutes later a similar gunpoint robbery occurred at the Shell station on northbound Route 3 off the corner of Malcolm Avenue. The third holdup occurred shortly before 5:30 a.m. at a gas station on Route 46 in LIttle Ferry. Police believed the same bandits were involved. They fled in what witnesses said was a black Kia…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
BADASS: Owner Of Car Hit By Stolen Sedan Tackles Knife-Wielding Driver Half His Age: Clifton PD BADASS: Owner Of Car Hit By Stolen Sedan Tackles Knife-Wielding Driver Half His Age: Clifton PD
Badass: Owner Of Car Hit By Stolen Sedan Tackles Knife-Wielding Driver Half His Age: Clifton PD Talk about stones: A man twice the age of a driver who'd just rammed a stolen sedan into his car grabbed the fleeing suspect and held him down for Clifton police despite being threatened with a knife, authorities said. Officers responding to a call at Luddington Avenue and Montgomery Street in the early afternoon on New Year's Day found city resident Guadencio Herrera, 26, pinned to the ground by the 52-year-old vehicle owner, Lt. Robert Anderson said. Herrera -- who clutched a pocket knife in his hand -- had just crashed a 2016 Acura TLX that had been reported stolen out of Paterson hours …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
MOMMY AND CLYDE? Getaway Driver, Son Swipe $100G Worth Of Bling From Jewelry Store: Clifton PD MOMMY AND CLYDE? Getaway Driver, Son Swipe $100G Worth Of Bling From Jewelry Store: Clifton PD
Mommy AND Clyde? Getaway Driver, Son Swipe $100G Worth Of Bling From Jewelry Store: Clifton PD A burglar broke into a Clifton jewelry store, swiped nearly $100,000 worth of bling and planned to flee in a getaway car driven by his 59-year-old mother before police arrived, authorities said. Officers responding to a burglar alarm at Morre Lyons Jewelers in the Richfield Shopping Center around 2:30 a.m. last Nov. 24 saw Iver Vera-Miranda of Clifton emerge from behind the store and then duck back inside, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken said on Friday, Jan. 5. Vera-Miranda, 30, had worked a Fuel 4 in Fair Lawn before he and another man were charged with swiping $11,000 from the station's safe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Totowa Woman, 24, Crossing Clifton Street Hit By Car Totowa Woman, 24, Crossing Clifton Street Hit By Car
Totowa Woman, 24, Crossing Clifton Street Hit By Car A 24-year-old Totowa woman crossing a Clifton street before dawn was struck by a sedan after getting out of the passenger side of a parked car, authorities said. The victim was knocked out by the 2017 Honda Civic that hit her on Piaget Avenue near Montgomery Street around 2:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 29 but eventually regained consciousness, they said. She was taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center with a head injury that didn't appear life-threatening, Clifton Police Lt. Robert Anderson said. The 24-year-old male driver from Clifton remained at the scene, the lieutenant said. Police a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Smoky Post-Christmas House Fire Ravages Passaic Home Smoky Post-Christmas House Fire Ravages Passaic Home
Smoky Post-Christmas House Fire Ravages Passaic Home A smoky house fire in Passaic went to four alarms the day after Christmas. No injuries were immediately reported in the blaze, which ignited in a Van Buren Street home near Central Avenue around 11 a.m., Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said. "All tenants are reported to be out and safe," the mayor said around noon. "Nobody appears to be in the building." Firefighters were quickly removed after a partial ceiling collapse, Lora said. They had two ladder trucks and multiple hand lines in operation. Damien Danis for DAILY VOICE Although smoke met them at the scene, the fire may have b…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Business
NYC Pizzeria Known For Chimichurri Pie Lands In Clifton NYC Pizzeria Known For Chimichurri Pie Lands In Clifton
NYC Pizzeria Known For Chimichurri Pie Lands In Clifton A New York City pizzeria that landed in New Jersey last year is expanding in the Garden State. Wahizza is coming to Clifton. The pizzeria which originated in Washington Heights, boasts "high-quality artisan oven baked pizza," according to its website.  It opened in Ridgefield Park in the last year, and has opened at 150 7th St., in Clifton, according to its Instagram page. Wahizza says its most popular pie is the chimichurri Dominican pizza. Chimpizza og_papafern Wahizza appeared to have held a soft opening this week.

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by Cecilia Levine
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
WRONG-WAY CRASH: Blood Taken After Route 46 Wreck Sends Both Drivers To Hospital WRONG-WAY CRASH: Blood Taken After Route 46 Wreck Sends Both Drivers To Hospital
Wrong-way Crash: Blood Taken After Route 46 Wreck Sends Both Drivers To Hospital Authorities were awaiting the results of a blood test after a wrong-way driver crashed her sedan into an oncoming SUV on Route 46 in Little Falls. Police in Totowa and Clifton had received calls from motorists and were headed to the highway when the crash occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 18. The wrong-way 2004 Oldsmobile Alero driven by a 32-year-old Lodi woman collided with a 2020 Toyota RAV 4 driven by a 57-year-old man from Bloomfield, Little Falls Police Lt. Ryan Hoyt said. Both drivers were taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center, the lieutenant said. Firefighte…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Lifestyle
Star-Studded Video Wishes NJ Happy Birthday Star-Studded Video Wishes NJ Happy Birthday
Star-Studded Video Wishes NJ Happy Birthday New Jersey celebrated its 236 birthday on Monday, Dec. 18. What better gift than a video with cameos from celebs, all with New Jersey roots? Of course, the 1:04-minute clip opened with Cedar Grove's Tommy DeVito, who was joined by fellow NY Giant, Justin Pugh (who hails from Holland, PA). Next came Clifton native Rachel Zegler, who starred as Maria in Steven Spielberg's adaptation West Side Story in 2021. "I just wanted to say, you don't look a day over 235, and give a sincere thanks for all of the Taylor ham, egg and cheese on everything bagels I've consumed every Sunday since I was…

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by Cecilia Levine