Cliffside Park-Edgewater, NJ
Police & Fire
Woman's Throat Sliced In Cliffside, Man Charged With Attempted Murder Woman's Throat Sliced In Cliffside, Man Charged With Attempted Murder
Woman's Throat Sliced In Cliffside, Man Charged With Attempted Murder A woman narrowly escaped death when a man slit her throat in a horrific domestic assault during a gathering in Cliffside Park, authorities said. Ernesto Lara Rojo, a 49-year-old Cuban national who lives in West New York, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses and sent to the Bergen County Jail early Monday evening, April 1. ICE immediately issued a detainer on Rojo so he can be brought before a federal immigration judge in Newark to determine his residency status in the United States, jail records show. Rojo was with a group of people in an apartment jus…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Cliffside Park-Edgewater, NJ
Police & Fire
'BUST OUT': Dual US, Greek Citizen Living In Bergen Charged With $2.8M Bank Fraud 'BUST OUT': Dual US, Greek Citizen Living In Bergen Charged With $2.8M Bank Fraud
'Bust OUT': Dual US, Greek Citizen Living In Bergen Charged With $2.8M Bank Fraud A dual U.S. and Greek national with a home in Bergen County orchestrated a classic debit card "bust out" scheme that fleeced a half-dozen banks out of $2.8 million, federal authorities charged. Dino Koutsogiannis, 57, of Fairview, and some unidentified cronies played the long game, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. They began by opening bank accounts for two bogus companies that Koutsogiannis created in Florida -- called Vegan Vacation and Orlando Dinos -- according to a federal complaint filed in Newark. Koutsogiannis was the only officer or director of the shell comp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Cliffside Park-Edgewater, NJ
Police & Fire
ARSON? Body Found Following Fierce Fire In Ridgefield (UPDATE) ARSON? Body Found Following Fierce Fire In Ridgefield (UPDATE)
Arson? Body Found Following Fierce Fire In Ridgefield (Update) π—¨π—£π——π—”π—§π—˜: A former bed and breakfast in Ridgefield had been leveled by fire when responders found the remains of a man wrapped around a support beam. β€œHe must’ve been alive and trying to hold on when the floor above him collapsed,” said a firefighter who was at the predawn blaze at the former Toddle Inn on Broad Avenue on Wednesday, March 6. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella identified the victim on Friday as 42-year-old Xavier Contreras. An Ecuadoran national, the homeless Contreras sometimes joined the groups of day laborers waiting for passing contractors in nearby Palisades Park, jus…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Arson Investigators Probe Multi-Truck Fire In Ridgefield UPDATE: Arson Investigators Probe Multi-Truck Fire In Ridgefield
Update: Arson Investigators Probe Multi-Truck Fire In Ridgefield π—¨π—£π——π—”π—§π—˜: Investigators were probing the cause of a multi-truck fire in Ridgefield that sent up a column of black smoke visible for miles. No injuries were reported in the three-alarm blaze, which ignited behind the Hanjin warehouse on Railroad Avenue near Pleasantview Avenue shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday, March 3. At least four box trucks and rigs were destroyed or severely damaged. Mutual aid responders either at the scene or in coverage included firefighters from Cliffside Park, Fairview, Leonia, Palisades Park and Ridgefield Park. The County Wide Emergency Response Team also responded. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Saddle Brook-Elmwood Park, NJ
News
WINNERS! Two Bergen County Powerball Players Get Big Bucks WINNERS! Two Bergen County Powerball Players Get Big Bucks
Winners! Two Bergen County Powerball Players Get Big Bucks It was a sensational Saturday for two Bergen County Powerball players. The two Bergen County Powerball players matched four of the five numbers plus the red Powerball in the drawing held on Saturday, Feb. 24. The tickets were sold at BJ's Wholesale Club in Paramus and 7-Eleven in Cliffside Park. The winning numbers were 3, 8, 40, 53, 58 and the red Powerball was 3. 

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by Sam Barron
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
π—¨π—£π——π—”π—§π—˜: More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From NJ Home, Couple Charged π—¨π—£π——π—”π—§π—˜: More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From NJ Home, Couple Charged
π—¨π—£π——π—”π—§π—˜: More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From NJ Home, Couple Charged UPDATE: The ASPCA said on Wednesday that it helped remove more than 90 adult dogs and puppies from the Sussex County home of a self-described animal rescue couple who were charged with multiple cruelty-related counts. Two dogs were found dead during a 7 a.m. raid at a Vernon Township home led by the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, Feb. 20, authorities reported. Both Gizela Juric, who founded the Angels for Animals Network in Cliffside Park before moving it to Sussex County, and her boyfriend, Ronald Colgan, were charged with six criminal animal cruelty accounts, the American S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
'Unfed, Unhealthy & Dirty': More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From Sussex Home, Couple Charged 'Unfed, Unhealthy & Dirty': More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From Sussex Home, Couple Charged
'Unfed, Unhealthy & Dirty': More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From Sussex Home, Couple Charged UPDATE: The ASPCA said on Wednesday that it helped remove more than 90 adult dogs and puppies from the Sussex County home of a self-described animal couple who were charged with multiple cruelty-related counts. Two dogs were found dead during a 7 a.m. raid at a Vernon Township home led by the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, Feb. 20, authorities reported. Both Gizela Juric, who founded the Angels for Animals Network in Cliffside Park before moving it to Sussex County, and her boyfriend, Ronald Colgan, were charged with six criminal animal cruelty accounts, the American Soc…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
Police & Fire
NJ Rap Record Exec Admits Drug Op With Kilos Of Heroin, Fentanyl Stashed In Cliffside, Harrison NJ Rap Record Exec Admits Drug Op With Kilos Of Heroin, Fentanyl Stashed In Cliffside, Harrison
NJ Rap Record Exec Admits Drug Op With Kilos Of Heroin, Fentanyl Stashed In Cliffside, Harrison Newark native Dawan "DB" Brown had just gotten a record label and recording studio going when the hammer came down. He's now likely to spend a significant amount of time behind bars after accepting a deal from federal prosecutors. Brown, 38, had been a local teenage boxing phenom from the South Ward who became a Golden Glove champion 20 years ago. According to his online bio, the Weequahic High School graduate worked for 14 years as a custodian with the Newark Board of Education before launching his own record label, 100 Percent Pure Ent, in 2018. Two years later Brown opened the Excl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Cliffside Park-Edgewater, NJ
Police & Fire
5 Hours Later: Cliffside Park Bomb Threat Turns Out To Be Bogus 5 Hours Later: Cliffside Park Bomb Threat Turns Out To Be Bogus
5 Hours Later: Cliffside Park Bomb Threat Turns Out To Be Bogus A bomb threat made in Cliffside Park turned out to be bogus after a sweep of the area revealed "no public concern," the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said. The threat was reported on the 500 block of Anderson Avenue at approximately 12:40 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, bringing the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad and Counterterrorism Unit to the scene. After nearly five hours, residents were given the all-clear to return to the area.

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by Cecilia Levine
Cliffside Park-Edgewater, NJ
Police & Fire
Cliffside Officer Nabs Passing Motorist With Loaded Gun, High-Capacity Mag: PD Cliffside Officer Nabs Passing Motorist With Loaded Gun, High-Capacity Mag: PD
Cliffside Officer Nabs Passing Motorist With Loaded Gun, High-Capacity Mag: PD When a Cliffside Park police officer asked a motorist he'd stopped for having bogus plates whether there was anything inside the car that he should be concerned about, he got a blunt answer. Namely: A loaded gun, authorities said. Melvin E. Chinchillalavandaverde, 24, "seemed nervous" when Officer Julio Perez-Tavera stopped his red 2007 Hyundai Tiburon near the corner of Riverview Place and Palisades Avenue shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, Deputy Police Chief Vincent Capano said. So the officer asked a natural question, then got Chinchillalavandaverde's consent to search the c…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Bergenfield, NJ
Business
Growing New Milford Bakery Has Locals Hooked On Baklava Growing New Milford Bakery Has Locals Hooked On Baklava
Growing New Milford Bakery Has Locals Hooked On Baklava For Aleria Bakery, it's all about the baklava. The popular Cliffside Park bakery and cafe, which opened in 2021, recently celebrated the grand opening of its new location in New Milford at 160 Henley Ave. on Monday, Jan. 15. The opening is a homecoming for Kehetrin Alper, a New Milford resident and one of the co-owners of the restaurant, with her business partner, Sema Gozukucuk. Aleria Bakery The idea for the second location came when the owner of Crespo Hookah Grill in New Milford tried some of her baklava. "He never had baklava," the owner said. "He said 'this is amazing. What is this…

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by Sam Barron
Cliffside Park-Edgewater, NJ
Police & Fire
Firefighters Battle Frigid Temps To Douse Ridgefield Blaze Firefighters Battle Frigid Temps To Douse Ridgefield Blaze
Firefighters Battle Frigid Temps To Douse Ridgefield Blaze Ridgefield firefighters conquered frigid temperatures to quickly snuff a weekend blaze. The two-alarm electrical fire ignited in an attic vent at the single-family Shaler Boulevard home at Lancaster Road shortly before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, responders said. "They made a great stop," a mutual aid provider said. "It could have been a lot worse, but because of their quick response they were able to knock it down quick." Mutual aid responders included firefighters from Cliffside Park, Fairview, Leonia and Palisades Park, as well as borough police and EMS. No injuries were reported. Jo…

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by Jerry DeMarco