Multiple $50K Powerball Tickets Sold In Bergen County: Here's Where
Bergen County is home to a string of big lottery wins this month, with lucky tickets totaling $270,000 sold at convenience stores, gas stations, and a Walmart.
According to the New Jersey Lottery, three $50,000 Powerball tickets were purchased in the county on Monday, Sept. 1:
7-Eleven #39387, 67 East Ridgewood Ave., Paramus
7-Eleven #18609, 1605 Lemoine Ave., Fort Lee
Another $50,000 Powerball ticket was sold on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at Quick Chek #101, 40 Route 17 North, Ramsey.
On Saturday, Sept. 6, Bergen County players scored three more big wins:
$10,000 Bingo Times 10 ticket at Fos…
Hacker Sends Hate-Filled Midnight Emails To 400+ Fort Lee Condo Residents, Prosecutor Says
A Montclair man was charged after allegedly hacking into a Fort Lee condominium’s communication system and sending hundreds of residents threatening, bias-filled emails, authorities said.
Nicholas M. Scarano, 23, of Montclair, was arrested on Friday, Aug. 15, one day after the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit was notified of a mass email containing bias and threatening language, Prosecutor Mark Musella said Saturday.
The email had been sent to 411 residents at the Atrium Palace condominium complex during the overnight hours, Musella said. Detectives found that two me…
Yonkers Mom Killed In NJ Turnpike Crash Came To U.S. Seeking Better Life
A Yonkers woman killed in a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike had come to the U.S. in search of a better life, her sister said.
Vanessa Diaz Pichardo, 37, died after her Hyundai left the road and overturned before slamming into a tractor-trailer in Fort Lee just after 2 a.m. Monday, July 28, New Jersey State Police said.
Her sister, Rosanna Diaz, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help return Vanessa’s body to the Dominican Republic so she can be buried with family. As of Tuesday, July 29, the campaign had raised $4,500.
“I am Rosanna Diaz, sister of Vanessa Diaz,” she wrote. “It is very p…
NY Woman Killed After Vehicle Overturns, Hits Tractor-Trailer On Turnpike In Fort Lee: Njsp
A woman from Yonkers, NY was killed in an early morning crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in Fort Lee, authorities said.
Vanessa Diaz Pichardo, 37, had been driving a Hyundai passenger car in the southbound lanes near milepost 121.5 when the vehicle veered off the road to the right at approximately 2 a.m. Monday, July 28, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Charles Marchan said.
Diaz Pichardo’s car struck the curb and guardrail, then overturned and entered the southbound local ramp, where it slammed into the side of a Freightliner tractor-trailer, according to Marchan.
Pichardo was killed as a res…
Fort Lee Burglars Caught In The Act, Cops Say
Three people were arrested after police in Fort Lee interrupted a burglary in progress just after midnight on Monday, July 21, authorities said.
The incident happened around 12:46 a.m. near 206 New York Avenue, Fort Lee Deputy Police Chief Edward Young said in a press release.
Gerardine Paolello, 57, of Belleville; Tamir McFadden-Jordan, 33, of East Orange; and Nylah Walker, 24, of Newark were caught entering a parked vehicle in the area, the deputy chief said. Officers detained all three.
Police say the group had conspired to break into a nearby home. During the arrest, McFadden-Jordan wa…
Fort Lee Cop Cleared After Fatal Shooting Of 25-Year-Old Woman In Mental Health Crisis
A state grand jury has declined to bring criminal charges against a Fort Lee police officer who shot and killed 25-year-old Victoria G. Lee during a mental health emergency in her apartment last summer, officials said Tuesday, July 15.
The decision, announced by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), came nearly one year after Lee was killed by Officer Tony Pickens Jr. at The Pinnacle apartments on Main Street in Fort Lee.
The panel voted “no bill” on Monday, July 14, following a review of 911 calls, body-worn camera footage, taser video, witness interviews, ballistics re…
$10K From Closter Lululemon Snatched, 4 Nabbed At GWB After Wild Getaway: Police
Four suspects were arrested after more than $10,000 worth of merchandise was stolen in a grab-and-go shoplifting at a Lululemon store in Bergen County this weekend, police said.
Officers responded to Closter Plaza at 79 Vervalen St. around 4:31 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, for a shoplifting in progress, according to Closter Police Chief James Buccola.
While en route, patrol was told that two men, one wearing a white T-shirt and orange shorts, and another in dark clothing, were using ski masks and stuffing items into large laundry bags, according to the report. Before officers arrived, the sus…
Fort Lee Sex Offender Faces New Charges For Contacting Teen Victim, Co-Defendant: Prosecutor
A convicted sex offender from Fort Lee who earlier this year was charged with sexually assaulting a missing teen from New York City, has been hit with new offenses after he contacted the victim and a co-defendant, authorities said on Thursday, July 10.
Marc Piovanetti, 58, of Fort Lee, is accused of violating a court order by contacting the victim and a co-defendant between April and May 2025, two months after he was jailed on the original charges, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.
On Tuesday, July 8, Piovanetti was charged with:
Third-degree witness tampering
Third-degr…
Passenger, 26, Seriously Hurt In NJ Turnpike Crash With Tractor-Trailer, Police Say
A 26-year-old man from the Bronx was seriously injured in a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike early Saturday morning, June 28, authorities said.
New Jersey State Police troopers responded around 4:39 a.m. to the southbound lanes at milepost 114.7 on the western spur in Carlstadt, Bergen County, NJSP Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron said.
According to a preliminary investigation, a 25-year-old man from Paterson was driving a Honda Civic southbound when the vehicle veered onto the right shoulder, hit a guardrail, and crashed into the back of a parked International tractor-trailer, Lebron said.
The Br…
Asian Mobster Stole $12K From NJ Resident's Bank Account: Fairfield PD
An organized crime member from Flushing was arrested and charged on Thursday, May 22, with stealing $12,000 from a Fairfield resident's bank account last November, authorities said.
Xuan Jin, 50, obtained personal banking information from a Fairfield resident and used that information for cash withdrawals, Fairfield police said. In total, over two days, $12,000 was withdrawn from the victim’s account, police said.
Fairfield police worked with law enforcement in New York City, Rockland County and Fort Lee to identify Jin as the suspect, officers said. Jin's organized crime ring is known to p…
1 Man, 3 Hearts: Norwood Survivor Whose Story Touched Thousands Dies At 41
Christophe Lafontant, a New Jersey man who inspired thousands through his fight against rare disease, died on Sunday, April 27. He was 41 years old, according to his obituary from Pizzi Funeral Home.
Christophe Lafontant
Christophe Lafontant Facebook
A Norwood native who had been living in Fort Lee, Lafontant was born on July 13, 1983. “Chris was a true fighter in every sense of the word,” the obituary says.
At six years old, he was diagnosed with heart failure. Later, he was also diagnosed with myofibrillar myopathy, a rare genetic condition. According to the obituary, Chris su…
Violent Armed Robbery Spree Rocks Bergen County, Prosecutors Say They Have Their Guys
Two men from the Bronx have been indicted for a series of armed robberies that terrorized multiple Bergen County towns last year, authorities said.
Raekwon King, 25, and Karnel Miller-Wright, 22, were charged in connection with four robberies in Fort Lee, Englewood, Hackensack, and Paramus between August and October 2024, Musella said.
King and Miller-Wright allegedly targeted residents and customers arriving home or pumping gas, threatening them with firearms and stealing luxury watches, wallets, and cash before fleeing in getaway cars, authorities said.
The first robbery happened around …
9-1-1 Hang-Up Call Leads Cops To Bloody Scene In Fort Lee, Suspect Captured In Mass: Officials
A Fort Lee man wanted for stabbing a woman during a late-night argument was captured by law enforcement in Beverly, Massachusetts, authorities announced on Thursday, March 27.
Andrew Arias-Peguero, 54, was arrested two days after allegedly stabbing the victim during a dispute at a home on Center Avenue in Fort Lee, according to Deputy Chief Edward Young of the Fort Lee Police Department.
The incident happened on Sunday, March 23, around 10:57 p.m., when officers responded to a 9-1-1 hang-up call, Young said. They arrived to find a female victim suffering from stab wounds, police said.
The …
