Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
News
UPDATE: Dover Teen Struck By Car Leaving Football Game Dies UPDATE: Dover Teen Struck By Car Leaving Football Game Dies
Update: Dover Teen Struck By Car Leaving Football Game Dies A Dover High School student who was struck by a car leaving a football game died of his injuries a week later. Steven Gomez-Restrepo was in a medically-induced coma at Morristown Medical Center since the Sept. 13 incident on Route 46 in Rockaway. He died Sept. 21 at 15 years old. Faith-based leaders lead a prayer service Friday evening in a park across from Morristown Medical Center, where Gomez-Restrepo had been for the past week in critical condition. Steven was a distance runner for the DHS track and cross-country teams. "It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of a dear m…

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by Cecilia Levine
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Police & Fire
Rockaway Supplement Shopowner Charged With Selling 'Catnip Cocktail,' Similar To Date-Rape Drug Rockaway Supplement Shopowner Charged With Selling 'Catnip Cocktail,' Similar To Date-Rape Drug
Rockaway Supplement Shopowner Charged With Selling 'Catnip Cocktail,' Similar To Date-Rape Drug A Rockaway health food store owner was arrested after police found 68 bottles of pet sedative commonly known as "Catnip Cocktail" in his shop, authorities said. Ronald V. Castellano of Chester, the owner of Route 46 Nutrition Zone, was selling the substance branded as "the ultimate mood enhancer for your dogs." The odd substance made national headlines earlier this year following a similar raid on a Nutrition Zone in Fairfield. SEE: Route 46 Supplement Store Owner Sold 'Catnip Cocktail' Similar To Date-Rape 'Roofies,' Police Say Ordinarily used to sedate felines, catnip cocktail…

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by Cecilia Levine
Newark, NJ
Lifestyle
Olive Garden Restaurant In Livingston Closing Down Olive Garden Restaurant In Livingston Closing Down
Olive Garden Restaurant In Livingston Closing Down The Olive Garden restaurant on Eisenhower Parkway in Livingston will be shutting down after the Labor Day weekend, the eatery announced.  "We are closing permanently Sept. 3," read a chalkboard sign at the restaurant, which invited guests to visit the pasta chain's locations in Wayne, Rockaway and Springfield.  An employee confirmed the restaurant's closing. A spokesperson for the restaurant's corporate parent, Florida-based Darden Restaurants, could not immediately be reached.  The chain, known for its large portions and various all-you-can-eat promotions,  boasts 866 …

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by Paul Milo
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Police & Fire
Council President: Armed Hit-Run Rockaway Suspect In Custody After SWAT Stand-Off Council President: Armed Hit-Run Rockaway Suspect In Custody After SWAT Stand-Off
Council President: Armed Hit-Run Rockaway Suspect In Custody After SWAT Stand-Off An armed Rockaway man was taken into custody after barricading himself in his home with his elderly mother moments after hitting a neighbor with his car, a township official told Daily Voice. Police responded to Telemark Road where the suspect had locked himself in his house with his 81-year-old mother and a shotgun Sunday night, Council President Tucker Kelley told Daily Voice. The Morris County Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team (SERT) and local police used megaphones and placed phone calls to the barricaded man's home during the hours-long stand-off, said Kelley, who was on scene. …

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by Cecilia Levine
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Police & Fire
Rockaway Woman Gets 5 Years Behind Bars For DWI Crash That Killed Friend, 22 Rockaway Woman Gets 5 Years Behind Bars For DWI Crash That Killed Friend, 22
Rockaway Woman Gets 5 Years Behind Bars For DWI Crash That Killed Friend, 22 A 22-year-old Rockaway woman was sentenced to five years in state prison with no parole in connection with a February crash that left her friend dead. Samantha Viscardi last month pleaded guilty to second degree reckless vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said. Viscardi, who formerly worked at BMW of Morristown, had been drinking at two bars and was using her cellphone when she crashed her car near 435 Green Pond Road, with 22-year-old Kimberly Boyle in the front passenger seat, according to the police report. Boyle died of brai…

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
News
Hamburg Motorcyclist Killed In Rockaway Crash Was Doting Dad, Loving Husband Hamburg Motorcyclist Killed In Rockaway Crash Was Doting Dad, Loving Husband
Hamburg Motorcyclist Killed In Rockaway Crash Was Doting Dad, Loving Husband A 34-year-old father of two was killed in a motorcycle crash in Rockaway. A resident called 911 after a black 2009 Harley-Davidson driven by James Reddy of Hamburg crashed on the front lawn of a Green Pond Road home around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said. Reddy, who was underneath the cycle when police arrived, was pronounced dead at the scene, they said. What caused the crash wasn't immediately clear. Born in Hackensack, Reddy grew up in Kinnelon and lived in Highland Lakes before settling in Hamburg with his wife, Celeste, a few years ago, his obituary says. He was known for …

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by Cecilia Levine
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
News
Hamburg Motorcyclist, 34, Dead In Rockaway Crash Hamburg Motorcyclist, 34, Dead In Rockaway Crash
Hamburg Motorcyclist, 34, Dead In Rockaway Crash A 34-year-old motorcyclist from Hamburg died in a Rockaway motorcycle crash. The man was pronounced dead at the seen of the Green Pond Road crash just before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, local police said. Police responded to a 911 call from an area resident to find the man under a 2009 black Harley Davidson on the front lawn of a home, Rockaway Police Chief Martin McParland said. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.

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by Cecilia Levine
Jersey City, NJ
News
Top-Tier Lottery Scratch-Offs Sold At These 12 North Jersey Retailers Top-Tier Lottery Scratch-Offs Sold At These 12 North Jersey Retailers
Top-Tier Lottery Scratch-Offs Sold At These 12 North Jersey Retailers Several North Jersey retailers sold top-tier New Jersey Lottery scratch-off tickets. Players claimed more than $101.9 million in prizes last month. Below is a listing of the top prizes over $10,000 won for the month, sold at a dozen retailers in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic and Essex counties. BERGEN COUNTY:  Harrington News, Harrington Park: $250,000 Crossword Quick Mart, Franklin Turnpike, Mahwah: $20,000 Crossword Xtra-Tel, Fairview: $10,000 Bonus ESSEX COUNTY: Crosstown Liquors, Newark: $100,000  Bingo Bonus Square QuickChek, Springfield Avenue, Maple…

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by Cecilia Levine
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Police & Fire
Convicted Hackensack Drug Dealer Gets 12 Years In Morris County Jail Convicted Hackensack Drug Dealer Gets 12 Years In Morris County Jail
Convicted Hackensack Drug Dealer Gets 12 Years In Morris County Jail A Hackensack man with a history of narcotics trafficking was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison, authorities said. Michael T. Swanson, 42, dealt cocaine in Morris and surrounding counties before he was caught. He pleaded guilty to distribution of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Swanson, in 2011, had been convicted of similar offenses in Passaic County. He must serve at least 53 months before earning parole eligibility. Swanson, who was dealing drugs out of Morris County between January 2017 and …

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by Paul Milo
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Obituaries
Rockaway Beautician Breann Rizzi Dies, 25 Rockaway Beautician Breann Rizzi Dies, 25
Rockaway Beautician Breann Rizzi Dies, 25 Breann Elizabeth Rizzi of Rockaway died suddenly at her home on June 20. She was 25 years old. A Dover native, Breann had a passion for sports and played soccer, basketball and baseball. She also was a cheerleader and played baseball. Breann pursued beauty school after graduating from Morris Knolls High School. She was a talented hair dresser and stylist with a special interest in hair coloring and makeup, her obituary says. Breann worked at Lorenzo Pasquale Hair Design and Pietrina's Hair & Nail Salon, and at Paws Fur Beauty Mobile Pet Grooming with her mother. Condolences pour…

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by Cecilia Levine
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Traffic
DETOUR: Overturned Tractor-Trailer Shuts Rockaway Roadway DETOUR: Overturned Tractor-Trailer Shuts Rockaway Roadway
Detour: Overturned Tractor-Trailer Shuts Rockaway Roadway A tractor trailer that overturned Tuesday morning in Rockaway shut lanes into the afternoon. Green Pond Road was closed in both directions -- just north of Jacobs Road -- as of 4 p.m., authorities said. Motorists were urged to seek alternate routes.

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by Cecilia Levine
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
News
Jury: Man Guilty Of Giving Heroin To, Pimping Out Underage Teen Girls In Morris County Hotels Jury: Man Guilty Of Giving Heroin To, Pimping Out Underage Teen Girls In Morris County Hotels
Jury: Man Guilty Of Giving Heroin To, Pimping Out Underage Teen Girls In Morris County Hotels A 42-year-old North Carolina man was found guilty of giving a pair of underage teenage girls heroin and then sexually trafficking them at Morris County hotels, authorities said. Nearly four years after the crimes occurred, Aldophus Mims was found guilty of giving the then-15 -and -17-year-old girls the drugs before "enticing" them into prostitution at undisclosed hotels in Rockaway and Parsippany, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp and Acting Chief of Investigations Chris Kimker announced. Debbie Kooken, 42 of Boonton, apparently arranged for the girls to meet with male client…

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by Cecilia Levine