Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! 'Bait Bike,' Fire Chief Help Nab Train Station Bicycle Thief: Glen Rock PD GOTCHA! 'Bait Bike,' Fire Chief Help Nab Train Station Bicycle Thief: Glen Rock PD
Gotcha! 'Bait Bike,' Fire Chief Help Nab Train Station Bicycle Thief: Glen Rock PD Glen Rock police investigating a rash of bicycle thefts at its train stations nabbed a familiar face with help from technology and their borough's fire chief. Detectives attached a GPS tracker to a decoy bicycle before racking it at the NJ TRANSIT Bergen Line station, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. It was around 4:30 p.m. this past Friday, Oct. 27, when the "bait bike" was removed from the rack, he said. Police immediately headed toward the train station. The thief, meanwhile, found and removed the GPS tracker as he headed south on Lincoln Avenue, the chief said. Just when it look…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
Business
All About The Ovens: Patsy's Tavern Turned Down Portnoy's Pizza Fest Invite — For Good Reason All About The Ovens: Patsy's Tavern Turned Down Portnoy's Pizza Fest Invite — For Good Reason
All About The Ovens: Patsy's Tavern Turned Down Portnoy's Pizza Fest Invite — For Good Reason Patsy's Tavern in Paterson may have turned down their invitation to Barstool Sports' One Bite Pizza Fest, but New Jersey was still well-represented as several others were in attendance. The One Bite Pizza Fest was held Saturday, Sept. 23 in Coney Island, and featured 35 pizzerias all highly-rated by Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy. Patsy's Tavern owner Steve Barbarulo said his shop was invited to the pizza fest, but Barstool was providing the ovens for all the attending pizzerias and couldn't get them the same 90-year-old oven they've had in the shop since Barbarulo was a kid. And the oven is w…

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by Cecilia Levine
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
Sedan Slams Into Fair Lawn Garden Apartment, Driver Flees On Foot, Found Three Towns Away Sedan Slams Into Fair Lawn Garden Apartment, Driver Flees On Foot, Found Three Towns Away
Sedan Slams Into Fair Lawn Garden Apartment, Driver Flees On Foot, Found Three Towns Away It was literally a hit-and-run. A driver whose sedan slammed into a garden apartment complex in Fair Lawn late Saturday fled the scene on foot and was later seized in Waldwick, responders said. The Toyota Camry was headed south on Route 208 when the driver apparently tried to avoid another vehicle that had crashed around 11 p.m. Aug. 26, witnesses said. The Toyota careened off the highway, uprooted a sign and struck a building on Virginia Drive at the Blue Ridge Manor Condos. The driver then took off on foot, witnesses said. Police temporarily evacuated the building until the sedan coul…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paramus, NJ
Business
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department 27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department Boston Market stores across New Jersey owe its workers thousands of dollars in back wages, and the state's labor department is taking action. The NJDOL issued 27 stop-work orders to Boston Market locations throughout the state on Monday, Aug. 14 saying the rotisserie chicken franchise owes more than $600,000 in back wages to 314 employees. The investigation began after the NJDOL received a complaint from an employee at a restaurant in Hamilton last November. Since then, almost three dozen people have come forward, naming several other locations. Citations were issued for unpaid/late pa…

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by Sam Barron
Mahwah-Ramsey, NJ
Police & Fire
ICE Looks To Deport Laborer Charged With Decade-Long Child Sex Abuse In Bergen, At Jersey Shore ICE Looks To Deport Laborer Charged With Decade-Long Child Sex Abuse In Bergen, At Jersey Shore
ICE Looks To Deport Laborer Charged With Decade-Long Child Sex Abuse In Bergen, At Jersey Shore For more than a decade, a laborer believed to living in the U.S. illegally sexually abused a child in Bergen County and at the Jersey Shore, authorities said Monday. Federal authorities have placed a detainer on Jonan Pascasio-Erazo, a 46-year-old Salvadoran national living in Waldwick, who was jailed late last week. Pascasio-Erazo sexually assaulted the victim in Waldwick, Mahwah and Belmar multiple times, beginning in 2012, up until his arrest, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Waldwick police notified detectives from Musella’s Special Victims Unit of the disclosure on Friday, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lyndhurst, NJ
Police & Fire
Local Man Struck By Train In Lyndhurst Local Man Struck By Train In Lyndhurst
Local Man Struck By Train In Lyndhurst A 60-year-old Lyndhurst man suffered severe injuries when he was hit by a train Friday night. The westbound NJ TRANSIT Main Line train struck the man just before the Kingsland Station shortly before 5:30 p.m. Aug. 4 in what responders said wasn't an accident. The man was alert and conscious despite head trauma and severe injuries to his lower extremities. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center. The 500 or so passengers walked to the station from there. The Main Line No. 1221 train left Hoboken at 5:13 p.m. and was due to arrive in Waldwick at 6:11 p.m., said NJ TRANSIT Seni…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Northern Highlands, NJ
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Midland Park Driver Seriously Injured In Crash That Responders Said He Caused UPDATE: Midland Park Driver Seriously Injured In Crash That Responders Said He Caused
Update: Midland Park Driver Seriously Injured In Crash That Responders Said He Caused A driver was critically injured in a crash that authorities in Waldwick said he created. A driver was critically injured and a MINI Cooper and a Nissan Sentra were both severely damaged in a violent crash in Waldwick. The 47-year-old MINI driver from Midland Park caused the crash when he tried to make a left onto Harrison Avenue from Wyckoff Avenue near the Giant Farmer's Market around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, Police Lt. Troy E. Seifert said. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with significant injuries to his head and face, the lieutenant said. He also received seve…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Northern Highlands, NJ
Police & Fire
Serious Injury Reported In Fierce Waldwick Collision Serious Injury Reported In Fierce Waldwick Collision
Serious Injury Reported In Fierce Waldwick Collision An occupant was critically injured and a MINI Cooper and a Nissan Sentra were both severely damaged in a violent crash in Waldwick. The 47-year-old MINI driver from Midland Park caused the crash when he tried to make a left onto Harrison Avenue from Wyckoff Avenue near the Giant Farmer's Market around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, Police Lt. Troy E. Seifert said.  He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with significant injuries to his head and face, the lieutenant said. He also received several motor vehicle summonses, Seifert said. A 33-year-old Wayne woman who was behind th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Mahwah-Ramsey, NJ
Police & Fire
Mahwah Swears In New Police Chief Touted For Professionalism, Communication, Dedication Mahwah Swears In New Police Chief Touted For Professionalism, Communication, Dedication
Mahwah Swears In New Police Chief Touted For Professionalism, Communication, Dedication A highly decorated and widely respected law enforcement veteran was sworn to office as Mahwah’s 9th police chief in the township’s nearly 80-year history. Timothy O'Hara was sworn in Thursday night, July 20, by Mahwah Municipal Court Judge Richard Brady, who also happens to be a retired chief of police from Waldwick. Mayor Jim Wysocki's nomination of O'Hara was unanimously approved by the Township Council last month. Wysocki, who’s a former Mahwah police officer, cited O’Hara’s professionalism, among other strengths. The new chief understands the value of communicating with the community…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes, NJ
Police & Fire
HEROES: Midland Park Police Prevent Standoff, Convince Troubled Man To Get Help HEROES: Midland Park Police Prevent Standoff, Convince Troubled Man To Get Help
Heroes: Midland Park Police Prevent Standoff, Convince Troubled Man To Get Help Midland Park police quickly defused a potentially volatile situation involving a troubled resident on Monday. It was around 10 a.m. July 17 when police got a call of a 26-year-old suicidal man who'd barricaded himself in a home on Colonial Road near Park Avenue as a result of some type of family dispute, responders said. Not taking any chances, Midland Park police requested mutual aid from police in neighboring Waldwick and Wyckoff and alerted the Bergen County Regional SWAT and crisis negotiation teams. They quickly canceled the requests after convincing the man to come out on his own aro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Mahwah-Ramsey, NJ
Police & Fire
FRAGRANT OFFENSE: Fleeing Ulta Thieves Caught With $1,800 Worth Of Perfume FRAGRANT OFFENSE: Fleeing Ulta Thieves Caught With $1,800 Worth Of Perfume
Fragrant Offense: Fleeing Ulta Thieves Caught With $1,800 Worth Of Perfume File this one under law and odor. Three men from Brooklyn who fled an Ulta Beauty store just off Route 17 in Ramsey were nabbed a short distance away by Saddle River police, authorities said. The trio had just fled the store in the Interstate Shopping Center with $1,800 worth of fragrances when their older model Dodge Caravan was stopped -- for motor vehicle violations -- in the middle of the afternoon last Sunday, July 9, Ramsey Detective Jaclyn Sabatelli said. "The vehicle and passengers matched descriptions provided by witnesses and seen on video surveillance," Sabatelli said. Georgian…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Northern Highlands, NJ
Police & Fire
Pickup Crashes Through Route 17 Guardrail, Down Embankment Pickup Crashes Through Route 17 Guardrail, Down Embankment
Pickup Crashes Through Route 17 Guardrail, Down Embankment A driver and passenger escaped serious injury when their pickup truck crashed through a Route 17 guardrail and landed on its side down an embankment, responders said. It was just past the bus stop at the Sheridan Avenue exit on the southbound highway in Waldwick just past 2 a.m. Wednesday when the Chevy Silverado barreled through the rail and landed on its driver's side. Waldwick firefighters stabilized the truck, then used a ladder to get the two occupants out. Waldwick firefighters cut a section of guardrail away so the pickup could be removed following the crash off southbound Route…

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by Jerry DeMarco