Toms River Company Among 19 NJ Businesses Who Owe $1.1M In Unpaid Dues, State Says Toms River Company Among 19 NJ Businesses Who Owe $1.1M In Unpaid Dues, State Says
Toms River Company Among 19 NJ Businesses Who Owe $1.1M In Unpaid Dues, State Says Nineteen businesses who owe a total of $1.1 million have been barred from public contracting until they pay back their dues, the New Jersey Department of Labor said. R.A. Florio Building Contractors Inc., of Toms River, for example, has been ordered to pay $39,555.57 to the state, according to the department of labor and workforce development. The final judgment was given on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020.  The contractor is one of 101 total businesses on New Jersey's Workplace Accountability in Labor List, also known as the WALL. According to the state, Florio Building Contractors violated …
Man Poses As Nurse On Dating App, Then Assaults Several Women In Mount Vernon, NYC: Feds Man Poses As Nurse On Dating App, Then Assaults Several Women In Mount Vernon, NYC: Feds
Man Poses As Nurse On Dating App, Then Assaults Several Women In Mount Vernon, NYC: Feds A 30-year-old man faces kidnapping and cyberstalking charges after posing as a nurse on a dating application and brutalizing several women he met in Westchester and New York City, federal officials announced.  An eight-count indictment charging New Jersey resident Herman Brightman of West New York, also known as "Nazir Griffiths" and "Nazir Luckett," with kidnapping, cyberstalking, and more has been returned by a grand jury, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Monday, Dec. 11.  According to federal officials, between January 2022 and Septemb…
Man Poses As Nurse To Kidnap, Sexually Abuse Women In NJ, NY: Feds Man Poses As Nurse To Kidnap, Sexually Abuse Women In NJ, NY: Feds
Man Poses As Nurse To Kidnap, Sexually Abuse Women In NJ, NY: Feds A Hudson County man who posed as a nurse on Facebook and the Hinge dating app kidnapped, assaulted and sexually abused several women in New Jersey and New York, federal authorities charged. Herman Calvin Brightman, 30, abducted one of the women and her 2-year-old child in the Bronx and brought them to his West New York home at knifepoint, said Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. It was only one of what NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban called many “deeply disturbing and heinous acts” that included threats to kill his victims. Brightman also stalked a wom…
NJ Man Sentenced For Making Teen Sexually Abuse 4-Year-Old, Record It: Prosecutors NJ Man Sentenced For Making Teen Sexually Abuse 4-Year-Old, Record It: Prosecutors
NJ Man Sentenced For Making Teen Sexually Abuse 4-Year-Old, Record It: Prosecutors A 32-year-old Hudson County man was sentenced to prison for making a teen boy sexually abused a child and record it, prosecutors said. Joseph Suarez, of West New York, was sentenced to 15 years in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to instructing a 13-year-old boy to sexually abuse a 4-year-old girl and send him recordings of it, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Suarez disseminated footage from the out-of-state boy over the social media platform Discord, Esther Suarez said.  He pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child/facilitating child sex abuse material…
Man Crushed To Death Between Car, Garage In Princeton: Police Man Crushed To Death Between Car, Garage In Princeton: Police
Man Crushed To Death Between Car, Garage In Princeton: Police A 61-year-old man was killed when he was pinned against a garage by a backing car, authorities said. Meliton Hernandez-Morales of West New York died of his injuries at the scene of the crash at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29, Princeton police said. Huimei Qiu, 53, of Princeton, was backing down a residential driveway on Red Hill Road when Hernandez-Morales, who was in the driveway, was struck, police said. Hernandez-Morales was pinned against a detached garage, they said. Qiu was not hurt and no summonses had been issued. The investigation is ongoing.
10 Firefighters Injured, 19 People Displaced By Thanksgiving Blaze On Bergenline (UPDATE) 10 Firefighters Injured, 19 People Displaced By Thanksgiving Blaze On Bergenline (UPDATE)
10 Firefighters Injured, 19 People Displaced By Thanksgiving Blaze On Bergenline (Update) Ten firefighters were injured and 19 people were displaced in a West New York fire on Thanksgiving, authorities said. The blaze at a fire at 5222 Bergenline Ave., located above the Marin Pharmacy, broke out around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 23, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Footage posted to the Citizen app shows shooting through a window of a building at the corner of 53rd Street. During suppression efforts, 10 firefighters were injured, including two seriously, Suarez said. One firefighter remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, the prosecutor said. Four c…
NJ Man Steals $8K+ From Woman Using Passport At PA Bank: Police NJ Man Steals $8K+ From Woman Using Passport At PA Bank: Police
NJ Man Steals $8K+ From Woman Using Passport At PA Bank: Police An elderly woman has lost nearly $9,000 from her bank account after a New Jersey man used a fake passport card at a bank in Bethlehem, PA, police announced on Wednesday, Nov. 22.  Dax Perez Velazquez, 49 of West New York, NJ, somehow obtained a US passport card with his image on it but the elderly woman's name, and used it at a Member's 1st bank in Bethlehem, PA on September 30, Lower Allen Township police detailed in the release. The man initially made a cash withdrawal of $6,800 using the woman's account info and his fraudulent passport card at a teller window inside the bank and the…
Kidnappers Owed Drug Money Kept Victim Tied In U-Haul For Hours In NJ: Police Kidnappers Owed Drug Money Kept Victim Tied In U-Haul For Hours In NJ: Police
Kidnappers Owed Drug Money Kept Victim Tied In U-Haul For Hours In NJ: Police A woman was arrested for kidnapping and two suspects remain at-large as Secaucus police continue their investigation into the sale of narcotics at motels in the town, authorities said.  Police found one member of an illicit drug distribution ring was kidnapped at knifepoint in Jersey City in June 2023, since he owed Erica Festino, another member of the drug ring, money, police said. The victim was bound and driven around Hudson County in the back of a U-Haul truck for hours and robbed of cash and personal items, police said. He was eventually released, police said.  Festino was ar…
West New York Driver Hit Cyclist, Fled Scene: Prosecutors West New York Driver Hit Cyclist, Fled Scene: Prosecutors
West New York Driver Hit Cyclist, Fled Scene: Prosecutors A 37-year-old West New York Man was charged on Friday, Nov. 3 with striking a cyclist and then leaving the scene last year, authorities said. On Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 12:20 p.m., Jason Flores was driving an Acura MDX when he hit a bicyclist, a 33-year-old North Bergen woman, riding an electric bike at 50th Street and Bergenline Avenue, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Flores did not remain at the scene, Suarez said. The bicyclist was transferred to Jersey City Medical Center with serious injuries, Suarez said.  Flores was charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor…
Cocaine Found After 7MPH Driver Tries Speeding Off From Leonia PD Into Fort Lee, Chief Says Cocaine Found After 7MPH Driver Tries Speeding Off From Leonia PD Into Fort Lee, Chief Says
Cocaine Found After 7MPH Driver Tries Speeding Off From Leonia PD Into Fort Lee, Chief Says A motorist who caught a Leonia police officer’s attention by going 7 miles an hour tried to speed away into Fort Lee, recklessly running a red light in the middle of the afternoon, before she was caught, authorities said. Officer Debbie Maldonado spotted the black Acura trudging up Fort Lee Road from Grand Avenue around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, Leonia Police Chief Scott Tamagny said. Maldonado pulled behind the vehicle, whose driver stopped several times for no apparent reason, then signaled a turn at Broad Avenue but kept going straight through the turn lane, the chief said. The office…
These 9 NJ Towns Failed To Correct Sick Leave Policies, State Comptroller Says These 9 NJ Towns Failed To Correct Sick Leave Policies, State Comptroller Says
These 9 NJ Towns Failed To Correct Sick Leave Policies, State Comptroller Says Towns throughout the Garden State have not addressed their sick and vacation leave policies, the state's comptroller said. In a letter sent to Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and State Comptroller Kevin Walsh said nine municipalities have refused to cooperate and develop a correction action plan and is requesting that Murphy's office withhold state funds if they do not cooperate within 30 days. "The failure of the nine municipalities to prepare a correction action plan creates risks that taxpayer funds will be wasted and that unlawful pol…
Home Invader Swiped $3.5K In Valuables While Residents Slept, Friend Kept Lookout In Guttenberg Home Invader Swiped $3.5K In Valuables While Residents Slept, Friend Kept Lookout In Guttenberg
Home Invader Swiped $3.5K In Valuables While Residents Slept, Friend Kept Lookout In Guttenberg One person was arrested while a second remains at large in a Hudson County home invasion, police said. Albert A. Ayala, 34, of Guttenberg, is believed to have acted as the lookout while another man, who police have not identified, went into the home at 68th Street and Hudson Avenue while the victims slept in a locked bedroom on Friday, Sept. 22, Guttenberg Deputy Police Chief Frank Pelaez said. Video surveillance footage from inside of her apartment shows a man walking through the victim's apartment and taking various belongings, valued over $3,500, Pelaez said.  "Officers and detecti…