DRUG RAID: Fair Lawn Man Had $152K In Cash, Grow Tents, Shrooms Seized, Cops Say DRUG RAID: Fair Lawn Man Had $152K In Cash, Grow Tents, Shrooms Seized, Cops Say
Drug Raid: Fair Lawn Man Had $152K In Cash, Grow Tents, Shrooms Seized, Cops Say A late-night call for a suspicious person in Fair Lawn led police to uncover what they say was a full-fledged drug operation—and more than $150,000 in cash, authorities said. It happened on Monday, May 20, at approximately 11:09 p.m., according to Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Eric Eleshewich. Officers responding to Ward Street encountered Timothy S. Brown, 62, after neighbors reported a man walking up and down driveways. Brown had a “large rucksack,” police said, and began acting suspiciously near the front door of a home. Officers handcuffed Brown and noticed that the front door to a neighboring…
Elmwood Park Fire Inspector Falsified Records: Prosecutor Elmwood Park Fire Inspector Falsified Records: Prosecutor
Elmwood Park Fire Inspector Falsified Records: Prosecutor A municipal fire inspector has been charged with falsifying and tampering with public records, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced. Mark S. Hettinger, 43, of Elmwood Park, was arrested on Thursday, May 22, following an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Confidential Investigations Unit, Musella said. The investigation began on April 16, when the Prosecutor’s Office received information about possible tampering of records related to the Elmwood Park Fire Prevention Bureau. Authorities say that Hettinger, the borough's fire inspector and formerly a firefighter…
Fentanyl, Firepower, Pills: Dealer Taken Down In SWAT Raid In Wappinger, DA Says Fentanyl, Firepower, Pills: Dealer Taken Down In SWAT Raid In Wappinger, DA Says
Fentanyl, Firepower, Pills: Dealer Taken Down In SWAT Raid In Wappinger, DA Says A 29-year-old man is behind bars without bail after operating a dangerous drug ring across multiple Dutchess County communities, dealing fentanyl, cocaine, and prescription pills from his home, officials said.   Former Bronx resident Alfonso Perez, 29, was arrested on Monday, May 19, following a coordinated raid at his residence on Dugan Lane in Wappinger, the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office Drug Task Force announced on Thursday, May 22.  The arrest followed a multi-week investigation into narcotics trafficking in Wappinger, East Fishkill,  Beacon, and surroun…
Westwood Track Coach Arrested For Assaulting Young Athlete: Cops Westwood Track Coach Arrested For Assaulting Young Athlete: Cops
Westwood Track Coach Arrested For Assaulting Young Athlete: Cops A 62-year-old Bergen County track and field coach was arrested after police say he assaulted an athlete. On Thursday, May 15, Washington Township police received a report that a juvenile had been hurt by their coach, Ruben Baerga, 62, of Westwood, according to a news release from the department. Baerga works for the private organization New Jersey Striders, which is not affiliated with the Westwood Regional School District, police said. Baerga was arrested by officers following an investigation that included video evidence, police said. Baerga was charged with endangering the welfare…
Teen Allegedly Took Minor Across State Lines, Assaulted Her In Mechanicsburg Motel: Police Teen Allegedly Took Minor Across State Lines, Assaulted Her In Mechanicsburg Motel: Police
Teen Allegedly Took Minor Across State Lines, Assaulted Her In Mechanicsburg Motel: Police An 18-year-old from Mechanicsburg is accused of taking a juvenile across state lines and sexually assaulting her at a local motel, police announced on Sunday, May 18. Talen Matthew Bruce, of the 300 block of Stonehedge Lane, was arrested after authorities say he drove to Tennessee to pick up a missing girl without parental permission, according to the Upper Allen Township Police Department. The girl had been reported missing to the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office in New Tazewell, Tennessee. Investigators say Bruce brought her back to Pennsylvania and was later found with her at a motel in…
Senior Fire Captain In Emerson Forged Fit Tests For Other Firefighters: Officials Senior Fire Captain In Emerson Forged Fit Tests For Other Firefighters: Officials
Senior Fire Captain In Emerson Forged Fit Tests For Other Firefighters: Officials A senior fire captain in Bergen County is facing criminal charges after authorities say he forged safety paperwork for members of the fire department. While acting as a senior fire captain in Emerson, Richard A. Solimando, 45, “improperly conducted respirator fit tests for members of the Emerson Fire Department and fraudulently signed acknowledgements for each report" between Jan. 7 and Jan. 27, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Solimando was arrested on Friday, May 16 in Paramus, and charged with one count of third-degree forgery, and one count of fourth-degree fal…
Orange Pastor, Wife Enslaved Church Members For Sex, Labor: Feds Orange Pastor, Wife Enslaved Church Members For Sex, Labor: Feds
Orange Pastor, Wife Enslaved Church Members For Sex, Labor: Feds A pastor in Orange and his wife were arrested and charged on Wednesday, May 7, with forcing church members into forced labor, authorities said. Treva Edwards, 60, and Christine Edwards, 63, face charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and forced labor in Newark federal court, US Attorney Alina Habba said. The Edwards’ were founders and pastors of a church called Jesus is Lord by the Holy Ghost, operated out of an apartment building in Orange, Habba said. Between 2011 and 2020, the Edwardses identified and recruited victims who were facing struggles in their lives to join the…
Disbarred Spring Lake Attorney Accused Of Stealing $130K From Dead Client’s Estate: Prosecutor Disbarred Spring Lake Attorney Accused Of Stealing $130K From Dead Client’s Estate: Prosecutor
Disbarred Spring Lake Attorney Accused Of Stealing $130K From Dead Client’s Estate: Prosecutor A former Monmouth County attorney has been criminally charged with stealing more than $130,000 from a deceased client’s estate over the course of seven years, authorities said. Kathleen M. Cehelsky, 60, of Spring Lake Heights, is charged with: Second-degree Misapplication of Entrusted Property Fourth-degree False Uttering Fourth-degree Forgery The charges were announced Thursday, May 16, by Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago. According to Santiago, the theft began shortly after the death of Cehelsky’s client in 2014, when she began illegally transferring funds from the client’…
Motel Den Drug Bust: Fentanyl, Crack, Guns Seized From Trio In West Haven, Cops Say Motel Den Drug Bust: Fentanyl, Crack, Guns Seized From Trio In West Haven, Cops Say
Motel Den Drug Bust: Fentanyl, Crack, Guns Seized From Trio In West Haven, Cops Say A Connecticut motel room loaded with crack cocaine, fentanyl, stolen goods, and even candy, was busted Tuesday in a sweeping operation that netted three arrests, multiple weapons, and more than $22,000 in drugs, police said. Alexander Vargas was taken into custody on Tuesday, May 13, after members of the West Haven Street Crime Unit and Uniformed Patrol Division stopped his vehicle around 2 p.m., police said. Investigators had been tracking Vargas since April, after learning he was allegedly dealing crack cocaine and fentanyl out of a room at the Econo Lodge Motel in West Haven, according t…
Outlaw Biker Sporting ‘1%’ Patch Nabbed On Southern State With Loaded Gun, Nunchucks: PD Outlaw Biker Sporting ‘1%’ Patch Nabbed On Southern State With Loaded Gun, Nunchucks: PD
Outlaw Biker Sporting ‘1%’ Patch Nabbed On Southern State With Loaded Gun, Nunchucks: PD A routine early-morning patrol on the Southern State Parkway took a dangerous turn when troopers encountered an armed outlaw biker, police said. The incident happened around 2:10 a.m. Saturday, May 10, on the westbound side near Exit 18 in West Hempstead, when troopers spotted a disabled motorcycle on the shoulder and stopped to assist. Instead, they found Aaron Morgan, 45, of Queens, standing next to the bike in a Twister MC leather vest, prominently displaying patches associated with the notorious outlaw motorcycle gang, police said. One of those patches was the infamous “1%” diamond—a s…
Man Found With Blue Fentanyl Pills, Ecstasy On Taconic In East Fishkill: NYSP Man Found With Blue Fentanyl Pills, Ecstasy On Taconic In East Fishkill: NYSP
Man Found With Blue Fentanyl Pills, Ecstasy On Taconic In East Fishkill: Nysp A traffic stop on the Taconic State Parkway in Dutchess County turned into a major drug bust after a man was found with more than 100 grams of MDMA and blue fentanyl, police said. The stop happened on Monday, May 12, when troopers stopped a 2000 Honda traveling northbound in East Fishkill for traffic violations, New York State Police announced.  The driver, identified as Anyelo L. Santiago, age 37, of Manhattan, was the only one in the vehicle, according to authorities.  During a consent search and vehicle inventory, troopers said they found around 111 grams of MDMA, commonly kno…
15-Year-Old Leads Cops On Multi-State Chase Into Clarkstown In Stolen Car, Crashes: NYSP 15-Year-Old Leads Cops On Multi-State Chase Into Clarkstown In Stolen Car, Crashes: NYSP
15-Year-Old Leads Cops On Multi-State Chase Into Clarkstown In Stolen Car, Crashes: Nysp A 15-year-old from Pennsylvania led police on a high-speed multi-state chase from New Jersey into Rockland County in a stolen car before crashing into a tree on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, police said.  The pursuit began just after noon on Sunday, May 11, when troopers responded to a report of a vehicle being chased northbound on the parkway in the town of Clarkstown, New York State Police announced on Monday, May 12.  Investigators say the car, a 2024 Subaru, had been reported stolen out of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was originally being pursued by the New Jersey Palisades…