Tag: Bergen County Prosecutor's Office
NY Man Sexually Assaults Juvenile In Elmwood Park, Prosecutor Says
A New York man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a juvenile in Bergen County, authorities said.
Jose Mendez-Ortiz, 51, of Pearl River, NY, was taken into custody Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, following an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Elmwood Park Police Department, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Detectives determined that Mendez-Ortiz sexually assaulted a juvenile in Elmwood Park on Sept. 21, Musella said. He was arrested the same day and charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, …
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…
Snapchat Sextortion: Investigation Traces Fake Accounts To Texas Man, Bergen Prosecutor Says
A Texas man accused of creating fake online accounts to extort sexual photos and videos was arrested Thursday, Aug. 14, following a Bergen County investigation, authorities said.
Quristafer D. Land, 26, was arrested in Dallas, TX on Thursday, Aug. 14, following a months-long investigation into online sextortion, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Detectives said Land was the user in control of the Snapchat account, extorting the victims and obtaining photos and videos of sexual acts. Investigators also determined that Land “utilized the likeness of another person to create sev…
Sex Assault Suspect Wanted After Skipping Court On 1991 Hillsdale, Wash Twp Case: Officials
Authorities are searching for a 59-year-old former Bergen County man accused of sexually assaulting a child decades ago after he failed to show up for a court hearing, prosecutors said Thursday, Aug. 14.
Jed D. Phykitt, of Dalton, MN, and formerly of Washington Township, NJ, was indicted on five counts of second-degree sexual assault related to allegations from the early 1990s, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said this week.
Phykitt was first arrested in February 2025 in Minnesota after a nearly year-long investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, wit…
They Set Stolen Car On Fire In Rochelle Park, And One Was Caught At JFK Airport: Prosecutor
Two New York men have been charged in connection with a stolen vehicle fire that lit up a Rochelle Park parking lot last winter, authorities said.
Ethan Olivo, 19, and Starlin Siri, 21, both of the Bronx, were charged in the Dec. 3, 2024, blaze that consumed a 2020 Honda Accord on Rochelle Avenue just after 7 a.m., Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said in a Thursday, Aug. 7 release.
The car was found fully engulfed in flames by Rochelle Park firefighters, who extinguished the fire and contacted police, Musella said. Officers from Rochelle Park and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office …
NJ Man Who Robbed Kids At Gunpoint In Edgewater Apprehended: Prosecutor
A 21-year-old Guttenberg man has been arrested after he was previously charged with committing an armed robbery in Edgewater, authorities announced Thursday, Aug. 7.
Vazquez was charged with three other suspects in the June 2024 robbery armed robbery in Edgewater, but attempts to locate him had been unsuccessful, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. On Tuesday, Aug. 5, Vazquez surrendered to detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office in Paramus, Musella said.
On Thursday, June 13, 2024, at 7:50 p.m., five victims, including two juveniles, parked their car i…
Westwood Band Teacher Who Sexually Abused Students Gives Up Licenses, Eyes Parole In 7 Months
A former New Jersey music teacher and school administrator, incarcerated for sexually assaulting at least two students, has given up his teaching certifications with the force of a revocation, state officials confirmed.
Kurt E. Zimmermann, 56, a father of two from Rockaway, was ordered to relinquish his Teacher of Music certificate and Principal Certificate of Eligibility at a June 26 meeting of the New Jersey State Board of Examiners, according to the board’s formal order.
As of press time, Zimmermann was incarcerated in Bayside State Prison and will be eligible for parole in March 2026, t…
Wayne Mello Appointed Acting Hudson County Prosecutor: Attorney General Platkin
A veteran prosecutor known for trying high-profile murder cases has been tapped to lead the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced on Saturday, Aug. 2.
Wayne Mello, who has served as Hudson County’s First Assistant Prosecutor since 2016, officially assumed the role of Acting Prosecutor on Thursday, July 31, according to Platkin.
He succeeds Esther Suarez, who retired Friday, Aug. 1, after nearly a decade in the post. Mello will now oversee about 70 assistant prosecutors and more than 100 detectives investigating violent crime, gun violence, narcotic…
Motorcyclist Killed In Friday Afternoon Woodcliff Lake Crash, Officials Say
A motorcyclist was killed in a crash in Bergen County on Friday afternoon, August 1, authorities said.
The accident occurred around 4:51 p.m. on Pascack Road in Woodcliff Lake, near the intersection of West Hill Road, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office's Deputy Chief of Detectives, Jeff Angermeyer.
Responding officers from Woodcliff Lake, along with local EMS and police from surrounding towns, arrived to find a motorcyclist critically injured. Despite life-saving efforts, the rider was pronounced dead at the scene, Angermeyer said.
Investigators say the motorcycle…
They Pulled Guns On Kids In Edgewater, Officials Say: Now Four Are Facing Charges
Four men have been charged including one who remains at large following a year-long investigation into an armed robbery in Edgewater, authorities said.
The investigation stems from a robbery that occurred on Thursday, June 13, 2024, around 7:50 p.m., at a commercial parking lot on River Road, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Friday, Aug. 1.
Five victims, including two juveniles, had just parked when two masked men with firearms approached them, Musella said.
The suspects demanded the keys to the victim’s vehicle, patted down some of the victims, and threatened …
Helicopter, Dive Teams Join Emergency Search On Ramapo Lake: Prosecutor
A massive search and rescue operation is underway in the Ramapo Lake area , where multiple law enforcement agencies, including state police, firefighters, and dive teams, have converged, officials said Saturday, July 26.
UPDATE: Sources tell Daily Voice that a body, believed to be that of a juvenile, has been recovered on the Passaic County side. The situation remains developing.
Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office responded to assist with the emergency effort, which is being led by the New Jersey State Park Police, according to Deputy Chief of Detectives Jeff Angerme…
Paterson Teen Pops Out Of Car Trunk In Surprise Hackensack Armed Robbery: Prosecutor
A months-long investigation into an armed robbery in Hackensack has led to charges against four men and one juvenile, authorities said.
The incident occurred on Sunday, April 27, around 6:30 p.m., near the intersection of East Pleasantview Avenue and Kipp Street, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday, July 25.
According to Musella, two victims were sitting in a car when a white Mercedes-Benz coupe pulled up and double-parked. Omar I. Cetiner, 21, of Hackensack, allegedly got out with a gun, the prosecutor said. At the same time, a 17-year-old from Paterson reportedly climbed …
Child Sextortion: Man Sent Bergen County Kid Explicit Pics, Threatened Exposure, Officials Say
A Wisconsin man has been charged with sexually extorting a child under the age of 13 in New Jersey, authorities announced.
Christopher Battin, 34, of Milwaukee, was arrested Tuesday, July 22, by the United States Marshals Service in Wisconsin, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
The investigation began on March 7, when North Arlington police contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit. They reported that a child under 13 was being contacted online by a stranger, Musella said.
Detectives quickly suspected the online contact was an adult sexually extortin…
Leonia Victim Dies Week After Hit-Run, Charges Upgraded For North Bergen Driver: Prosecutor
A woman struck by a hit-and-run driver earlier this month in Leonia died eight days after the crash, and the North Bergen motorist accused of hitting her is facing an upgraded charge, authorities announced.
Osmary Jimenez-Luna, 34, was originally arrested in connection with a hit-and-run that occurred around 4:35 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, in Leonia, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said in a press release Tuesday, July 22.
At the scene on Grand Avenue near Ames Avenue, police found 77-year-old Chong Soon Sim with injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle, Musella sa…
