Paterson, NJ
News
Deaths Of Beloved Head School Custodian, Wife In Crash Devastates Haledon Community Deaths Of Beloved Head School Custodian, Wife In Crash Devastates Haledon Community
Deaths Of Beloved Head School Custodian, Wife In Crash Devastates Haledon Community Shock and sorrow spread through Haledon and beyond on Sunday with word that the school district’s beloved head custodian and his wife were killed in a horrific crash hours earlier. Responders tried in vain to revive Corrado LaRosa, the director of physical plant and custodial services, and his wife, Tina LaRosa, following the crash near the corner of Belmont Avenue and John Street minutes before midnight. Corrado LaRosa, 49, was driving a Fiat 500 Abarth that collided with a Nissan Murano driven by Anthony Crespo, 21, of Oakland. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:33 a.m. and his wi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Haledon PD: PA Pickup Passenger Caught With 550 Heroin Folds Down Pants Blames Driver Haledon PD: PA Pickup Passenger Caught With 550 Heroin Folds Down Pants Blames Driver
Haledon PD: PA Pickup Passenger Caught With 550 Heroin Folds Down Pants Blames Driver A passenger who had more than 550 heroin folds stuffed down his pants told Haledon police the driver had tossed the drugs to him before they were pulled over. Officer Michael Palmer said he and Special Class II Officer Omar Zadeh noticed the 2003 Dodge Ram when the driver, Travis Corter, 26, of Dingmans Fry, PA flicked ashes out his window on West Broadway. As they began to follow the pickup truck, it suddenly crossed the double-yellow line into oncoming traffic, Palmer reported. Palmer said he immediately activated his overhead lights and siren. Once Corter finally pulled over, the offic…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Rutherford, NJ
Schools
COVID-19: Staff Member Tests Positive At Another Bergen County School COVID-19: Staff Member Tests Positive At Another Bergen County School
Covid-19: Staff Member Tests Positive At Another Bergen County School A school for elementary and middle school students in a small Bergen County town is going all-remote after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. The Robert L. Craig School (Moonachie) employee was "doing well and feeling good," and was not infected in the school, Superintendent James Knipper said. The test came back positive last Wednesday, Knipper said. No other staff members or students tested positive or experienced symptoms, according to Knipper. Classes will be virtual until Oct. 13, the superintendent said. On Monday, a Rutherford school was relegated to remote learning after…

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by Cecilia Levine
Rutherford, NJ
Schools
COVID-19 Case Closes Bergen County Middle School COVID-19 Case Closes Bergen County Middle School
Covid-19 Case Closes Bergen County Middle School Yet another Bergen County school closed due to a confirmed case of COVID-19. Classes at the Union School in Rutherford were switched to remote, with in-person instruction set to resume Oct. 14, according to a letter sent to parents Monday afternoon. It was not clear if the case was a student or staff member. Schools in Demarest, Haledon and Wayne also switched to remote learning in the last week due to COVID-19 cases.

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by Cecilia Levine
Paterson, NJ
Schools
COVID-19: 5 Cases Reported In 2 Passaic County Elementary Schools COVID-19: 5 Cases Reported In 2 Passaic County Elementary Schools
Covid-19: 5 Cases Reported In 2 Passaic County Elementary Schools Five COVID-19 cases were reported at a pair of elementary schools in Passaic County. The first four cases are students at Wayne's John F. Kennedy School, while a new case was reported last Friday at light at Ryerson School, NorthJersey.com reports citing Superintendent Mark Toback said. It was not clear if the fifth case was a student or staff member. Kennedy reopened Monday after being closed Thursday and Friday. Ryerson's Kindergarten classes were switched to remote learning until Oct. 15, as was the school's extended-day program. Meanwhile, three schools in Demarest and a Haledon …

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by Cecilia Levine
Hackensack, NJ
Schools
More Schools In Bergen, Passaic Go Remote Due To COVID-19 More Schools In Bergen, Passaic Go Remote Due To COVID-19
More Schools In Bergen, Passaic Go Remote Due To Covid-19 Several more schools in Bergen and Passaic counties have switched to remote learning due to COVID-19. ** UPDATE: Five COVID-19 cases including four students were reported in Wayne elementary schools, and a newly-reported case closed a Rutherford middle school ** Three Demarest schools -- Demarest Middle School, Luther Lee Emerson, and County Road -- were switched to virtual learning until Oct. 19 as a safety precaution, officials said on Facebook Saturday. Six new cases were reported in the borough as of Sunday morning. All youth recreation soccer events were cancelled until Oct. 16,…

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by Cecilia Levine
Hackensack, NJ
News
Woman Fires Gun During Brawl In South Hackensack Parking Lot, Officer Rescues Victim Woman Fires Gun During Brawl In South Hackensack Parking Lot, Officer Rescues Victim
Woman Fires Gun During Brawl In South Hackensack Parking Lot, Officer Rescues Victim A fight between two women that began on Route 80 ended in a South Hackensack parking lot before dawn Saturday with one of them firing a handgun several times before a nearby officer rushed to the scene and rescued the victim, authorities said. The Passaic County women were returning from Yonkers, where Samantha Polanco works as a deejay, when they began arguing on westbound Route 80 around 4 a.m., Detective Sgt. James Donatello said. The 2017 BMW 3 pulled into a parking lot in an industrial area just off the highway, where the dispute got physical, Donatello said. Polanco, 23, fired a 9mm …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Shot In Paterson Flags Down Police Next Town Over Jersey Shore Man Shot In Paterson Flags Down Police Next Town Over
Jersey Shore Man Shot In Paterson Flags Down Police Next Town Over A Jersey Shore man who was shot in the arm and leg in Paterson made it nearly a dozen blocks before flagging down a passing police officer in Haledon, authorities said. The 41-year-old victim from Long Branch apparently was shot at the corner of North 8th Street and Belmont Avenue around 7 p.m. Friday, they said. He flagged down a police officer near the corner of Henry Street and Lee Avenue behind the Haledon School -- more than a half-mile from the scene, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes. Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora and Haledon Police Chief Angelo J. Daniele said…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
PHOTOS: Fierce Fire Roars Through Three Passaic Homes, Displacing Dozens PHOTOS: Fierce Fire Roars Through Three Passaic Homes, Displacing Dozens
Photos: Fierce Fire Roars Through Three Passaic Homes, Displacing Dozens An off-duty firefighter alerted residents to a gas-fed blaze that ravaged three homes Saturday morning in Passaic, displacing nearly three dozen people. More than 120 firefighters responded to the fierce four-alarm blaze, which roared across the multi-family dwellings on Oak Street after breaking out shortly after 8 a.m., responders said. An off-duty firefighter helped get the buildings evacuated, Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost said "There was a tremendous amount of fire through [two of ] the buildings, with a partial collapse," Trentacost said. Definitely one (middle) and possibly two…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Haledon PD: Jersey Shore Ex-Con Flicking Cigarette Ashes From Car Caught With Loaded Gun Haledon PD: Jersey Shore Ex-Con Flicking Cigarette Ashes From Car Caught With Loaded Gun
Haledon PD: Jersey Shore Ex-Con Flicking Cigarette Ashes From Car Caught With Loaded Gun An ex-con who flicked cigarette ashes from a speeding car had a loaded gun hidden under the seat, Haledon police said. Officer Jeffrey Welsh smelled raw pot as he approached the 2005 Infiniti sedan during a stop on Pompton Road near Ailsa Avenue, Lt. George Guzman said. Joined by Special Police Sgt. John Jones and a William Paterson University police officer, Welsh found a .44-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun loaded with six bullets under the front passenger seat and a bag of marijuana in back, Guzman said. The driver got a speeding ticket and was released. Welsh arrested the passenger,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Passaic Sheriff: Fleeing Haledon Dealer Tosses 'Instagram' Heroin Folds, Crack, Pot, Pills Passaic Sheriff: Fleeing Haledon Dealer Tosses 'Instagram' Heroin Folds, Crack, Pot, Pills
Passaic Sheriff: Fleeing Haledon Dealer Tosses 'Instagram' Heroin Folds, Crack, Pot, Pills A drug dealer from Haledon tossed nearly two dozen bags of heroin, crack Ecstasy and more as he ran from Passaic County sheriff's officers before he was captured in Paterson authorities said. Officer Timothy Convery and Detective Carlos Gill were crossing the bridge from River Street to Haledon Avenue shortly before 10:30 p.m. Sunday when a Jeep Grand Cherokee approached them from the opposite direction with a headlight out, Sheriff Richard Bernik said. After pulling over for them on Straight Street, Marquise Maxey, 33, stepped out into the street, ignoring orders to get back into the Jeep,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Paterson Councilman, Councilman-Elect, Two Others Charged With Election Fraud Paterson Councilman, Councilman-Elect, Two Others Charged With Election Fraud
Paterson Councilman, Councilman-Elect, Two Others Charged With Election Fraud State authorities on Thursday charged a sitting Paterson councilman, a councilman-elect and two other men with rigging a May 12 special election. Paterson City Councilman Michael Jackson and Councilman-Elect Alex Mendez conspired with Shelim Khalique of Wayne, and Abu Razyen of Prospect Park to play fast and loose with mail-in ballots made necessary for all voting in the special election due to the coronavirus pandemic, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. It began, he said, when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service alerted the Attorney General’s Office that hundreds of mail-in ballots wer…

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by Jerry DeMarco