Published 6:21pm 
WEST ESSEX, NJ - With so much activity happening between the dusk and evening hours of Halloween and as groups of people navigate the terrain in unfamiliar costumes, Halloween can present some challenges and safety concerns for all involved. Essex Fells Police Chief Vincent A. Kulik reports that, due to an increase in property damage in past years which included egg throwing, paintballs and rock throwing, area police will not tolerate acts of criminal mischief and will take appropriate action against offenders. On "Mischief Night," as well as on Halloween, the Essex Fells Police Department will have additional officers patrolling in marked and unmarked vehicles, and on motorcycle along with bicycle patrols. The agency has a “no tolerance policy” in place for dealing with any criminal mischief and asks that motorists be sure to take extra precautions around pedestrians and while driving through neighborhoods. Residents should be especially watchful for any signs of mischief or criminal activity on Thursday and Friday evenings and contact the police immediately to report anything remotely suspicious. "While the holiday can be a fun time for many families, The Essex Fells Police have put together a list of helpful reminders so that everyone, including motorists, can enjoy the holiday safely:
The Police Department wishes everyone
Published 11:10am 
Credit: Fairfield Police
FAIRFIELD, NJ - A Thursday night crash at the intersection of Passaic Avenue and Greenbrook Road, Fairfield resulted in four injuries, one of which was severe. Fairfield Police Deputy Chief Anthony Manna announced Sunday that the investigation has revealed conflicting accounts as to the cause of the crash. Police are asking that anyone who witnessed the accident which occurred approximately 9:25pm Thursday night, contact Officer Stacy Chiarolanza at 973-227-1400.
Published 4:15pm  Credit: Grandview Deli LITTLE FALLS, NJ - An arrest has been made in connection with the July break-ins at Grandview Deli and Little Falls Liquors, both on Main Street in Little Falls. The Little Falls Police Department Detective Bureau announced Tuesday that Joseph Demauex, 28, of Riverdale has been charged with the two commercial burglaries and is presently being held at the Passaic County Jail for charges for burglaries in other municipalities. Demauex was tied to the Main Street burglaries due to the investigation of Little Falls Detective Sergeant James Briggs and Detective Jason Macaluso. Grandview Deli Police believe that on Friday, July 11, Demauex burglarized the Grandview Deli by smashing the front glass window and removing the cash register which was later recovered in North Bergen. The Deli is located at 730 Main Street, Little Falls, on the Fairfield and North Caldwell border. Little Falls Liquors Days later, on Wednesday, July 16, Demauex is suspected of smashing the front glass window of Little Falls Liquors and removing cash from the cash register. The liquor store is located at 315 Main Street, Little Falls. Charges
Demauex has been charged with the following:
Demauex's bail for the Little Falls charges has been set at $100,000.00 with no ten percent option. Little Falls Shop Rite Theft In other news, a warrant has been issued for Walter A. Smith III, 50, of Wayne and Bethlehem, PA, who police believe forced open a front window of a vehicle parked at the Little Falls Shop Rite. Little Falls detectives were able to find a fingerprint on the window which they have traced to Smith who reportedly stole items from inside the vehicle. The grocery is located at 171 Browertown Road, Little Falls. Anyone who has information regarding Smith’s whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Sergeant James Briggs at 973-256-2411.
Published 12:51pm  Credit: Essex County Prosecutor NEWARK, NJ - Bobby Dawson, 31, of Newark, was sentenced Wednesday to almost 19 years in jail (225 months) for committing 17 armed robberies throughout Essex, Hudson, and Union counties during a six-month period in 2013. U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced that Dawson was sentenced after previously pleading guilty to one armed carjacking, one robbery and one count of discharging a firearm. His partner, Jamar Darby, 27, also known as "Rhino," was sentenced in July to 225 months as well. The crime spree included Krauszers, West Orange, on April 24, 2013, and the Verona Subway armed robbery on the night of May 20, 2013. In addition to his prison term, Dawson was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and made to pay $72,518 in restitution. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Darby conspired with others to rob these commercial establishments:
 Credit: Carolyne Volpe Curley The Attorney General said that Dawson and his conspirators robbed each establishment at gunpoint, stealing cash, cigarettes and other items. In 15 of the 17 robberies, they used zip ties or duct tape to restrain their victims. Carjacking, Newark On Jan. 1, 2013, Dawson and others agreed to steal a Mitsubishi Gallant parked on Underwood Street in Newark. Before driving away with the car, Dawson and his conspirators brandished multiple firearms to subdue the driver, with one conspirator using his firearm to strike the driver in the head. Pat’s Deli, Newark During the Pat’s Deli robbery on Feb. 19, 2013, Dawson and a conspirator restrained several victims with duct tape after threatening one victim with a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. MS&K Confectionery, Maplewood In the MS&K robbery on April 1, 2013, Dawson threatened the clerk of the store with a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun. When the clerk resisted, Dawson fired his gun at the clerk, ordered the clerk to lie down and then stole $9,000 from the cash register. Krauszers, West Orange In the robbery of Krauszers in West Orange on April 24, 2013, Dawson and a conspirator tied up three individuals in the store with zip-ties before stealing approximately $600 and several cartons of cigarettes. Dawson injured a store employee by hitting the victim in the head with his firearm. Subway Robbery, Verona According to the Attorney General, on Monday, May 20, around 11 p.m., Darby brandished a handgun as he, Dawson and another man entered the Verona Subway located at 45 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona. Dawson and another robber restrained a Subway employee by tying the employee’s hands and feet with plastic zip ties and stole $409 from the cash register before fleeing. The restaurant's surveillance camera captured the event on video. One of the men was shown wearing a dark NY Yankees hat with white lettering, dark pants, black boots, and black gloves and his face was also covered with a black mask. U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked the Belleville, Bloomfield, Kearny, Linden, Maplewood, Newark, Paramus, Verona and West Orange police departments, along with the New Jersey State Police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, for their work on this case. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamari Buxton and Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark. The defense counsel is Assistant Federal Public Defender Candace Hom Esq., of Newark. Further Reading:
Published 12:22pm  Credit: Caldwell Police CALDWELL, NJ - Caldwell Police Chief James Bongiorno announced Tuesday morning that an arrest has been made in Thursday's armed robbery at the Caldwell Community Center parking lot. After an investigation by the department's Detectives Andrew Apicella, Sgt. Brad Palatucci and Jim Andrinopoulos - Darren Parker Jr., 21, was arrested yesterday at his Newark residence. When asked for details of the investigation, Bongiorno stated that no further details were available at this time; one of the charges, however, include fraudulent use of a stolen credit card. "I would like to commend Detective Apicella Charges Parker was charged with:
Parker's bail was set at $200,000. Further Information
For information regarding the armed robbery, read:
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 12:29pm  Credit: Carolyne Volpe Curley CALDWELL, NJ - Police from Caldwell, Fairfield, North Caldwell, Verona and West Caldwell are seeking an individual wanted for a possible armed robbery which occurred around noon, today. As of 12:53pm, the male was last seen on the second deck of the Caldwell Community Center parking lot.
According to Caldwell Police Chief James Bongiorno, the department received a call at 12:06pm regarding an armed robbery that took place in the Caldwell Community Center Parking Lot. Police met with the victim who gave a full description of the suspect. The suspect reportedly displayed a silver handgun and told the victim to give him everything he had. The victim turned over his wallet and cell phone. He was told to "go about his business" and walked away from the black male and walked in directly to Borough Hall where the incident was reported. The victim was not physically harmed during the robbery. Further information If anyone witnessed anything or has any information to share please contact the Caldwell Police Department Detective Bureau at 973-226-2602. Description
Area schools have experienced lockdowns and area grammar schools that have noon / early dismissals both have police standing by. Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools did not have a lockdown. Reportedly the following schools were on lockdown:
Published 4:16pm  Credit: Carolyne Volpe Curley WEST CALDWELL, NJ - The West Caldwell Police investigated the theft of two vehicles, Wednesday, from the storage area for Globe Motor Car Company at 880 Bloomfield Avenue, West Caldwell. The cars were stolen from the location at about 4:10pm. The two drivers were said to be African-American, and were dropped off by a third driver who was operating a Porsche. The cars stolen were:
All three cars left the storage area together. It was reported that the car trunks were open and the vehicles had no license plates. The cars were last seen driving first on Bloomfield Avenue and then turning right on Passaic Avenue east, headed towards Route 280 in Roseland. No further information is available from police at this time.  WEST CALDWELL, NJ - Ermal Rustemlliu, owner of Tri-State Construction in West Caldwell was cited, Wednesday, for noncompliance with the state's home improvement contractor's codes. The business primarily does work with commercial and residential painting, construction and remodeling, roofing repair and replacement. Tri-State was cited for not being registered with the state, while continuing to solicit home improvement work. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has been cracking down on non-compliant home improvement contractors and on Wednesday issued Notices of Violation to 26 contractors, including Tri-State Construction. The state is seeking a total of $251,602 in civil penalties and consumer restitution, based on complaints and referrals by consumers across New Jersey. “The great majority of New Jersey’s registered home improvement contractors are proud to provide honest, quality service to their clients,” All but three of the contractors cited today have been directed to pay a total of $153,582 in restitution to consumers. The restitution amounts range from $200 to $27,400, and represent the amounts allegedly owed to consumers due to the performance of shoddy work, or the failure to start and/or finish work for which consumers had pre-paid. In addition, the Division is citing all 26 contractors for various violations of New Jersey’s Contractors’ Registration Act. For example, 16 are cited for soliciting home improvement work despite having failed to register with the Division, as required by law. Others are cited for violations such as failure to provide consumers with detailed, written contracts, which are required by law for all home improvement contracts costing more than $500. The State has assessed a total of $97,750 in civil penalties against the 26 contractors, in addition to the assessed consumer restitution. “Including the contractors we’re citing today, thus far in 2014, Today’s action follows the Division’s July 16 announcement of Notices of Violation to 68 home improvement contractors, seeking a total of $1,046,978 in consumer restitution and $276,250 in civil penalties. Home improvement complaints are typically the largest consumer complaint category the Division of Consumer Affairs receives each year, as was the case in 2013, when the Division received 1,434 consumer complaints about home improvement contractors. Each of the contractors received a Notice of Violation. They have the opportunity to contest the alleged violation, or the opportunity to correct the violation by desisting from any practices in violation of the law, paying a civil penalty and/or consumer restitution where required, and submitting an application for registration, if not registered. OCT. 1 CITATIONS The full list of those cited today are as follows: Unregistered businesses
Registered Businesses Cited for Other Violations
Tips for Consumers, When Hiring a Contractor
Investigators Joseph Iasso, Loretta Creggett, Michelle Davis, Michael Meola and Waiman Yee, led by Supervising Investigator Jen Micco of the Division of Consumer Affairs Office of Consumer Protection, conducted these investigations. Deputy Attorneys General from the Consumer Fraud Prosecution Section within the Division of Law represented the State in these actions. Further Information Consumers who believe they have been cheated or scammed by a business, or suspect any other form of consumer abuse, can file a complaint online with the State Division of Consumer Affairs or by calling 1-800-242-5846 or 973-504-6200. The Division will continue to take such actions against allegedly unregistered and/or otherwise non-compliant home improvement contractors throughout the year, and will announce them on a quarterly basis, in order to protect and inform New Jersey’s consumers.
Police Warn West Essex Residents of "Distraction Method" Used by Thieves on Friday in Fairfield10/1/2014
Published 11:39am  FAIRFIELD, NJ - On Friday afternoon, a home on Cole Road in Fairfield reportedly had cash stolen from it by a pair of Middle Eastern men who used a "distraction method" to get the homeowner out of the residence while the crime took place.
The Fairfield Police Department is warning the community about the two men who may try to repeat the crime again around the surrounding communities. According toDeputy Chief Anthony Manna, the incident was not reported to police until yesterday when the homeowner noticed cash was missing from an envelope in her home. The homeowner told police that on Friday, at about 3pm, a Middle Eastern male knocked on her door and told her that he was a fence installer who had been hired by her next door neighbor to install a fence. The woman recounted to police that the man told her that he was going to have to take down several of her trees down to build the fence. At that point, the woman apparently joined the man in her backyard so he could show her the area he was referring to. While in the backyard, she saw a white SUV parked on the street. At some point, as she was being led further away from the house, the homeowner began to get concerned and then asked the man if he was alone and did he have identification. He responded that he was alone, and had no identification on him. The homeowner turned around and started to walk back towards her house at which time the male immediately made a phone call, speaking in a different language. When she got back to the front of her home, the woman then saw a second male standing near the same SUV. He got into the SUV and left the scene, while the original man left the scene and walked quickly in another direction. Further Information Anyone who believes they have witnessed or experienced a similar event should contact the Fairfield Police Department's Investigative Division at 973-227-1400. |
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