Tonight, Fairfield Police Chief Anthony Manna announced the arrest of three persons charged with fraud which resulted in over $1 million in theft. The five-month investigation was conducted by Fairfield Detective Sergeant Jeffrey Didyk and Fairfield Detective Steven D’Argenio who worked along side the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. SUSPECTS On Wednesday, Fairfield police executed search warrants at two Cedar Grove residences and at the deli in West Caldwell. DeComa and Soriano were arrested immediately after the search warrants were executed. Today, Becker surrendered herself to Fairfield Police. FIVE-MONTH INVESTIGATION October 2018 through August, 2020
March, 2020
PURCHASES The detectives were able to recover many items reportedly paid for by the three individuals with money stolen through the unauthorized business accounts. High End Sports Memorabilia
Personal Items
CHARGES Dawn Becker
Regina DeComa
Allan Soriano
Fairfield Police Chief Anthony Manna All suspects were released on their own recognizance pending further legal proceedings.
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 9:22pm Hover over Photos to see Locations and Photo Credit Click on Photo to Enlarge ![]() WEST ESSEX, NJ - Late Tuesday afternoon, West Essex was slammed with a storm so strong that many have questioned if we had a tornado come through the area. While some areas of New York did see tornados touch down, West Essex experienced a brief, but incredibly powerful, Squall with Whole Gale, Category 10, 66mph Winds, which was followed up by equally damaging Thunderstorms. The violently intense onset was reported by NOAA's Fairfield Weather Station as a Squall - which they define as a "sudden violent gust of wind or a localized storm" - and it began in West Essex at 4:44pm, followed by Thunderstorms which continued until 6:01pm. In this very short period of time, the Winds, Lightning, and Rain caused a huge amount of damage around the West Essex area. What follows is a timeline of incidents chronicled as they were reported (not as they occured) to which Police, Fire and DPW crews responded and worked tirelessly to clean up for days: Tuesday, May 15 4:44pm
4:46pm
4:49pm
4:50pm
4:51pm
4:55pm
5pm
5:02pm
5:04pm
5:11pm
5:14pm
5:16pm
5:18pm
5:24pm
![]() 5:27pm
5:31pm
5:32pm
5:33pm
5:35pm
5:36pm
5:37pm
5:39pm
5:41pm
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5:44pm
Police begin welfare checks of residences, including homes where children are on their own. 5:45pm
5:48pm
5:51pm
5:52pm
5:55pm
![]() 5:59pm Roseland: Eagle Rock Avenue, Methodist Church
6:04pm
6:08pm
6:12pm
6:14pm
6:16pm
6:20pm
6:22pm
6:25pm
6:26pm
![]() 6:29pm
6:30pm
6:39pm
6:41pm
7:02pm
7:06pm
7:23pm
7:31pm
7:55pm
8:04pm
8:12pm
8:18pm
By the end of the Storm, over 90 streets which included hundreds of residents, were without power:
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 10:30pm WEST CALDWELL, NJ - On Saturday, Feb. 24, West Caldwell Police and police from the surrounding West Essex community responded immediately to James Caldwell High School on reports of an individual possibly at the school with a gun. What follows is a timeline of events which eventually led to the arrest of former student Michael Schmitt, 18, of West Caldwell. ![]() Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 2:16pm
2:17pm
2:23pm
2:48pm
2:55pm
2:58pm
2:59pm
3pm
West Caldwell Police Chief Gerard Paris then released the following statement: West Caldwell Police was notified ![]() On Sunday, afternoon, Paris then stated the following information about Saturday's incident:
The following notice was then sent out to parents from the school administration: Dear JCHS Students and Parents/Guardians, I know many of you have been waiting for additional details regarding yesterday's lockdown and tomorrow's school procedures. I have been in close contact with the West Caldwell Police and here is some of the information that I now have permission to share with you.
After the Parkland shooting, Detective Mazzeo and I decided to meet with every student to review our security procedures and answer questions. We planned to meet tomorrow to develop a schedule because I wanted these meeting to be with relatively small groups to make sure all students are heard. We still plan to have these security meetings, but if any student would like to speak with either of us sooner, please see me or send an email. I know that despite the assurances of the West Caldwell Police, some students are still nervous about coming to school tomorrow, I hope this additional information makes most of you feel more comfortable and secure. Certainly, the police presence tomorrow will make it one of the safest days to come to school. As I mentioned in my email on Saturday, I regret that our students had to experience this lockdown, but I am proud of the actions of our students, faculty, administrators, and the West Caldwell Police. Please contact me with any questions. Sincerely, Jim Devlin Principal James Caldwell High School 973-228-6981 While the investigation continues, West Caldwell Police are asking anyone who has information about this matter to contact them at:
973-226-4114. |
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