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Police & Fire
NJ Soccer Player, Licensed Gun Owner Jailed After Threatening Rival With Weapon After Game: PD NJ Soccer Player, Licensed Gun Owner Jailed After Threatening Rival With Weapon After Game: PD
NJ Soccer Player, Licensed Gun Owner Jailed After Threatening Rival With Weapon After Game: PD A Jersey City man has been arrested after pointing a handgun at a rival soccer player after both were ejected from a game in Secaucus over the weekend, police said. Reda Benyamin, 34, and the player on an opposing team began arguing during the game at Shetik Field on County Avenue on May 2, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said. Both players were ejected and went to their cars to leave after the game. While stopped at a light on Jefferson and County Avenue, Benyamin pulled up next to the player's car and threatened him with a black handgun, police said. Both then left the area. Benyamin…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Accused Public Masturbator From Englewood Jailed Again For Two Other Incidents UPDATE: Accused Public Masturbator From Englewood Jailed Again For Two Other Incidents
Update: Accused Public Masturbator From Englewood Jailed Again For Two Other Incidents A 34-year-old Englewood man who'd been arrested and released on charges of masturbating in front of a pre-teen was jailed again after authorities said they discovered at least two other alleged incidents. Dawid S. Iwaszek originally was arrested on May 25 for exposing himself and masturbating in front of a pre-teen in Englewood, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The prosecutor said at the time that detectives from his Special Victims Unit were continuing to investigate at least two previous incidents involving children in Englewood and Teaneck. They charg…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Traffic
Route 4 Reopens Nearly 12+ Hours After Crash Downs Wires Route 4 Reopens Nearly 12+ Hours After Crash Downs Wires
Route 4 Reopens Nearly 12+ Hours After Crash Downs Wires Route 4 has reopened more than 12 hours after a crash downed a pole and live wires in Teaneck, police said. Sometime after 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 2, a crash took down a pole in the westbound lanes near River Road, local police said. All lanes were closed with traffic getting by in one lane on the eastbound side, police said. At 9:30 p.m., Teaneck police announced the roadway had been reopened and all repairs had been made. Details in the accident were not immediately available.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Attorney General, Wildwood Police At Odds Over Memorial Day Weekend Preparedness Attorney General, Wildwood Police At Odds Over Memorial Day Weekend Preparedness
Attorney General, Wildwood Police At Odds Over Memorial Day Weekend Preparedness The New Jersey Attorney General and Wildwood Police Department appear to be at odds over emergency preparedness following a chaotic Memorial Day Weekend. In a statement released on Saturday, June 1, the Wildwood Police Department said NJ Attorney General Matthew Platkin blamed the police department for the series of incidents that unfolded Memorial Day Weekend, in which rowdy teens prompted the closing of area boardwalks, according to various media outlets including NBC10 and the Press of Atlantic City. Platkin alleged that Wildwood had insufficient police staffing on its "world-famous…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Reign Of Terror: NJ Ex-Con Gets 16 Years For Series Of Armed Robberies, Carjackings Reign Of Terror: NJ Ex-Con Gets 16 Years For Series Of Armed Robberies, Carjackings
Reign Of Terror: NJ Ex-Con Gets 16 Years For Series Of Armed Robberies, Carjackings 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A 25-year-old ex-con from Trenton who’s already served 2½ years in state prison is headed to federal prison for 16 more for a string of gunpoint carjackings and robberies. Joshua M. Perez was one of three armed robbers who commited a Oct. 10 carjacking, another on Dec. 5 and the robbery later than second night of a local gas station, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Surveillance cameras captured video of Perez and two other robbers emerging from a sedan, pointing handguns at occupants of another vehicle, Sellinger said. They then fled with money and cellphones in the victims…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Bergen County Candy Shop That Blended Whimsy With Class Slated For Closure Bergen County Candy Shop That Blended Whimsy With Class Slated For Closure
Bergen County Candy Shop That Blended Whimsy With Class Slated For Closure A Bergen County candy store launched by an owner with a sweet desire to be both tap into her creative side and be part of her community's fabric is slated for closure. Westwood Candy Company & Gift Shoppe, owned by Kim Aluotto, will close on June 29. Aluotto opened the store shortly after moving to the area with her family from Denville in 2021. She left her full-time job as an occupational therapist to fulfill her dream of opening a candy and gift shop, something with a little bit more eccentricity and flexibility. "I love working with people and I had this idea of candy and gifts — …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
'King James': NJ Lawyer Gets 4½ Years, No Early Release For $2 Million Theft From Family, More 'King James': NJ Lawyer Gets 4½ Years, No Early Release For $2 Million Theft From Family, More
'King James': NJ Lawyer Gets 4½ Years, No Early Release For $2 Million Theft From Family, More 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A once-prominent New Jersey lawyer must spend the next 4½ years in federal prison for swindling a family he represented out of $2 million -- and then, while on pre-trial release, impersonating another attorney in applying for a loan. The family had retained James R. Lisa, 68, of Jersey City, to gather millions that had been moved into offshore bank accounts by relatives decades ago and to resolve any tax issues that arose as a result, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Soon after being retained, Lisa moved more than $6 million back into the United States but told the famil…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Overnight Fire Destroys Home Of Couple Raising Special Needs Child Overnight Fire Destroys Home Of Couple Raising Special Needs Child
Overnight Fire Destroys Home Of Couple Raising Special Needs Child Their humble yet cozy Oakland home meant the world to Omar McCalla and Natalie Gregory as they raised their daughter, Amaria, who was born with multiple disabilities. "This was their first true home as a family outside of the extensive time spent at hospitals," friend Ana Sampson said. "(It) represented their bright future." A ferocious overnight fire on Saturday stole that dream. Flames were already shooting through the roof when firefighters arrived shortly before 2:30 a.m June 1. They had the blaze knocked down after about an hour and a half. Fire officials were trying to determine the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Events
'Best Spot In America For Small-Town Carnival:' Night Of Family Fun Returns To Paramus 'Best Spot In America For Small-Town Carnival:' Night Of Family Fun Returns To Paramus
'Best Spot In America For Small-Town Carnival:' Night Of Family Fun Returns To Paramus You've likely seen the colorful ferris wheel looming over the crossroads of Route 4 and Route 17, right outside of the one of the highest performing malls in the United States. Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence (L.E.A.D.) founder Nick DeMauro knew what he was doing when he put the carnival there.  "It's the best location in the nation for a small-town carnival," he said. And it's back. The annual L.E.A.D. Fest Carnival is running every Wednesday to Sunday through June 9, at the Westfield Garden State Plaza. Admission is $5, while tickets for rides and games, and food purchas…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA Sentenced Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA Sentenced
Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA Sentenced 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A member of a burglary ring that specifically targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was sentenced to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison. James Hurt, 48, of New York, and other members of the second-story crew worked from what the FBI called a hit list of dozens of homes in the four states based on “stereotype and opportunity" from Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019. The burglars often got into homes through unsecured upper-floor windows before seeking out cash, jewelry and guns, the FBI said In one instance, th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NO CHOICE: Ex-Con Who Shot Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Gets 10+ Years, No Early Release NO CHOICE: Ex-Con Who Shot Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Gets 10+ Years, No Early Release
NO Choice: Ex-Con Who Shot Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Gets 10+ Years, No Early Release 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: There’s no trying to present a defense in court when the prosecutors have a video of you shooting someone, as well as the loaded gun you were carrying when they arrested you. So Ex-con Antoine Hawkins, 31, of Newark, took a deal from the government and was formally sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Friday, May 31, for shooting two victims five days apart in the Brick City in August 2020. Hawkins must serve no less than 10 years of his plea-bargained sentence before he'll be eligible for release because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Surveillance video…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
PSE&G Proposes Lowering Gas Bills PSE&G Proposes Lowering Gas Bills
PSE&G Proposes Lowering Gas Bills PSE&G customers could be getting some relief in their bills. PSEG filed proposals with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to lower gas bills for residential customers by 6.1% effective October. “This is an opportunity to lower our gas supply rate, providing our customers with a little bill relief and helping to maintain affordability,” said Dave Johnson, vice president Customer Care & Chief Customer Officer. “We’re pleased that we will continue to have one of the lowest gas rates in the state.” If approved, the Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS) rate will be reduced by almost 7 …

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by Sam Barron