Photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
July 12,2017
the tsaff of the Ridgewood blog
Ho Ho Kus NJ, A helicopter from the NJ State Police Aviation Bureau visited the Ho-Ho-Kus PD Junior Police Academy at the Ho-Ho-Kus School, 70 Lloyd Road, Ho-Ho-Kus on Tuesday afternoon, 07/11. Ho-Ho-Kus FD and EMS personnel stood by at the landing zone during the helicopter’s landing and take off.
Photo Courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
July 12,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fair Lawn NJ, The Fair Lawn Heavy Rescue Squad used the “Jaws of Life” to free a woman who was trapped in her 4-door sedan after it collided with a work van at the intersection of Hemlock Avenue and Maple Avenue in Fair Lawn on Tuesday morning, 07/11. The victim was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. A second victim, a front seat passenger in the work van, also left the scene in an ambulance. He too sustained what appeared to have been non life threatening injuries. Fair Lawn PD and FD also responded along with mutual aid ambulances from three (3) separate EMS agencies. Both vehicles were removed from the scene by tow trucks.
file photo by ArtChick
U.S. seniors are employed at the highest rates in 55 years.
By
Ben Steverman
July 10, 2017, 4:00 AM EDT
More and more Americans are spending their golden years on the job.
Almost 19 percent of people 65 or older were working at least part-time in the second quarter of 2017, according to the U.S. jobs report released on Friday. The age group’s employment/population ratio hasn’t been higher in 55 years, before American retirees won better health care and Social Security benefits starting in the late 1960s.
And the trend looks likely to continue. Millennials, prepare yourselves. Better yet, consider this and this, so you have a choice in the matter when your time comes.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-10/working-past-70-americans-can-t-seem-to-retire
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Douglas Wolfson
Michael Booth, New Jersey Law Journal
Lawyers argued Monday over whether a former state judge who handled affordable housing cases should have at least one of his rulings overturned because of his relationship with a developer.
In Trenton, a lawyer for South Brunswick Township squared off against a half-dozen others representing developers and affordable-housing advocates. The township is seeking to have affordable housing rulings made by now-retired Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Douglas Wolfson vacated because of what it alleges is the appearance of a conflict of interest: Wolfson’s acceptance of vacations from, and current representation of, Edgewood Properties.
While on the bench, Wolfson handled litigation involving the township, but not Edgewood Properties, according to documents. And Wolfson recused from cases that came before him involving Edgewood.
Nevertheless, Wolfson for years has had personal and professional ties to Edgewood, and South Brunswick claims Wolfson’s decisions in other affordable housing cases could work in favor of Edgewood or its primary owner, Jack Morris, even though he has no projects pending in the township.
Bradley J. FikesContact Reporter
Coffee drinkers live longer, according to two large-scale studies released Monday that add to extensive research indicating coffee consumption is associated with better health.
The studies examined the health histories of hundreds of thousands of people who were tracked over many years. They found that coffee-drinking reduced the risk of various diseases among people from several ethnicities, and this effect was seen in drinkers of regular or decaffeinated coffee. And the more coffee consumed, the greater the benefit.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/sd-me-coffee-longevity-20170710-story.html
file photo
NICOLE LEONARD Staff Writer
Jul 9, 2017
A new report shows invasive cancer diagnoses in New Jersey are on the decline, which may be significant for a state with some of the highest cancer rates in the nation.
The Cancer Incidence and Mortality in New Jersey report, released by the state Department of Health last month, showed cases of invasive cancers among residents in 2014 were slightly down from 2013.
New Jersey dropped from fifth place to seventh among states in cancer rates, according to 2014 cancer statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
July 10,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Bergenfield NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced today the charges of Murder, Desecration of Human Remains, Hindering Apprehension, Credit Card Fraud and Stalking against RAPHAEL LOLOS (DOB: 10/27/1976; single; and unemployed) of 5 S. Demarest Avenue, Bergenfield, New Jersey, in connection with the death of 31-year-old JENNY LONDONO of Edgewater. The charges were brought as a result of a joint investigation which was conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti, and New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) under the direction of Police Commissioner James O’Neill.
At approximately 11:00 a.m., on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, partial remains of a female body were discovered floating in the waters off Brooklyn, New York. The remains featured a distinctive Sanskrit tattoo just below the right hip, and were subsequently identified as being those of Jenny LONDONO of Edgewater, New Jersey.
After learning that LONDONO was last seen and heard from while in Bergen County, NYPD detectives contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and began to jointly investigate the circumstances surrounding LONDONO’S disappearance and death. The ensuing investigation revealed that RAPHAEL LOLOS, described by friends as LONDONO’S boyfriend, murdered and dismembered LONDONO in New Jersey then discarded her remains into the Hudson River. In the days following the murder, LOLOS consistently and repeatedly used LONDONO’S credit cards until the time of his arrest on July 6, 2017. RAPHAEL LOLOS was arrested with the assistance of the NYPD, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, the Union County Sheriiff’s Office, the Union County SWAT Team, and the Linden Police Department.
After RAPHAEL LOLOS was arrested and brought back to Bergen County, he suffered a medical episode and was initially transported via ambulance to Bergen Regional Medical Center for evaluation and treatment and was subsequently brought to Hackensack University Medical Center (“HUMC”), where he is receiving medical treatment while in the custody of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office. RAPHAEL LOLO’S first appearance before the Honorable Margaret M. Foti, P.J.Cr., will be scheduled after his discharge from HUMC.
Prosecutor Grewal states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Prosecutor would like to thank the NYPD, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Linden Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.
I represent many communities in Bergen and Passaic counties that had significant flooding this week because of the torrential rains. The flooding episodes have become frequent and severe over the past two decades, primarily because there is no place left for groundwater from storms to be absorbed. Guess what isn’t taken into account in current mandated overdevelopment in NJ? Flooding. So towns like Westwood and Hillsdale, Wanaque and Ringwood and Mahwah and Oakland are being forced to build significantly more units of housing under “affordable housing” lawsuits as these same communities are spending millions of dollars to acquire flood prone properties and return them to their natural state to prevent flooding. We need to stop this insanity. Call every Bergen and Passaic County legislator and demand they take action to preserve our communities. #saveourenvironment
By NICK CORASANITIJULY 7, 2017
BELVIDERE, N.J. — Stacks of résumés from retired state troopers sit on a desk just outside the Terra Tech farm here, though the need for experienced armed security appears excessive amid the serene setting and the scent of basil and rosemary growing at the five-acre indoor farm.
The troopers, however, are hoping to work for the company’s next major agricultural expansion in New Jersey: marijuana.
“They told us, ‘Keep us in mind for when you guys do get that cannabis permit,’” said Mike James, the chief financial officer for Terra Tech, which owns five marijuana farms and dispensaries around the country.
The march toward full marijuana legalization has percolated in the state for years and the use of the drug for medicinal purposes has been legal since2010. But since Philip D. Murphy, the Democratic candidate for governor and the early favorite in recent polling for November’s general election, announced his unambiguous support for making recreational marijuana use legal, the $6 billion nationwide industry has aggressively accelerated its efforts in New Jersey
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/nyregion/new-jersey-marijuana-industry.html
15. Bergen County : Bergen had a rate of 470 MME per person in 2015, an 18 percent drop from 2010. This put it in the second-lowest quartile of counties in the United States.
Updated July 07, 2017
Posted July 07, 2017
By Erin Petenko
After years of increasing opioid use, the nation is experiencing a downturn in doctors handing out prescriptions for the class of drugs.
Prescriptions remained high in certain areas of New Jersey, however, according to a Centers for Disease Control report released this week.
On a national level, fewer patients received opioids in 2015 than in 2010, and the strength of the average opioid prescription also went down. However, doctors gave out longer prescriptions in 2015 compared to 2010, and the average strength of a prescription was still dangerously high, according to CDC Acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat.
“The bottom line is, with opioid prescriptions, we are still seeing too many prescriptions given out for too long,” she said.
Enough opioids were prescribed in 2015 to medicate every American around the clock for three weeks, she said.
New Jersey recently passed legislation mandating a five-day initial prescription limit on opioids in an attempt to combat abuse.
These are the counties with the highest amount of opioids prescribed, given in “morphine milligram equivalents,” or MME, which measures the total dosage of opioids while correcting for differing strengths among different drugs.
July 8,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Below is a link to an Op Ed piece Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi wrote in today’s Bergen Record regarding affordable housing.
” Housing isn’t affordable because residents pay property taxes that are often as much as their mortgage payments. Onerous court mandates on towns only drive property taxes higher, creating a never-ending cycle of un-affordability.”
“…we must define reasonable need. The costs associated with mandated affordable housing, like $15.25 billion more to fund education, aren’t taken into consideration by the court. The COAH should take into account current population size; infrastructure, water and sewer capacities; school class sizes and school services; and the impact of municipal services such as volunteer and staffed ambulatory services, fire departments, police departments, public transportation and traffic.
We must fix this issue before it is too late. Please join me in saving our beloved state while we still can.”
https://www.northjersey.com/…/how-we-fix-affordab…/455023001/
Former Birdsall Executive Pleads Guilty for His Role in Scheme to Evade Pay-To-Play Laws With Illegal Political Contributions All nine individuals charged in the case – and the engineering firm itself – have now pleaded guilty
Alan Hilla, 77, of Jupiter, Fla., pleaded guilty today to a charge of second-degree misconduct by a corporate official before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels in Ocean County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that he be sentenced to five years in state prison. Hilla indicated he plans to apply for a suspended sentence, citing health issues. Hilla is the final defendant in the case against BSG and nine of its top executives, shareholders and employees. Judge Daniels scheduled sentencing for September 1, 2017 at 10 AM.
Deputy Attorney General Anthony A. Picione, Chief of the Corruption Bureau, and Deputy Attorneys General Mallory Shanahan, Brian Faulk and Charles Wright are prosecuting the case and took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice. The charge was contained in a March 26, 2013 indictment, which also charged BSG and six other executives and shareholders. Two other defendants pleaded guilty pre-indictment. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, which found that the defendants conspired to avoid the restrictions of New Jersey’s Pay-to-Play laws by disguising illegal corporate political contributions as personal contributions of employees.
“The many guilty pleas we have secured in this case hammer home an important message that criminal schemes aimed at evading New Jersey’s pay-to-play laws will be met with stern punishment,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Our laws prevent politically connected firms from garnering public contracts based on campaign contributions, but Birdsall’s executives gamed the system and secured millions of dollars in contracts for which they should have been disqualified.”
“My office recently announced two anti-corruption programs – a reward program offering up to $25,000 for tips about public corruption, as well as a whistleblower program that allows lower-level participants in a corruption scheme to potentially avoid prosecution by self-reporting,” Attorney General Porrino added. “I urge people to help us and help themselves by taking advantage of these programs, which expire on August 1.”
“New Jersey’s pay-to-play laws seek to ensure fair and open public contracting, free of the sway of political interests,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “By criminally prosecuting this firm and sending many of its top executives to prison, we have given those laws real teeth.”
Individuals may report information and apply for the Anti-Corruption Reward Program or Anti-Corruption Whistleblower Program by August 1 by one of the following methods:
Call the DCJ hotline 866-TIPS-4CJ to speak with detectives 24 hours/7 days a week; or
Visit www.njdcj.org to submit an online report.
BSG pleaded guilty on June 13, 2013 to charges of first-degree money laundering and second-degree making false representations for government contracts. As a result of its plea, BSG paid two major criminal penalties: a $500,000 public corruption profiteering penalty and a $500,000 anti-money laundering profiteering penalty. In each instance, the penalty was the maximum amount authorized by law. BSG also paid the state $2.6 million to settle a civil forfeiture action filed by the Attorney General’s Office in connection with the criminal case.
Eight other executives, shareholders and managers of the Birdsall firm previously pleaded guilty:
On April 22, 2016, Howard Birdsall, formerly CEO and largest shareholder of BSG, was sentenced to four years in prison on a charge of second-degree misconduct by a corporate official. He paid $49,808 to the state in forfeiture of his illegal political contributions.
On June 10, 2016, Thomas Rospos, formerly executive vice president of BSG and its second largest shareholder, was sentenced to three years in prison on a charge of third-degree tampering with public records or information. He paid $150,000 in forfeiture of his illegal contributions.
On July 11, 2016, William Birdsall, formerly senior vice president and a large shareholder of BSG, was sentenced to 270 days in the county jail and two years of probation on a charge of third-degree misconduct by a corporate official. He paid $129,115 in forfeiture of his illegal contributions, as well as a $75,000 public corruption profiteering penalty.
On June 2, Robert Gerard, 56, of Wall, N.J., former Chief Marketing Officer for BSG, was sentenced to 270 days in the county jail and two years of probation on a fourth-degree charge of making prohibited corporate political contributions through employees. He forfeited $86,200.
James Johnston, 55, of New Brunswick, N.J., former President of the Environmental Services Group within BSG, was sentenced to 270 days in the county jail and two years of probation on a fourth-degree charge of making prohibited corporate political contributions through employees. He forfeited $93,720.
On Jan. 6, 2016, Scott MacFadden, former chief administrative officer of BSG, pleaded guilty to third-degree misconduct by a corporate official. He faces a recommended sentence of up to 364 days in jail and a term of probation. He must pay $30,000 in forfeiture of his contributions.
On Nov. 30, 2012, Philip Angarone, the former marketing director for BSG, pleaded guilty to third-degree tampering with public records or information and fourth-degree making prohibited corporate political contributions through employees. He is awaiting sentencing and faces a sentence of up to 364 days in jail and a term of probation. He must forfeit $26,775.
On Feb. 12, 2013, Eileen Kufahl, a former marketing manager for Birdsall, pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree charge of making prohibited corporate contributions through employees. She forfeited $17,119 and was admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention Program.
Under the alleged scheme, instead of Birdsall Services Group making corporate political contributions to campaigns and political organizations that would disqualify it from public contracts awarded by certain government agencies, shareholders and employees of the firm made personal political contributions of $300 or less, which are deemed unreportable. Multiple personal checks were bundled together at Birdsall Services Group and sent to the appropriate campaign or political organization. The shareholders and employees were then illegally reimbursed by Birdsall Services Group, directly or indirectly, through added bonus payments, and the firm falsely omitted the illegally reimbursed contributions in documents filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) and with government agencies that awarded the firm engineering services contracts. The scheme continued for more than six years and involved more than $1 million in contributions.
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook
July 8,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fair Lawn NJ , Fair Lawn firefighters battled a 3-alarm fire at 139 Lincoln Avenue, Fair Lawn that was reported late Friday morning, 07/07. The fire was reportedly started when a high tension electric power line fell outside of a Valley National Bank branch and quickly ignited a gas line to the building’s basement. All bank employees and customers were believed to have been safely evacuated from the building by Fair Lawn PD prior to the arrival of FD units. Mutual aid (MA) assistance, on the scene and firehouse standby, was provided by several FD agencies from Central Bergen MA and Northwest Bergen MA associations. Fair Lawn EMS was also on the scene.
file photo by Boyd Loving
July 7, 2017
the Ridgewood blog
Mahwah NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced the arrest of BRIAN POTTER (DOB: 07/20/1977; Single; Department of Public Works employee) Mahwah assistant fire chief ,of 16 Island Road, Mahwah, New Jersey, on charges of Aggravated Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault by Sexual Contact and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The arrest is the result of a joint investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office (“BCPO”) under the direction of Chief Robert ANZILOTTI, and the Mahwah Police Department under the direction of Chief James BATELLI.
On July 4, 2017, the Mahwah Police Department and the BCPO received information that a ten-year-old victim was inappropriately touched by Brian POTTER in March 2017 in Mahwah, New Jersey.
Following subsequent investigation, Brian POTTER was arrested on Friday, July 7, 2017 in Paramus, New Jersey, and charged with violating one count of Aggravated Sexual Assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2a(1), a 1st degree crime, one count of Sexual Assault by Sexual Contact, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2b, a 2nd degree crime, and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a., a 2nd degree crime. POTTER was lodged in the Bergen County Jail pending his arraignment, and is scheduled to appear in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court for a first appearance on Friday, July 7, 2017 at 1:30p.m.
Bergen County Prosecutor Grewal states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and would also like to thank the Mahwah Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.
USA TODAY NETWORKKaitlyn Kanzler, The (Bergen County, N.Y.) Record
Published 7:39 a.m. ET July 6, 2017 | Updated 8:10 a.m. ET July 6, 2017
WOODLAND PARK, N.J. — As the 80th anniversary of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance was marked Sunday, a new theory surfaced as to what happened to her as she attempted to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.
Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937. Many believed she ran out of gas and crashed into the water.
A new documentary on the History Channel claims that a photograph found deep within the National Archives shows the famed lost pilot and Noonan captured by the Japanese on the Marshall Islands.
