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THE LITTLE CASUALTIES OF WAR

baby Tom with dad

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, Childhood memories of spring are usually happy and bright: Icicles dripping, chocolate Easter bunnies, putting your sneakers on after a long, Jersey winter.

For local anti-hero, Thomas Giacomaro, spring reminds him of the day he saw his father almost kill two men. 

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THE DEVIL MADE THEM DO IT

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, Was Will Smith having a mental breakdown when he assaulted Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night? Was he on drugs? 

I’ve heard both theories—and more. But Denzel Washington has the one Smith likes best because it takes the blame off him. 

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AND THE OSCAR FOR BEST PSYCHO PERFORMANCE GOES TO…

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, in honor of last night’s Academy Awards—and actor Will Smith’s unhinged outburst—local bad-boy-turned good, Thomas Giacomaro, tells us his nickname was once “the Italian Hannibal Lecter.”

The Anthony Hopkins drama, The Silence of the Lambs, swept the Oscars exactly 30 years ago winning five main categories—Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. 

A decade later, Giacomaro—who penned his 2018 memoir The King of Con: How a Smooth-Talking Jersey Boy Made and Lost Billions, Baffled the FBI, Eluded the Mob, and Lived to Tell the Crooked Tale, earned the moniker—in prison.

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BUT DOES IT HAVE A JAPANESE KOI POND?

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, If you try to Google-map it, the house is shrouded in shrubbery and leafy Northern Red Oak.

But it’s still there, the 8,000 square-foot mansion on Fox Hedge Road in Saddle River, NJ—a potential upcoming shooting location this fall for the upcoming docuseries, The King of Con, and former home of local legend, Thomas Giacomaro. 

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HAWAIIAN PIZZA? FUHGETTABOUTIT!

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead had pizza purists yelling molto bene when the show delivered a reprimand to ignorant Pizza Hut eaters: Never, ever, put pineapple on a pizza. 

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MARY HIGGINS CLARK: “HE’LL MAKE ME RICH AND FAMOUS!”

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River  NJ, The colorful bloom of spring always reminds New Jersey businessman Thomas Giacomaro of his first enchanted meeting with celebrated mystery novelist, Mary Higgins Clark.

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Saddle River Police Report Attempted Car Thefts on Saturday

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ , Saddle River Police on  Saturday February 18th reported a Criminal Activity Alert , In the alert Car thieves are in Saddle River  and had tried to steal a vehicle from the Twin-Brooks section of town. LOCK your Vehicles  and REMOVE Your key Fob.

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NOVELIST MARY HIGGINS CLARK WROTE NJ “KING OF CON” A FOREVER X-MAS PRESENT

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‘Tis the season to be immortalized!

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, One of our own North Jersey personalities, The King of Con’s Thomas Giacomaro—who grew up in Paterson before living a life of Koi ponds and Bentleys in Saddle River—
was once the inspiration for a Christmas character created by “Queen of Suspense” novelist, Mary Higgins Clark—also a Saddle River/Spring Lake resident until her death last year.
It was Christmas eve 2004 (Higgins’ birthday) when Giacomaro, who bilked Clark for millions after she invested in one of his companies, read Mary’s description of him in her holiday offering, The Christmas Thief.
In a case of art imitating life, Higgins’ lead character, Packy Noonan, was “a world-class scam artist whose offense had been to cheat trusting investors out of nearly $100 million in the seemingly legitimate company he had founded… Fifty years old, narrow-faced, with a hawk-like nose, close-set eyes, thinning brown hair, and a smile that inspired trust.”
Yup. That’s him all right. “The guy even looks like me,” says Giacomaro today, still a NJ local but now reformed and living life on the straight and narrow.
Mary was a tad more lenient on her fictionalized scam artist than a judge was with Giacomaro, who was sentenced to four months more prison time than her lead character:

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Saddle River and Upper Saddle River Report Mail Thefts on Christmas Eve

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, Saddle River Police report mail stolen on Christmas Eve . The Saddle River Police ask residents to check their mail boxes and report missing mail or damage to the Saddle River Police department ,
Chief Jason Cosgriff , Saddle River Police Dept. [email protected] 201-327-5300 .

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Alert: Criminal Activity Alert – Car Thieves Spotted in Saddle River

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, a Saddle River resident off of Chestnut Ridge road reported two suspects trying to steal a car from their driveway.  Multiple patrol units and canine units were dispatched to the area but the suspects fled the area. It’s very common they return to the same town or neighborhood to steal cars. Please remove your valuables from your cars, lock your vehicles and bring your key fobs inside.

REPROT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY 201-327-5300

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Saddle River Fire Department Responds to Friday Afternoon Fire

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photo courtesy of the Saddle River Fire Department

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, according to the Saddle River Fire Department at approximately 3:30pm Friday afternoon, the fire department was requested to a home in the borough for a reported structure fire. Fast arriving police units confirmed a fire on the second floor. Chief 1130 requested our 2nd alarm be dispatched to the scene. Engine 1131 arrived on scene, established a water supply and stretched an attack line quickly knocking down the fire. Thank you to all of the mutual aid who responded to the scene to assist us and covered Saddle River while we operated at this scene.

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2 Alarm Barn Fire Draws Ho-Ho-Kus and Allendale Firefighter to Assist Saddle River Fire Department

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photos courtesy of the Saddle River Fire Department

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, just before 6:30pm Sunday evening, the Saddle River Fire Department was requested to respond for a barn fire in the South East section of the town. A 2nd alarm was transmitted bringing in additional manpower and apparatus to combat the difficult blaze. Saddle River Fire Department apparatus deployed over 2500’ of fire hose. 3 firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion by Valley Hospital’s BLS. A special thank you to our brothers and sisters at Allendale Fire Department and Ho-Ho-Kus Volunteer Fire Department for helping us repack the hose onto our apparatus back at Saddle River Fire Department .

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Christie’s Northern New Jersey is pleased to market the sale of a true one-of-a-kind French Masterpiece in Saddle River

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ, Christie’s International Real Estate Northern New Jersey, an exclusive partner of Christie’s International Real Estate, voted Christie’s Affiliate of the Year in 2017 and 2018, and the fastest growing real estate brokerage in northern New Jersey, proudly announced today that 12 Warewoods Road, Saddle River, is currently listed for sale by Realtor® Associates, Zeibour “Susan” Koushagjian, and Kevork “George” Koushagjian, of the Mahwah/Saddle River Sales Gallery. The brokerage notably leads as the #1 real estate brokerage for $1 million + transactions in Northwest Bergen County year to date as per the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service.

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Saddle River teen’s non-profit promotes child literacy and educational equity

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Demarest NJ, Saint Peter the Apostle School in Philadelphia recently received a delivery of over 700 books courtesy of Adventures in Ink. Academy of the Holy Angels junior Isabella Dail of Saddle River initiated this non-profit child literacy and educational equity program in 2018. These days, she is expanding her effort with the help of new team members.

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Rosie O’Donnell’s former 9,000 square foot Saddle River mansion is being turned into affordable housing.

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

SADDLE RIVER NJ, according to CBS news Rosie O’Donnell is no longer a New Jersey home owner and her former 9,000 square foot Saddle River mansion is being demolished and turned into affordable housing.

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