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Middlesex Man Gets 2½ Years For COVID Unemployment Scam Middlesex Man Gets 2½ Years For COVID Unemployment Scam
Middlesex Man Gets 2½ Years For COVID Unemployment Scam A Middlesex County man was sentenced to a plea-bargained 2½ years in prison for conspiring to illegally obtain nearly $450,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, federal authorities said. Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy, must serve a little over two years before he can be released because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Valerio and co-conspirators submitted bogus unemployment applications to the New York Department of Labor through "fictitious online profiles that they created using personally identifiable information, including names, dates of birth, and Social…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Meet Whoopi Goldberg In North Jersey Meet Whoopi Goldberg In North Jersey
Meet Whoopi Goldberg In North Jersey An EGOT winner is coming to Bergen County. The legendary actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg, who has won an Emmy, Oscar, Tony and Grammy, will be signing copies of her new book, "Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother and Me," at Bookends in Ridgewood on Thursday May 9, at 5:30 p.m. Goldberg, a longtime West Orange resident, wrote the book as a tribute to her mother, Emma, and her brother, Clyde, who died in 2010 and 2015, respectively. Goldberg tells stories about trips to Coney Island, seeing the Ice Capades and having magical Christmases with her family, despite the struggles her famil…

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by Sam Barron
Business
5th Generation-Owned Bar In NJ Town Known For Excellent Restaurants Gets Portnoy's Blessing 5th Generation-Owned Bar In NJ Town Known For Excellent Restaurants Gets Portnoy's Blessing
5th Generation-Owned Bar In NJ Town Known For Excellent Restaurants Gets Portnoy's Blessing A bar nestled in one of New Jersey's most notable food towns has Dave Portnoy's seal of approval. The CEO of Barstool Sports stopped by Bunny's Sports Bar in South Orange on his latest "One Bite" trip to the Garden State. #Humpday @stoolpresidente #NHLPlayoffs #NBAPlayoffs #MLB #Hallin #Bigeast Congratulations to #Setonhall Golf won the... Posted by Bunny's Sports Bar, South Orange NJ on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 "Zero flop, out of the clouds with this bar pie," said Portnoy, who's known to appreciate bar pies.  On Google, Bunny's has a 4/5 with more than 530 reviews, which may…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
AGAIN: 2.6 Magnitude Aftershock Rattles New Jersey AGAIN: 2.6 Magnitude Aftershock Rattles New Jersey
Again: 2.6 Magnitude Aftershock Rattles New Jersey Yet another aftershock rattled New Jersey. This one 2.6 in magnitude just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1, the USGS website shows. This one had an epicenter just east of the Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone (Somerset County). A 2.9 magnitude aftershock was reported last Saturday, April, 27 in the same area. People as far as Massachusetts and Connecticut reported feeling the earthquake, but it appeared to have been clearest felt in the Garden State, with Boonton, Caldwell, and Carteret residents reporting a II or III on the MMI scale. 

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
South River Worker Killed, 4 Hurt In Explosion At Old Bridge Manufacturing Company (UPDATE) South River Worker Killed, 4 Hurt In Explosion At Old Bridge Manufacturing Company (UPDATE)
South River Worker Killed, 4 Hurt In Explosion At Old Bridge Manufacturing Company (Update) A fiery explosion left one woman dead and four others hurt at a manufacturing company in Old Bridge on Wednesday, May 1, authorities said. Eileen Marco, 73, of South River, was killed at the scene of the explosion at Superior Signal Company, LLC in Old Bridge at approximately 11:20 a.m., Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. Four other people were injured. Photos from the scene show medical choppers landing at Veteran's Field, located nearby to transport two of the victims with serious injuries. The other two victims were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, …

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by Jon Craig & Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Man Arrested For DWI Following Crash At Mavis Discount Tire: Denville PD Man Arrested For DWI Following Crash At Mavis Discount Tire: Denville PD
Man Arrested For DWI Following Crash At Mavis Discount Tire: Denville PD A 31-year-old Dover resident was charged with driving while intoxicated after a car crash at Mavis Discount Tire in Denville, authorities said. At 5 p.m., police responded to the parking lot of the Mavis Discount Tire at 44 Righter Ave. for a report of a car crash, officers said in a release. An investigation revealed the driver, Steven Alterisio, was driving under the influence, police said. Altersio was also found to be in possession of CDS paraphernalia, police said. Alterisio was placed under arrest and charged with driving while intoxicated, possession of CDS paraphernalia and issued m…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Scooter Driver Killed In Jersey Shore Crash Involving Police Officer Identified: State AG Scooter Driver Killed In Jersey Shore Crash Involving Police Officer Identified: State AG
Scooter Driver Killed In Jersey Shore Crash Involving Police Officer Identified: State AG New Jersey's Attorney General has identified the scooter driver killed in a Monmouth County crash and the police officer involved in the wreck. Guyvenson Innocent, 35, of Beachwood, died in the crash on Monday, Apr. 15, the state Attorney General's office said in a news release on Wednesday, May 1. The crash happened on Route 35 South near Sunset Avenue in Ocean Township at around 9:08 p.m. Investigators said Ocean Township police officer Ryan Deceglie was on duty when his marked vehicle and "multiple civilian vehicles" crashed. Officer Deceglie and the other drivers in the c…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Box Truck Towing Box Truck Overturns On Route 80: NJSP Box Truck Towing Box Truck Overturns On Route 80: NJSP
Box Truck Towing Box Truck Overturns On Route 80: Njsp A box truck towing another box truck overturned on Route 80 in Morris County on Tuesday, April 30, authorities said. At 9:15 p.m., the box truck was traveling westbound on Route 80 in Mount Olive Township when it lost directional control, causing both vehicles to overturn, Jeffrey Lebron, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police said.  No injuries were reported, Lebron said. The crash remains under investigation, Lebron said.

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Blood Trail From Second Floor To Sidewalk Left By NJ Stabbing Victim: Police Papers Blood Trail From Second Floor To Sidewalk Left By NJ Stabbing Victim: Police Papers
Blood Trail From Second Floor To Sidewalk Left By NJ Stabbing Victim: Police Papers Newly-obtained documents paint a harrowing picture of a deadly New Jersey stabbing. Jason Torres, 32, left a trail of blood from the second floor of the home where he was stabbed to the sidewalk near Smith and Maple streets in Perth Amboy at approximately 9 p.m. Sunday, April 28, according to the affidavit for probable cause. The exact address of the stabbing was redacted from police documents, but says surveillance video shows two people leaving the side door of the address and two people leaving the front door, including the victim, before the 911 calls were placed. Jason Torres was…

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by Jon Craig
Real Estate
'Enchanted' Home Of Famous Author Hits New Jersey Market At $800K 'Enchanted' Home Of Famous Author Hits New Jersey Market At $800K
'Enchanted' Home Of Famous Author Hits New Jersey Market At $800K Peek around the Elm Ridge Park neighborhood of Hopewell Township and you may find inspiration for your next novel. The 3,417-square-foot ranch at 9 Honey Brook Drive is the former home of American author and Princeton University professor Joyce Carol Oates and is for sale at $800,000. Christine Mariano, of the Corcoran Group, is the listing agent. Oates herself is quoted in an earlier Architectural Digest article calling her home an "enchanted place … (which) has never ceased to exert its spell on me, every day for over 20 years," according to the listing. Designed by renowned Princeton ar…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Contractor Admits Stiffing Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Nearly $500G For No-Show Work Contractor Admits Stiffing Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Nearly $500G For No-Show Work
Contractor Admits Stiffing Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Nearly $500G For No-Show Work UPDATE: An electrical supervisor from Bergen County admitted soaking the Hudson Bergen Light Rail for nearly a half-million dollars worth of no-show work, including while he was vacationing in Florida, federal authorities said. Joseph Ferrara, 56, of North Arlington, "submitted claims for compensation covering hundreds of hours relating to work allegedly performed during regular, overtime and double time hours" that was, in fact, never done, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said. Ferrara, who worked as an electrical supervisor for a subcontractor hired by the light rail system,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Paul Auster, Acclaimed Author, North Jersey Native, Dead At 77 Paul Auster, Acclaimed Author, North Jersey Native, Dead At 77
Paul Auster, Acclaimed Author, North Jersey Native, Dead At 77 Paul Auster, who won numerous literary awards and published "The New York Trilogy" died on Tuesday, April 30, at the age of 77, his literary representatives announced. Born in Newark, Auster was raised in South Orange before graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood. He initially garnered attention after publishing his memoir "The Invention of Solitude," which discussed his father's death. Auster's most acclaimed work came next: "The New York Trilogy," a series of three novels including "City of Glass," "Ghosts" and "The Locked Room," mixing post modernism with detective fiction. Th…

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by Sam Barron