April 12

At 7:43 a.m., a burglary to a motor vehicle was reported on Howard Place. Police said the owner told them they’d locked the car when parking it but when they returned, found the center console and glove compartment open. The only item reported missing was the vehicle owner’s manual, police said.

April 11

Providing back-up assistance on a motor vehicle stop on Centre St., at 1:22 a.m., an alert officer recognized the rear seat passenger as a possible suspect in connection with an outstanding warrant, police said. A computer check confirmed the officer’s suspicions and Michael Ruggiero, 21, of Nutley, was taken into custody on an active criminal warrant from Clifton for $2,500. Police said Ruggiero was also wanted by North Arlington P.D.

April 10

Police were called to a Franklin Ave. medical building, at 2:46 p.m., on a report of property damage. Upon arrival, police were met by a building employee who told them that while working upstairs, they’d heard a loud noise, and, going outside to check, found one of the front plate glass doors smashed. Police said the door, which had been propped open, may have been blown closed by the wind, causing the glass to break.

April 9

At 11:32 a.m., police responded to a Wilshire Drive home on a report of an open door. Police said the owner told them that upon returning home, they found the rear door open. Police said nothing appeared to be amiss inside the house and no sign of forced entry was found. Police surmised that the last person to leave may not have properly secured the door.

April 8

At 8:42 a.m., police responded to the Reinheimer Field House, Bloomfield Ave. and Carrie Court, on a call about a kicked-in door. Upon arrival, police met with the tipster who told them they’d noticed the door was open and the lock broken. Police said they noticed scuff marks on the door. Nothing appeared to be missing, however, police said. Police reached out to the Parks Department to secure the door.

April 7

Police responded to a Centre St. salon at 6:38 a.m. on a report of a broken window. Upon arrival, police said they found that a rock had been thrown through the front door, the cash register was open and the bill slots were empty. Also found open was a top drawer next to the register containing miscellaneous paperwork. Outside, police said they found two white envelopes, one of which contained checks payable to the salon. Police said that $450 was reported missing from the shop.

April 6

At 1:59 p.m., an individual came to headquarters to report a theft. Police said the victim told them they’d – along with other individuals – had gone to Yantacaw Park to play basketball and, before going to the court, all had placed their cellular phones on a bench. Upon returning to the bench, the victim’s phone couldn’t be found, the victim told police.

— Ron Leir

Photos by Ron Leir
Demolition crew at work Monday finishing off cleanup at Rodgers Boulevard fire scene.

By Ron Leir
Observer Correspondent

HARRISON –

It may appear that surrounding communities are ganging up against Harrison but Jersey City Fire Chief Darren Rivers says Mayor Ray McDonough shouldn’t take it personally.

It’s simply a matter of protecting lives and property, says Rivers, who serves as head of the Hudson County Fire Chiefs Association.

Read more »

JERSEY CITY –

It began early last autumn, when the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office started fielding calls from across the country from people reporting that credit cards issued in their names had been used to make fraudulent purchases in Hudson County.

It culminated last Wednesday, April 3 — after a seven month investigation — with the arrest of more than 30 suspects in a complicated, multistate, multimillion-dollar identity theft ring based in New Jersey. Read more »

By Ron Leir
Observer Correspondent

HARRISON –

Fire struck again in Harrison this week, this time taking a life.

Harrison Fire Director Harold Stahl said a call came into the dispatch center Monday, April 8, at about 12:30 p.m. reporting a fire in the rear of 209 N. Second St., a two-story residential structure. Read more »

Photo courtesy Belleville Board of Education Theresa Concetta Di Pasquale-Sandella and her great-niece Kristan Lombardi.

By Ron Leir
Observer Correspondent

BELLEVILLE –

What began as a Belleville ninth-grader’s homework assignment ended up as a validation for someone born during the Woodrow Wilson presidency who never graduated from high school.

Earlier this year, Belleville High School reading teacher Patricia Mooney asked her class to interview someone in their family who had immigrated to the U.S. or an older relative born in the U.S. with deep ethnic roots and write about them.

So 15-year-old freshman Kristan Lombardi, “an As and Bs” student who plays softball and volleyball, picked her great aunt, Theresa Concetta Di Pasquale-Sandella, who celebrated her 95th birthday on Jan. 12. Read more »

There was no car inside a garage that erupted in flames last week on Chestnut Street in Kearny. Fire officials say that was fortunate.

KEARNY – A private garage on Chestnut St. erupted in flames last Thursday night, but luckily, fire officials said, there was no car in the structure at the time.

The garage, behind a home at 766 Chestnut, was completely engulfed, and “the whole thing was in danger of collapse,” Kearny Fire Chief Steve Dyl said.

Flames had started licking at the house, but the KFD managed to keep the blaze confined to the garage, and the house suffered only minor damage, some melted siding, Dyl said.

No injuries were reported.

All KFD units responded to the 10:30 p.m. alarm, and the fire was declared under control just 15 minutes later. Jersey City and Harrison provided backup coverage to Kearny while the KFD was at the scene.

The cause of the fire has not been determined and is under investigation.

— Karen Zautyk

April 3

Neighbors told police they saw two Latino males removing $2,600 worth of HVAC supplies from a Grant Ave. driveway and driving away in an older model silver minivan at 1:45 p.m. Detectives are investigating.

At 2 p.m,, police responded to Nichols Park on a report of graffiti sprayed on the walls by the waterfall. Police said the vandals sprayed the wall with two images, one of a large green elf saying, “Love me,” and the other, a painting of Santa Claus saying a derogatory comment. Also sprayed at the top of the wall was the message, “Merry Christmas.” Police contacted the Parks Department and asked them to repaint the wall.

At 2:46 p.m., a woman came to headquarters to report a suspected fraud. The victim told police someone had opened a fraudulent bank account under her husband’s name where her husband doesn’t do business. Read more »

Photo by Ron Leir
A developer wants to replace this empty dental office with a 2-family home.

By Ron Leir
Observer Correspondent

KEARNY –

For many years, the small dental office at 612 Belgrove Drive, between Midland and New Lawn Aves., in Kearny – set back from the street by a row of neat green hedges – was a welcome part of the landscape for neighbors.

But now the location – which was vacated about a year ago after the passing of the occupant – has turned into a Third Ward war zone, with neighbors pitted against a new owner who wants to take down the small office and replace it with a new two-family residence.

The dispute goes before the Kearny Zoning Board of Adjustment on May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the second-floor council chambers at Town Hall, 402 Kearny Ave., after two previously scheduled hearings were postponed due to scheduling conflicts and equipment issues. Read more »