POLICE SEEK CLUES IN MAYWOOD MAN’S HIT-AND-RUN DEATH

By Kevin Kenney and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Friday, December 21, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

Police turned to the public Thursday for clues in the hit-and-run death of a popular 50-year-old stock clerk whom they described as mildly retarded and epileptic.

“We’re really kind of desperate,” said Officer Joseph Sacco, a department spokesman. “We have nothing. That’s the problem. “

Sacco’s plea came after the death of Spencer Joseph of 151 Parkway, who was struck about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as he crossed West Spring Valley Road near Edel Avenue.

The vehicle that struck him sped away, and police later responded to a report of a man lying in the road.

Joseph whose mother, Elizabeth, was killed in a 1972 house fire was walking from his house to the Forum Diner on Route 4 in nearby Paramus when the incident occurred, police said.

He was rushed to Hackensack Medical Center with extensive injuries to the lower part of his body, but was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m. Thursday following surgery, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office reported.

“It happened at a busy commuter time, and we’re hoping somebody may have seen something,” said Sacco, adding that police were posting fliers around the accident scene to alert people to their investigation.

“Somebody had to see something. We’re hoping the person who did it, maybe they can come forward. Maybe they panicked.”

Joseph, a stock clerk at the IGA supermarket on West Pleasant Avenue, was described by his employer, Harry Tzimoulis, as a friendly, popular fixture at the store. “His father called me this morning,” Tzimoulis said. “Everybody is shocked in the store. We feel something missing.”

Tzimoulis said he could not recall how long Joseph had worked at the store, but that it was “a lot of years. ” Tzimoulis bought the store about a year ago.

“He was a fellow that everybody knew,” Tzimoulis said. “All the customers knew him by his first name. He helped everybody.”

Lt. Richard Price, who described Joseph as “mildly retarded,” said Joseph was also hit by a car in Hackensack about four years ago while riding his bike. Joseph suffered a fractured leg, said Price.

Price also said Joseph was taking medication for his epilepsy, but it was not known if that might have played a role in the accident.

Police urged anyone with information about the accident to call the borough Police Department at 845-8800 or the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit at 646-3531.

COCAINE COURIER SUSPECT ARRESTED; HACKENSACK COPS TARGET N.Y.C. RING

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 21, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A 26-year-old Bronx man carrying cocaine for a New York City drug-trafficking ring walked into a trap Wednesday when he tried to sell an ounce of cocaine to narcotics officers, police say.

Ernesto Restrepo was being held in the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of the drug within 1,000 feet of a school, police said.

The Hackensack police narcotics division also seized from the suspect a 1989 Ford Taurus equipped with a two-way radio, said Capt. John Aletta, chief of investigations. The New York-based drug ring uses such radios to communicate with potential customers, Aletta said.

The one ounce of almost pure cocaine was worth about $1,500, but its value could have ballooned when processed into other forms of the drug, Aletta said.

Members of the city detective and narcotics divisions began working on the case about a week ago when they received information about the ring’s operation in the area, Aletta said. He declined to tell the exact location of the arrest, but said it was in the area of 400 Hackensack Ave., near the Bergen County Vocational-Technical School.

After ordering the drug by radio and agreeing to meet the courier in a parking lot in the area, Detective Sgts. Michael Mordaga, Robert Wright, Allen Ust, and Walter Krakowski arrived at about 10 p.m. and arrested Restrepo at the conclusion of the transaction, Aletta said.

FORT LEE HAS NIGHT OF WEAPON, DRUG ARRESTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 7, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B03

Police on Wednesday night arrested eight people on drug charges in three separate incidents. Two others were arrested on weapons charges in a fourth incident, said Police Chief John Orso.

At 5:09 p.m., said Orso, Officer Roy Bortolus saw a car cut across three lanes as it traveled west on Route 4, near Bergen Boulevard.

When Bortolus stopped the vehicle, he found small amounts of cocaine and marijuana and $12,220 in cash, Orso said.

The driver, Danny Prince, 36, of Oklahoma City, and passengers Keith Prince, 32, and Steven Guest, 23, both of Jersey City, were charged with possession of drugs and of drug paraphernalia. Each was released on $1,000 bail.

Orso said Bortolus became suspicious when Danny Prince said the money was his life savings yet did not know the total amount, guessing it to be $10,000. “We confiscated that to find out where it came from,” the chief said.

The second arrest occurred at about 8:35 p.m. after Detective Gary Moleta, traveling west on Route 46 near the Plaza West shopping, saw a car weaving through traffic. Upon stopping the vehicle, Moleta found several bags containing a white powdery substance believed to heroin, Orso said.

Tywayne Williams and Arthur Hoffman, both 18 and of East Orange, were scheduled to be remanded in Bergen County Jail on Thursday. The two were charged with being under the influence of intoxicants. They were also charged with possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

At about 9:45 p.m., on Linwood Avenue, Officer Ken Porrino seized a 12-gauge shotgun from the back seat of a car driven by Thurston U. Allen, 25, of Rochester, N.Y.

Allen and his passenger, Martha Colas, 22, of Queens Village, N.Y., were arrested and charged with illegal possession of a weapon.

Orso said the pistol grip on the shotgun was illegal. The officer saw the weapon as he approached the car to check its registration, the police chief said.

At about 10:40 p.m., Officer Steve Choromanski stopped a car driven by Bruce Davis, 23, of Roanoke, Va., after watching the vehicle change lanes without signaling near the intersection of Routes 4 and 95, Orso said.

Choromanski seized drug paraphernalia, about $1,000 worth of crack, and $1,200 worth of marijuana from the car, Orso said. The officer then arrested Davis and his passengers, Bernice Crouse, 18, of Roanoke, and Robert Green, 20, of Martinsville, Va.

They were each charged with being in possession of cocaine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

TRUCK CARRIED OLIVE OIL, $5M IN COKE

By Michael O. Allen and Bill Sanderson, Record Staff Writers | Saturday, October 20, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

A routine police inspection of a truck carrying olive oil led to the seizure of 393 pounds of cocaine valued at more than $5 million, the largest drug shipment seized on New Jersey highways this year, officials said.

State troopers followed the truck when it left a weighing station in South Jersey at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and arrested four men as they unloaded the cocaine that evening in Edgewater. A fifth suspect was charged in Salem County.

State police spokesman Dan Cosgrove said Trooper Manuel Gordillo was inspecting the truck on Interstate 295, at Carneys Point Township in Salem County, when he noticed fluid leaking from the rear of the truck.

Gordillo saw the cocaine behind the olive oil after being permitted to search, but he allowed the truck to leave, Cosgrove said. Gordillo, members of the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, and Salem and Bergen County police then followed the truck to the Havana Potato Truck Lot on River Road in Edgewater, he said.

Superior Court Judge Marguerite T. Simon in Hackensack set bail at $2.5 million each for four of the suspects, identified as Gonzalo Castellanos-Arroyave of North Bergen, Milton G. Vera of Queens, Edson G. Pantoja of Miami, and Alejandro Lumus of Miami.

They were charged with possession of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute, and conspiracy and were being held in the Bergen County Jail Friday.

A fifth man, Lidio Ocana of Union City, the truck’s driver, was charged with the same offenses and was being held in the Salem County Jail on $2 million bail.

Cosgrove said the seizure was the first fruit of “Operation Roadside,” started with $478,000 in federal funds in July to combine state troopers and the commercial transport industries in a program emphasizing interdiction and public awareness.

Correction: CLARIFICATION: An article in Saturday’s editions reported that four men were arrested on drug charges in a truck lot in Edgewater. The company that leases the lot, Havana Potato Co., was neither implicated nor involved in the incident, state police said. (PUBLISHED, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1990, PAGE a02.)

NAME CHANGED TO PROFESS THE INNOCENCE

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Saturday, October 13, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

When Bergen County Police first arrested an 18-year-old Jersey City man on drug charges four months ago, they released him to the custody of an “aunt” because he convinced them he was a juvenile and that his name was William Jones.

On Thursday, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor James Duffy discovered the man’s true name William Fince and that he was not 16 years old, as he claimed.

Bergen County Police Detective Edward Sorace said Duffy notified Bergen County officials Thursday. Duffy declined to say how he came to discover Fince was not who he said he was.

Fince, who was charged with three counts of drug possession, was re-arrested as he reported to the juvenile division of the Hudson prosecutor’s office and was being held Friday in the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.

3 SEIZED IN BREAK-IN AT JEWISH CENTER

By John H. Kuhn and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Thursday, October 11, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B04

Three men were arrested Tuesday after breaking into several lockers in the men’s room at the Jewish Community Center on the Palisades and stealing watches and about $1,000 in cash, police said.

One of the men was spotted about 4:30 p.m. breaking into a locker in the center on East Clinton Avenue. A center member chased him and got the license plate number of the car he fled in.

About a minute later, Tenafly police Officer Robert Whittaker stopped the car about a half-mile away at Huyler Avenue and Dean Drive, police said.

Charged with burglary and theft were Richard Russell, 29, and Robert Menegigian, 35, both of Dumont, and Robert Ruglio, 31, of West Orange.

Police found a driver’s license that was reported stolen from the Randolph YMCA and a membership card from the Saddle Brook Howard Johnson Health Spa. Police said they also found a stolen American Express card.

Ruglio, who police said entered the center, was to be held at the Bergen County Jail Annex on $7,500 bail. Russell was released on $5,000 bail, and Menegigian on $1,500.

Police recovered about $1,000 in cash along with several watches and wallets.

NORTHVALE MAN HELD IN ROBBERY ATTEMPT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, October 11, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B04

A 26-year-old Northvale man was charged with armed robbery after he tried to hold up a borough gas station but was foiled by an attendant, police said.

The suspect, Nicholas Proios, later confessed to robbing two gas stations in Alpine and Emerson during the weekend, police said.

Proios approached Robert W. Gardner, an attendant at the Northern Valley Motors gas station at 484 Closter Dock Road, at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and said he had a gun, police said.

When he told Gardner to empty his cash register, Gardner refused and foiled the robbery, said Closter Police Capt. John Rose.

“He had an object in his jacket that he purported to be a gun, but the gas attendant saw that it was a staple gun,” Rose said. “He decided to take him on. He physically detained the robber. “

Proios confessed during police interrogation to robbing the Texaco gas station on Closter Dock Road in Alpine on Saturday and the Emerson Exxon on Kinderkamack Road on Sunday, Rose said.

Police accounts of both incidents were similar: Proios allegedly walked in, told the attendants he had a gun, and announced a holdup. The Alpine robbery yielded $200 and Emerson, $466.

Closter police on Tuesday charged Proios with armed robbery. Bail was set at $50,000, and he was sent to the Bergen County Jail.

Alpine and Emerson police said Wednesday they also would charge Proios with armed robbery.

COPS CHASE KEARNY MEN DOWN ROUTE 95

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, October 4, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B04

Two Kearny men led police on a high-speed chase along Route 95 and the New Jersey Turnpike before giving up after a foot chase and struggle. One of them suffered a superficial gunshot wound.

Donald V. Teixeira, 18, of 91 Beach St. and Richard T. Nice, 19, of 576 Forest St. were each charged with cocaine possession, assault on a police officer, and the receipt of stolen property, said Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy. They were in the Bergen County Jail Wednesday under $100,000 bail each.

Lt. Richard Touw, a state police spokesman, said Trooper Keith Nelson inflicted a superficial wound on Teixeira’s back during a scuffle for the trooper’s gun.

Touw said police gave chase after seeing the car a red 1983 Camaro being driven by Teixeira and reported stolen from Morris Plains on Monday traveling south on Route 95 in Fort Lee Tuesday night with no lights on.

During the pursuit, police saw Nice throwing from the car items they later determined were vials of crack, Touw said.

The Camaro careened out of control in Lyndhurst and struck a guardrail, he said. Bergen County and state police officers surrounded the car, but it began moving again, striking two patrol cars and causing minor damage.

The two suspects then fled on foot, Touw said, with three officers after them.

Touw said Teixeira hid in tall grass by the roadside, then grabbed Nelson’s gun when the trooper closed in on him. Touw said the gun accidentally discharged and grazed the suspect in the back.

Nice suffered face and head bruises in the car accident. Both suspects were treated at University Hospital in Newark and released into police custody.

Nelson was treated for cuts and bruises to the legs and left hand as a result of the struggle with Teixeira, Touw said.

DENTIST FACES DRUG CHARGE

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Thursday, September 27, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B06

A Wyckoff dentist is facing charges of illegally obtaining 180 tablets of a prescription painkiller.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said Dr. Steven Hutt was arrested in a Bergen County Narcotics Task Force investigation on Tuesday and charged with fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. Hutt, 43, allegedly obtained the drug Fiorinal for personal use.

Hutt was arraigned on the charge Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance.

Fahy said Hutt phoned in the improper prescriptions to a pharmacy on at least six occasions between Dec. 15, 1987, and March 28, 1988.

Fahy said someone brought the alleged violations to the attention of task force investigators in the past month.

“This is a serious offense, given his position in the community,” Fahy said.

Hutt, reached at home on Wednesday, declined to comment. He referred questions to his lawyer, Andrew Baron of Cranford. Baron could not be reached by telephone on Wednesday.

Hutt could face 30 years in prison and fines of up to $45,000 if convicted.

PARAMUS NABS TRIO ON DRUG, GUN CHARGES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, September 16, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A09

Two men and a woman from Vermont were arrested Saturday after Paramus police stopped them for erratic driving on Route 17. The three were charged with possession of an automatic pistol, hollow-nose bullets, and 3 1/2 ounces of rock cocaine.

Dennis Dostie, 24; Raymond Wescott, 26, and Sheryl Mayville, 29, all from Milton, Vt., were stopped at about 2:30 a.m. at the intersection of Routes 4 and 17.

Police charged them with possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, possession of paraphernalia with intent to distribute, and illegal possession of the weapon and ammunition. They were being held in the county jail on $25,000 bail each.

Paramus Police Chief Joseph Delaney said the car did not have license plates and was weaving from lane to lane.

In addition to the drugs, police said they found a loaded Intertech-9, a 9mm automatic pistol with 36-round ammunition magazine, including 20 hollow-nose bullets.

“To see this weapon, it’s unbelievable,” Delaney said. “It’s an awesome weapon. A magazine carrying 36 rounds you can take down half a police force with that. It shows you what firepower these officers face on the streets. “

Police in New Jersey are not allowed to carry guns holding more than 15 rounds each, Delaney said.