8 CHARGED IN ROBBERY OF BANK WORKER

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, June 28, 1991

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

Police have arrested eight men for Monday’s assault and robbery of a bank messenger, who was pulled from his car and beaten as he waited at a red light.
Raymond Ayala, a messenger for the Trust Company of New Jersey, was in his 1984 Dodge waiting at 70th Street and Tonnelle Avenue when he was pulled from the car by three men who then assaulted him. The men got away with $12,000 in cash and $4,000 in checks that Ayala had just picked up from a business, Police Chief Angelo Busacco said.
The three who attacked Ayala, 35, of Jersey City, along with the driver of the getaway car were charged with robbery and aggravated assault, Busacco said. The other four helped plan the crime and were charged with conspiracy, the chief said.
“The victim, he took a pretty bad beating,” Busacco said. “He has a fractured eye socket, a broken nose, and a broken jaw. He was fairly bruised about the entire body.”
Ayala was taken to Palisades General Hospital on Monday and was discharged Thursday, a hospital spokesman said.
Charged with robbery and assault were Sergio Ariz of 7200 Grand Ave., North Bergen, who was released on $5,000 cash bail; Alan Amador of 6223 Liberty Ave., North Bergen, who posted 10 percent of $5,000 bail; Gary Bohanan, 22, of 6 River St., Little Ferry, and Christopher Camacho, 20, of 7521 Bergenline Ave., North Bergen, who each posted 10 percent of $2,500 bail.
Charged with conspiracy and posting 10 percent of their $2,500 bail were Michael Tomicich, 18, of 335 71st St., Guttenberg; Joseph Lalicata, 32, of 6601 Cottage Ave., North Bergen; Richard Zedower, 18, of 7108 Cottage Ave., North Bergen, and Joseph Occhipinti, 23, of 6024 Newkirk Ave., North Bergen.
Bohanan, Camacho, Lalicata, and Amador turned themselves in at headquarters; the other four were arrested at home or at work, the chief said.
Bohanan and Camacho appeared in court Wednesday. The others are scheduled to appear July 3, Busacco said.
For security reasons, Busacco declined to say how many men were involved in the investigation. He said key officers in the case were Lt. Timothy Kelly, Lt. Robert Heldman, Sgt. Joseph Bode, Detective Joseph Gener, and Detective James Onderdonk.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; ROBBERY; ASSAULT

MAN HELD AFTER CAR CHASE IS SUSPECTED IN HIT-RUN

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 26, 1991

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

A man in custody on charges of driving a stolen car and eluding police is also being investigated in connection with a hit-and-run accident that left a 16-year-old township girl with two broken legs, police said.
Rosa Sanfilippo of Broadway Street was in stable condition at the Jersey City Medical Center Tuesday, a hospital spokesman said.
Luis Urrutia, 41, of 9008 Bergenwood Ave., North Bergen, was being held in the Bergen County Jail on $5,000 bail. Palisades Park police arrested him in Edgewater, following a chase that began on Bergen Boulevard in Palisades Park shortly after a broadcast of the accident over the police scanner about 10:45 p.m. Sunday. He was charged with possessing stolen property the car and eluding police.
North Bergen Police Officer George Alburtus said Sanfilippo was at Broadway and 77th Street when a northbound car struck her, then fled. He declined to identify the suspect, citing an ongoing investigation, but said North Bergen police are exploring charges against a suspect arrested by Palisades Park police.
The suspect was arrested following a chase that began in Palisades Park a short time after the accident, Alburtus said.
Palisades Park Police Officer Michael Anderson began chasing the white 1977 Pontiac that Urrutia was driving at about 11 p.m., after hearing the broadcast and telling the driver to pull over, police said.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT

MAN HELD IN SUPERMARKET STABBING OF ESTRANGED WIFE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Tuesday, June 4, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B02

A 31-year-old West New York man was being held Monday in Hudson County Jail on charges that he stabbed and critically wounded his estranged wife several times at the ShopRite supermarket, police said.
Police Lt. Mark Cerbo said he and three other officers, responding to a report of a stabbing at the Kennedy Boulevard supermarket Sunday, arrested Rafael Llaverias as he was running through the parking lot.
“He had blood all over his pants,” Cerbo said.
Inside the store, Yohanny Llaverias of Union City was sprawled on the floor, bleeding from stab wounds all over her body. The serrated kitchen knife that police believed was used in the stabbing was lying next to her, Cerbo said. The knife was broken in half.
The 21-year-old woman was in critical condition in Jersey City Medical Center’s surgical intensive care unit, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday.
Lt. Timothy Kelly said Yohanny Llaverias had restraining orders barring her husband from contacting her.
Rafael Llaverias was being held in Hudson County Jail without bail on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon, and violation of a restraining order.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; ASSAULT

OFFICER COMMITS SUICIDE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, May 17, 1991

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

The body of a 25-year-old township police officer who was distraught over the dissolution of his marriage was discovered at his Grand Avenue apartment on Wednesday, police said.
Albert C. Cabrera who was named the township’s outstanding police officer of the year in 1988, his first year on the job was found by a fellow officer who had volunteered to look in on him when he did not show up for his shift Wednesday, Lt. Timothy Kelly said.
Officer Robert Conlon found Cabrera in the bedroom formerly used by his 10-month-old daughter. Cabrera had a gunshot wound to the head and a gun in his hand. Investigators placed the time of death at about 10 p.m. Monday, Kelly said.
“Our investigation concluded that it was definitely a self-inflicted wound,” Kelly said.
Cabrera was depressed about his separation from his wife and daughter, Kelly said. The wife obtained a restraining order from a Jersey City Family Court judge on April 19 to keep him away from her and the child. She had been living with her mother in Jersey City since the separation, Kelly said.
He said he did not know why Cabrera’s wife had sought the restraining order.
The depression did not show in Cabrera’s work, Kelly said.
“The department is in complete shock,” Kelly said. “He was a very personable young man. He was an excellent police officer, a very conscientious patrolman.”

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; POLICE; SUICIDE

FBI ARRESTS MAN IN FAKE DEATH SCAM

MICHAEL ALLEN | Friday, April 26, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B01

A 40-year-old North Bergen man who allegedly faked his wife’s and son’s deaths, then tried to collect on a $2 million life insurance policy, has been arrested by the FBI.
Ahmad Sadiq Mufti of 3642 Lincoln Drive was charged in U.S. Magistrate’s Court in Newark on Thursday with one count of mail fraud in a scheme to defraud Amex Life Assurance Co. of San Rafael, Calif., of the money between 1987 and 1989, FBI Special Agent William Tonkin said.
Mufti gave up without incident when FBI agents went to his home about noon Wednesday to arrest him, Tonkin said. A hearing will be scheduled to transfer Mufti to California, where he would be tried on the charge, the agent said.
If convicted, Mufti faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, Tonkin said.
John Holford, a special agent at the Oakland FBI bureau, said Mufti’s wife and son were in Pakistan. He said he did not know whether Mufti collected any of the money.
Representatives for Amex could not be reached for comment.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; FAMILY; DEATH; FRAUD; INSURANCE

MAN, SON ACCUSED OF THREATS

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Thursday, April 18, 1991

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

A building contractor and his son face a variety of charges for threatening a truck driver with a shotgun and knife after he asked them to move a car to make way for a delivery, police said Wednesday.
The driver, Thomas Misciagna, 37, of Park Ridge told police that Vincent Filardo Sr., 60, of Upper Saddle River pulled out a shotgun when asked to move the car, according to North Bergen Lt. Timothy Kelly. Filardo’s son Vincent Jr., 26, of Tuxedo, N.Y., pulled out a knife and threatened to cut Misciagna’s throat, police said.
The incident occurred about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at 82nd Street and Tonnelle Avenue, where a shopping mall is being built, Kelly said.
Misciagna ran into a construction shed and called police, Kelly said. The two Filardos were released on $7,500 bail each.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; WEAPON

2 TEENS STABBED, BABY ABDUCTED EX-BOYFRIEND OF A VICTIM HELD

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, April 18, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B01

A 19-year-old Brooklyn man was arrested Wednesday minutes after he stabbed two teenagers, one of them his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend, and abducted his and the girl’s baby from a North Bergen apartment, police said.
One victim, a 17-year-old Brooklyn boy, was in serious but stable condition at Palisades General Hospital in North Bergen, a spokesman said. The girl was not seriously injured, police said, but was to be kept overnight at the hospital for observation. Police withheld the victims names because of their ages.
The 2-month-old baby was unharmed.
The suspect, Courtney Wiltshire, was held on $15,000 bail in the Hudson County Jail, North Bergen Lt. Timothy Kelly said.
Police had not yet interviewed the victims late Wednesday, but said it appeared Wiltshire attacked them at a Durham Avenue apartment where the girl lives with her mother and the baby. Police would not comment Wednesday on the motive for the attack.
Police were alerted to the incident by phone calls from the two victims, said Kelly, who gave the following account:
The 17-year-old called about 11:30 a.m., saying he had been stabbed. A few minutes later, after Wiltshire had left, the 16-year-old girl called from the apartment. She, too, said she had been stabbed, and that the father of her daughter had forcibly taken the child.
Officer Michael Darin found the 17-year-old at a pay phone at 67th Street and Newkirk Avenue. He had been stabbed twice in the chest, once in the shoulder, and once in the back.
A search began for Wiltshire that eventually involved 13 squad cars, including four from West New York.
North Bergen Officer Lorenzo Paret spotted Wiltshire about 11:50 a.m. at 65th Street and Hudson Avenue in West New York. When Paret approached him and began asking him questions, Wiltshire threw up his hands and said: “I know what you want. The baby is in the store. “
Wiltshire had gone into the Latino Supermarket with the baby and bought some juice, telling the storekeeper to watch the infant for a moment.
The baby was found in the store and placed in the custody of the state Division of Youth and Family Services after being examined at Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus.
Wiltshire was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, burglary, unlawful possession of a weapon, and criminal restraint.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; ASSAULT; KIDNAPPING; BABY

DRAG RACING CITED IN FATALITY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 21, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B01

North Bergen police Tuesday charged a Plainfield youth and issued a warrant for the arrest of a 27-year-old Jersey City man in connection with a fatal collision that police now say was the result of drag racing.

A Ridgefield woman was killed instantly in the head-on collision Nov. 7, and her mother-in-law remains unconscious and in critical condition from the accident.

The youth, a 17-year-old whom police would not identify because of his age, was charged with death by auto and assault by auto in the crash at 49th Street and Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen.
An arrest warrant on the same charges was issued for Antonio Castella of 135A North St. in Jersey City.

Police said Castella was driving with a suspended license, and the youth was driving without a license. Four people were packed into the red 1985 two-seat Porsche that the youth was driving, police said.

The two “wantonly, willfully, and carelessly drove their vehicles . . . with disregard for life or property,” said North Bergen Police Officer George Alburtus. “According to witnesses, they were traveling at a high rate of speed, leaving smoke and screeching tires. “

Carmela Berardo, 49, of 414 Abbott St., Ridgefield was killed instantly when the Porsche crossed into the northbound lane on Tonnelle Avenue and struck the car she was riding in. Michelina Berardo, 69, of the same address, remained Tuesday in St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City with a fractured skull and two broken legs.

The youth, who also was injured in the crash, was in stable condition Tuesday at Jersey City Medical Center.

In all, six cars were involved in the pileup that followed the collision, and six people were injured.

Berardo’s husband, Florindo Berardo, 50, left the hospital Nov. 12 to attend his wife’s funeral.

Berardo, who was driving when the collision occurred, suffered a broken right foot and facial abrasions.

Madeleine M. Sheldrick, 30, a pregnant North Bergen resident, and Tamburas Ortiz, 18, brother of the arrested youth, were treated and released the same day. Allen Betancourt, 19, of Piscataway was released Nov. 14 from Jersey City Medical Center.

“No one is interested in retribution,” De Vito said Tuesday. “We are interested in justice, but justice here pleads out for severe penalties to be imposed and incarceration.

“Words like disgusting, tragic, and senseless don’t even begin to define the horror and the loss to this family. “

The family was returning in two cars from visiting an aunt in Jersey City at about 10:30 on the night of the accident.

The Berardos 27-year-old daughter, Michelle Sosa, who was driving ahead of her parents, said she was stopped at a light at 51st Street when she noticed the Porsche and Castella’s Mustang.

“As soon as the light changed, they pulled out, like, they peeled out so fast that there was smoke and noise and everything,” she said.

“It was just overwhelming how much smoke and noise. And all of a sudden I looked in my rearview mirror. I noticed that the red Porsche was in the opposite side of the lane, in the northbound lane. He must have hit my parents then.”