RIVER EDGE COPS SEEK HELP ON THEFTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, January 6, 1991

To combat a recent wave of residential burglaries about 20 in the past six weeks borough police have turned to residents for help, asking them to be cautious and to watch for suspicious activities in their neighborhoods.
Police Lt. Ron Starace said most of the burglaries, like the one on the 100 block of Kenwood Avenue about 10 p.m. Friday, occurred at night.
Starace said many of the break-ins occurred when the victims were home, but that no one had seen the burglars.
“We have to believe that there is more than one group working here, but we have very little information,” Starace said. “It’s a little difficult when you don’t know what you are looking for. “
He urged residents to call the department with any possible clues.
“Give us something to work with; give us extra eyes,” he said. “If you answer your door and you find nobody there, that’s suspicious; call us. Someone asking for directions to the home of a person unknown to you but who’s supposed to live on your block, or a delivery being made to a home where you know the neighbors are not there they are suspicious; call us. “
About five homes have been burglarized since the arrest of one suspect on Dec. 28. Starace said that on Jan. 1, a burglar ran when a resident at the 800 block of Bogen Road woke up about 11:45 p.m. and heard noises. There was another attempt at a home across the street the same night, he said.
On Dec. 28, a resident on the 100 block of Valley Road reported suspicious activities about 7 p.m. Police arrived minutes later, followed fresh footprints in the snow, and eventually arrested Marvin Jones, 25, of Englewood two blocks down the road.
Jones has been in the Bergen County Jail on $30,000 bail since his Dec. 29 arraignment on burglary and theft charges filed in River Edge and Englewood Cliffs.
Starace outlined steps that residents can take to protect their property and help police.
He said residents should take advantage of a residential sticker program to help police determine which cars belong in what neighborhoods. Residents also are advised to become familiar with cars in their neighborhoods. When they leave their homes, whether to go for a walk or on a long trip, they should ask their neighbors to watch their homes, he said.

Keywords: RIVER EDGE; POLICE; THEFT

DIVINING PASTOR NABS OFFERTORY THIEF IN ACT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, January 4, 1991

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

A Fort Lee pastor said he sensed about midday Tuesday would be a convenient time for someone, if they were so inclined, to try to steal money from his church’s offering box. So he sneaked into the church and caught a man in the act.
The Rev. James Sullivan of Holy Trinity R. C. Church of Fort Lee said he had repaired the box six days earlier after someone stole between $10 to $35 from it. He said he noticed a few days later that someone had tampered with the box again.
Entering the church from a side door, Sullivan said he “could hear the box being tampered with. “
Fort Lee police arrested Carl Crawford, 34, of Bond Street, Freehold, a few minutes after Sullivan called 911 and reported a thief in the church.
Crawford had in his possession a tool for prying open boxes, six single dollar bills, and a check for $10 written to the Blessed Sacrament Church in Margate, said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso. Crawford was charged with burglary, theft, and possession of burglary tools, and was being held in the Bergen County Jail Thursday on $2,500 bail.
Sullivan said Crawford, who is not a parishioner of the church, had been hanging in and around the church at “odd hours” for the past week, striking up conversations with church members.

Keywords: FORT LEE; RELIGION; BUILDING; THEFT

TEANECK MAN CHARGED WITH BURGLARIZING SEVEN HOMES

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

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A04

A 20-year-old Teaneck man was being held on $35,000 bail Saturday, following his arrest the night before on charges of burglarizing seven homes.

Raphael DeJesus Diaz of 196 East Forest Ave., Teaneck, was arrested in a cordoned-off area of Sheffield and Grand avenues Friday by an officer, accompanied by a police dog, from the Bergen County Police Canine Unit.

Residents had reported two burglaries and a “suspicious person” in the area, Englewood Police Detective Robert Keane said. Police charged DeJesus with burglaries of seven homes, including the three Friday, and are holding him as chief suspect in about 30 burglaries, Keane said.

“This takes care of him, at least,” Keane said. “People in the community should be happy.

Unfortunately, there are others out there. They [the burglars] should know, with the canine unit out there, that they are going to be caught. “

Englewood police have strong evidence linking DeJesus to the burglaries, he said, although he did not elaborate.

The most recent wave of break-ins and burglaries to hit the city began in the East Hill section early in November, about a month after city police arrested a suspect in a series of burglaries in that area.

Most of the burglaries took place during the day, Keane said. County police assigned four officers from its canine unit to assist the city in the search, he said.

Physical descriptions of the suspects in the burglaries were similar, Keane said. The first sighting of a suspect was on Nov. 26 when a Linden Avenue resident saw a man inside his bedroom moments after he observed the same man ringing his doorbell.

Friday, a second floor apartment at 2080 Sheffield Ave., was broken into but the suspect did not take anything, Keane said. Shortly following this report, Englewood police received another report of a “suspicious person” coming out of an apartment at 25 East Sheffield Ave., he said.

County Police Officer Robert DiPalma, accompanied by the canine, arrested DeJesus near the site of the most recent apartments burglarized, Keane said.

Police recovered from DeJesus jewelry and coins later determined to have been stolen from 25 East Sheffield, Keane said.

Notes: Bergen page

BURGLARY SUSPECT CAUGHT ON THE RUN

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, December 13, 1990

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

Moments after borough police dispatched officers to The Leather Warehouse on Route 4, where a burglary was in progress, a Hackensack detective arrested one of the suspects as he ran from the scene, police said.

Luigi Stalaj, 36, of 2565 Coldan Ave., the Bronx, was released from Bergen County Jail on Wednesday on $75,000 bail.

Paramus police charged Stalaj with burglary and theft, possession of stolen property, and possession of burglary tools. A judge set bail at $50,000, Chief Joseph Delaney said.

Stalaj also was charged by Hackensack police with resisting arrest, possession of stolen property, and possession of burglary tools, and bail was set at $25,000, said Hackensack Police Capt. John Aletta.

Stalaj, working with an accomplice who scaled a fence and escaped, stole 25 coats valued at $11,000, along with $7,000 in cash from a register and a bank bag at the warehouse, Delaney said. The accomplice lost a sock and a shoe when he scaled the fence, he said.

The suspects triggered an alarm when they entered through the rear of the store about 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, Delaney said.

The chief said Hackensack Detective Sgt. Michael Mordaga, driving along Anderson Street, near the city’s border with Paramus on Route 4, responded when he heard Paramus dipatching officers.

Delaney said Mordaga saw a man carrying an armful of coats dart across Coles Street in Hackensack.

Mordaga chased the man and arrested him in the back yard of a nearby home. He was assisted by Hackensack Police Officer Vincent Pedone.

Police recovered a van, two piles of coats dumped behind houses in the area, and a bag containing burglary tools, Delaney said.

PAIR MAY BE LINKED TO 23 BREAK-INS; CHARGED IN NOV. 17 THEFT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, December 2, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A46

Two men arrested during a domestic dispute were charged with theft and burglary for one of 23 recent break-ins in the city and are suspected of being involved in the others, police said.

Walter Wiggins, 36, of 230 Central Ave., Hackensack, and Howard J. Hutchinson, 30, of Englewood were to be transferred from Englewood to the Bergen County Jail on Friday.

Englewood Police Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley said the men were being charged with the Nov. 17 break-in of a garden apartment at 530 Broad Ave. Tinsley said items stolen from the apartment were recovered from the two.

Patrolmen Tim Torell and George Austin Jr. were responding to a call Thursday night about threats to Hutchinson’s sister, Georgia, 32, at 9-22 Rock Creek Terrace, Englewood, where they arrested Wiggins and Hutchinson, Tinsley said. A 9-inch kitchen knife was found imbedded in a wall where Wiggins had been jabbing it, he said.

Tinsley declined to say how police were able to connect the men with the burglary.

Wiggins was being held on $10,500 bail on charges of unlawful possession of a weapon, making terroristic threats, theft, and burglary. Hutchinson, being held on $5,000 bail, was charged with theft and burglary.

SUSPECT IS ARRESTED AS HE ASKS COP FOR AID

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, November 29, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B05

A 23-year-old Newark man allegedly trying to resell a stolen Cadillac to its owner apparently got lost on the way to consummate the deal and was arrested as he was about to ask a Teaneck police detective for directions.

Rosent “Nate” McCabe, 23, of 1863 Willberg St. told police upon his arrest that he was being a “good Samaritan” in returning the car.

But Detective William Grace said he and four plainclothes detectives, in unmarked cars, had been waiting at the home of the car owner for McCabe to arrive.

The owner, whom Grace declined to identify, told Teaneck police he had received calls from unidentified parties in Newark on Monday, telling him that they had bought the 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood and would sell it back to him for $1,500, Grace said. The owner had reported the car stolen in Newark on Saturday.

The owner negotiated the price down to $900, and a meeting was set up for between noon and 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Grace and the other detectives were waiting for McCabe when he drove north on River Road at about 2:30 p.m., past the owner’s house. Grace said he and the other detectives followed the car.

McCabe apparently realized he had gone too far when he reached River Road’s intersection with Riverview Avenue and began backing up, said Grace, who was directly behind the Cadillac.

Grace said McCabe was about to ask him for directions when McCabe approached his car.

“I got out and told him to put his hands on the hood of the car,” Grace said.

McCabe was charged with possession of the stolen car and was released from the Bergen County Jail Wednesday on $500 bail.

BURGLARY STREAK IN ENGLEWOOD; WAVE OF BREAK-INS IS 2ND OF THE SEASON

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 28, 1990

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

One month after police arrested a suspect in a series of burglaries, the East Hill section of the city is again experiencing a wave of break-ins, including two in broad daylight on Monday, police said.

Most of the 22 burglaries happened during the day, while residents were away at work, Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley said. Eight garden apartments and 14 homes were hit, he said.

Englewood detectives and patrol officers, with assistance from the Bergen County Canine Unit, swarmed the area Tuesday afternoon and will continue to patrol until a suspect is caught, Tinsley said.

“For the first time since the burglaries began in early November, we got a good description of this guy yesterday,” he said.

A Linden Avenue resident saw the suspect before his apartment was broken into about 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tinsley said.

The resident, who police declined to identify, said he looked out of his second-floor window after someone rang the doorbell. He did not recognize the person and, thinking the caller was a salesman, did not open the door.

“A few minutes later, he heard a noise in his bedroom. He went to investigate and he found the suspect in his bedroom,” Tinsley said. The burglar fled when he saw the resident.

Although police are waiting for a full list of items stolen in the burglaries, at least $14,000 in cash and $80,000 in jewelry, televisions, and videocassette recorders have been taken, Tinsley said.

A composite of the suspect will be drawn from the description given by the Linden Avenue resident, Tinsley said.

He urged residents, as a precaution, to remove air conditioners from windows and to leave lights on.
“This is the ideal time for burglars. It gets dark early. If you can, put lights on timers. Although this is occurring during the day, light is definitely a deterrent.”

Tinsley said the latest wave of burglaries is frustrating, since a suspect in about 40 cat burglaries in Englewood and three other Bergen County communities during September and October is behind bars. Celious Lee Harmon of Teaneck is being held without bail for violation of parole and faces burglary charges.

3 BERGEN MEN ARRESTED; JEWELRY SEIZED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, November 11, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A06

One man remained in the Bergen County Jail on Saturday while two others were freed on $15,000 bail each following their arrest Friday on charges of receiving stolen property.

The three were seized about 7:50 a.m. Friday as they sat in a parked car on Fletcher Avenue, behind the Red Oak Diner, Police Chief John Orso said. Orso said police seized jewelry, believed stolen in burglaries in at least two nearby communities, and $4,500 in cash.

The suspects were identified as Jeffrey Whitaker, 27, of Tryon Avenue, Teaneck; and Peter Cheremisinoff, 34, of Gorge Road, Cliffside Park, both of whom were freed on bail; and Troy Montgomery, 24, of West Palisade Avenue, Englewood.

Orso said Cheremisinoff faced an additional charge of receiving stolen property with intent to distribute it.

A YEAR LATER, A SHOOTING SUSPECT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 9, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Three Star P | NEWS | Page B03

A 33-year-old New York City man arrested Thursday by city police and charged with possessing a stolen car was wanted for a shooting in Englewood a year ago, police said.

Eric Flake was wanted for two counts of attempted murder, four counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of gun possession in the Nov. 18, 1989, shooting of Neville G. Tyrell of Teaneck, said Englewood Detective Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley.

Flake was arrested at 1 a.m. Thursday along with Herbert Smith, 35, of New York City, who was a passenger in the car Flake was driving.

Tinsley said Police Officer James Morgan ran a check on the car’s license plate when Flake made a turn without signaling. Morgan learned the car was stolen from Prince George County, Md., Tinsley said.

Morgan, assisted by officers George Coleman and Timothy Riley, pulled the car over and arrested the men. Flake and Smith, also charged with possession of stolen property, were being held in the Bergen County Jail on $5,000 bail.

As they were processing the men at the Englewood police station, Tinsley said, the officers discovered that Flake was wanted for contempt of court, attempted murder, and related charges in connection with the shooting of Tyrell.

Tinsley said the police report of that incident indicated that Flake, who was standing with a friend at Lafayette Place and Parkview Drive, waved Tyrell’s car over and fired several shots as Tyrell rolled down his window.

One shot passed through Tyrell’s arm and struck his chest, according to the report. Tyrell drove to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, where he was treated and released.

MAN ARRESTED IN BERGEN WANTED BY FEDS

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Saturday, October 20, 1990

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

A 30-year-old Israeli who was arrested in Cliffside Park on burglary charges is wanted by federal authorities for illegally reentering the United States, officials said. Eliyahu Shalom, being held Friday in the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack on $20,000 bail on the burglary and theft charges, was convicted of illegally entering the country in 1986 and was put on probation, on condition he keep immigration officials appraised of his whereabouts.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Rosato said Shalom moved from his known address in Brooklyn without notifying probation officials, and he was deported to Israel in 1987.

A woman arrived at her Cliffside Park home Thursday and found Shalom there, police said. Shalom fled and was arrested in Edgewater. He is to be delivered to the U.S. Marshals Service after his case is disposed of in Bergen County, Rosato said.