Statewide ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign returns

TRENTON, NJ — The Division of Highway Traffic Safety recently announced grants totaling more than $540,000 that will be used by local law enforcement agencies to crack down on drunk and impaired drivers as part of the national initiative “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” According to the division, 110 law enforcement agencies across New […]

BPD officers awarded $1M in suit against township

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — In a recently concluded jury trial in Newark Superior Court, two Bloomfield Police Department officers were awarded a combined $1 million from a lawsuit against the township and department. Michael McCracken was awarded $75,000 in compensation and $400,000 in punitive damages while Hector Cartagena was awarded $125,000 compensation and $400,000 in punitive […]

Law enforcement shuts down ‘major drug manufacturing facility’ in WO

Law enforcement shuts down ‘major drug manufacturing facility’ in WO

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A major drug manufacturing facility was shut down July 29 and nearly $1 million in methamphetamine was seized by a law enforcement task force comprised of Essex County sheriff’s detectives and detectives from the Newark, Bloomfield, Irvington and West Orange police departments. Sheriff Armando Fontoura said in a July 30 press […]

Sheriff’s, BPD officers arrest two for narcotics

NEWARK, NJ — Two Newark residents were arrested July 24 by the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and narcotics charges were filed against them. Sheriff Armando Fontoura stated that a task force comprised of sheriff’s detectives and Bloomfield police officers executed a search warrant for an apartment at a townhouse, located at 385 Roselle Ave. in […]

Three men charged with armed robbery spree

NEWARK, NJ — Three Union County men have been charged with robbing liquor stores in Middlesex, Union and Essex counties at gunpoint in November 2018, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced in a Feb. 21 press release. Paul Jimenez, 29; Jaime Fontanez, 41; and Vincent Chan-Guillen, 28, all of Elizabeth, are charged by complaint with one […]

Apparent suicide at Bloomfield Police Department under investigation

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced Jan. 16 that the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating an apparent suicide that occurred in the Bloomfield Police Department. The preliminary investigation indicates that on Jan. 15, retired Newark Police Lt. Patrick Montella, 58, of Bloomfield, who had been arrested for an […]

Bloomfield resident dies after being struck by car

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II and Bloomfield Public Safety Director Samuel A. DeMaio announced Jan. 14 that the Bloomfield Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating a fatal pedestrian incident. Patrick Forsyth, 59, of Bloomfield, was struck by a man driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck at […]

Woman gets three years for stealing more than $500K from mother-in-law

NEWARK, NJ — Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced Jan. 7 that Patricia Layton Piccinno, 50, of Boonton, was sentenced to three years in New Jersey State Prison for stealing more than $500,000 from her 80-year-old mother-in-law and her husband, a Bloomfield Police detective. The state had recommended four years in New […]

County to participate in Drug Take Back Day

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — On Monday, April 16, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. and the Essex County Division of Community Health joined with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team, the Essex County Police Chiefs Association and the Essex County Crime Prevention Officers Association to announce plans for Drug […]

Laurino addresses spate of school threats in Essex

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino addressed recent threats made to schools in Essex County on Feb. 27, in the wake of the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14. He also spoke about the spike in threats that come after an incident like the one in Florida. According […]