SHOUT OUTS: Three Fair Lawn auxiliary police officers were promoted this week to top positions — including the unit’s first woman to rise to the rank of lieutenant — while a new officer was sworn in.

New Lt. Michelle Luscombe, 31, of Elmwood Park (below), will be a platoon commander in charge of recruitment and field training. She has been with the agency nine years.

Lt. Michelle Luscombe

Steven Milnes, 25, of Fair Lawn, became captain after serving for seven years. Milnes is also a member of the Fair Lawn Rescue Squad. He will become the administrative division commander, overseeing court, community policing and recruitment, FLAP said.

Howard Schlesinger, 59 of Fair Lawn, was promoted to sergeant. Having served for eight years, he will be a platoon supervisor in community policing.

Daniel Carrone of Elmwood Park was officially sworn as the auxiliary’s newest officer, having completed his training at the Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute in Mahwah.

PHOTO (from left): Aux/Lt. Michelle Luscombe, Aux/PO Daniel Carrone, Councilman Kurt Peluso, Aux/Chief Nicholas Magarelli, Deputy Mayor Amy Lefkowitz, Aux/Sgt. Howard Schlesinger, Mayor John Cosgrove, Aux/Capt. Steven Milnes, Councilwoman Lisa Swain, Deputy Mayor Daniel Dunay (Courtesy FLAP)

UPDATE: A Warren County man admitted in a Hackensack courtroom this week that he led a ring that stole $300,000 worth of heavy equipment from construction sites in Lyndhurst and elsewhere.

Michael J. Troncone, 34, (above, left) who faces eight years in prison in exchange for his plea, said the crew sold the equipment fom a vacant lot in Newark to buyers from New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“The defendant’s thefts threatened the livelihood of many small contractors and builders in New Jersey and delayed projects that were in the process of completion,” Acting New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman said.

“Given that this equipment was insured, the cost of this theft was not just borne by the contractors, its burden was carried by all those participate in the insurance market, which is a substantial portion of New Jersey’s population,” added Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi. “So when you read stories about theft, know that the thief could be stealing from you, too.”

Investigators from Chillemi’s office were tipped of by police in several towns, including Lyndhurst Detective Michael Lemonowicz and Ramsey police.

They then used remotely-operated surveillance cameras, tracking devices and digital forensics to collect evidence of Toncone and a co-conspirator, Marc Fucetola, 38, of Blairstown (above, middle), stealing equipment from construction sites “during late evening or early morning hours,” Hoffman said.

Investigators in October arrested Troncone, Fucetola and 40-year-old Craig Slaaen of Livingston (above, right). Search warrants were executed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

At least 21 pieces of heavy equipment valued at several hundred thousand dollars were recovered:

• 2013 Takeuchi TB153FR mini-excavator with an approximate value of $65,000
• 2014 John Deere 35G Compact Excavator, with an approximate value of $58,100
• 2006 Bobcat S300 Skid-Steer, with an approximate value of $28,250
• 2006 Bobcat S250 Skid-Steer, with an approximate value of $28,250
• 2006 Case 420 Skid-Steer, with an approximate value of $22,700
• 2005 Caterpillar 232-B Skid-Steer, with an approximate value of $17,950
• 2002 Bobcat T-190 Skid-Steer, with an approximate value of $14,300
• 2014 John Deer Gator ATV, with an approximate value of $10,243
• 1998 Case 85XT Skid-Steer with an approximate value of $9,500
• 2006 Wacker Generator valued at $24,895
• 2008 ODB Leaf Vacuum
• two 2014 John Deere Zero-turn Mowers
• several trailers including enclosed trailers and flatbed-type trailers

Lt. Joseph Waters and Detective Amy Carson led the investigation, with assistance from Detectives Jonathan Berman, Christopher Schell, Robert Rosa, Janet Amberg, and Michael Behar and Analyst Marwa Kashef.

Deputy Attorney General Reid Caster is handling the case for the state.

The cases against Fucetola and Slaaen were pending.

Chillemi also thanked: Lemonowicz of Lyndhurt, Lo-Jack, New Jersey State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice Electronic Surveillance Unit (ESU), New Providence Detective Andrew Diamond, Hanover Detective Lt. John Fox and the Ramsey and Totowa police departments, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the National Equipment Registry.

UPDATE: Amid growing conversation about alleged instances of white supremacy, Pascack Valley High School officials confirmed that five students were disciplined this school year for “racially charged” language or behavior on social media posts, and sources said police were investigating.

Two no longer attend the school but weren’t expelled, they said.

The situation came to broader attention after a concerned student group calling itself the PVHS Human Rights League published an open letter on the web site of the school newspaper urging others to “stand up against white supremacy” at the high school.

They cited swastikas scrawled on walls, white power signs flashed at sporting events and on social media, and “uses of the ‘n’ word.”

Sources confirmed that a swastika was found carved into a stairwell door and another on a piece of paper, along with other unspecified graffiti in a bathroom. Hillsdale police were assisting school officials in investigating.

The letter, published Sunday, has led to, among other things, students, faculty and administrators wearing green to school yesterday.

Principal Thomas DeMaio convened assemblies at the school on Tuesday to address the topic. He also wrote to parents and students, urging them to discuss the issue in an attempt to “eradicate the hurtfulness of racial, religious, or gender bias in the Pascack Valley.”

The principal vowed to “put into place future measures so every student can come to Pascack Valley and need not worry about the possibility of hearing or seeing negative actions or words among their peers” and pledged consequences for those caught practicing intolerance.

DeMaio also joined students and faculty in posting tweets supporting the cause and praising diversity, using the hashtag: #PeaceinPV

A school safety meeting is scheduled this coming Wednesday.

In addition, the Anti-Defamation League expressed “alarm over allegations of racial and ethnic bias by a student-led white supremacist club” at the school and said it asked to meet with officials there.

The HRL letter reads, in part: “There is no denying it: [A] group of Pascack Valley’s own students have been publicly advocating white supremacy, in our hallways, at our sporting events, and on social media.”

(SEE: White supremacy drawing attention at Pascack Valley High School)

PHOTOS: No serious injuries were reported in a Palisades Park apartment building fire this afternoon.

Companies from several surrounding towns assisted their Palisades Park colleagues — including Cliffside Park, Englewood FAST, Englewood Cliffs, Edewater, Fort Lee, Leonia, along with Teaneck Box 54.

Responders said three-alarm blaze broke out on the second floor and spread to the third of the five-story brick walkup on Henry Street near Broad Avenue.

Fourth-floor apartments were vented.

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PHOTOS:

ABOVE: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Correspondent Damien Danis

BELOW: Jack Dunn Regional Fire Photos

PHOTOS: Jack Dunn Regional Fire Photos

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Elmwood Park police last night charged two New York state men with carrying 36 bags of heroin, a bag of cocaine, two hypodermic syringes and drug paraphernalia.

Officers stopped Timothy Bruen, 26, of Yonkers and Anthony Scarfone, 28, at 9 p.m. on East 53rd Street, Police Chief Michael Foligno said.

Both were released on court summonses, he said.

SHOUT OUT: Paramus police jumped out to a big lead, but Rochelle Park police came back to win, 12-11, in extra innings in a charity softball game yesterday to benefit Special Olympics New Jersey.

A barbecue at Houghton Hall followed the game at Carlock Field, which drew more than $1,000 in donations from officers, Paramus PBA Local 186, the Rochelle Park Community Affairs Fund, spectators and others.

“Plans are under way to make the game an annual affair,” Rochelle Park Detective Jim DePreta said this morning.

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Hackensack police nabbed a trio of men in a traffic stop who they said were carrying nearly six ounces of cocaine for sale.

Officers Mohammad Sheikh and Keith Marrano stopped the vehicle for an equipment violation at Main and Passaic Streets around 9:40 p.m. Friday, Capt. Timothy Lloyd told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning.

They smelled burning marijuana from inside the car, obtained consent to search it and found the cocaine and six cellphones, Lloyd said.

Charged with distributing drugs on school property and ordered held on $35,000 bail each in the Bergen County Jail were Khalil Mohammed, 24, of Hackensack and two Bronx men, David Cole, 41, and 49-year-old Robert Agard, a Trinidad & Tobago national.

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A weekend prostitution sting by Rochelle Park detectives led to eight arrests.

An undercover office posing as a john booked appointments at area hotels through online ads, Detective James DePreta said.

Arrest on charges of engaging in prostitution:

Jessica Crespin, 36, of Washingtonville, NY;
Tahinah Borgella, 26, of West Orange;
Chiahui Wang, 34, of Springfield, NY;
Saurenia Floyd, 37 of Howell.

Charged with conspiracy and aiding in prostitution was 40-year-old Martin Gross of Highland Mills, NY, who police said “acted as security” for one of the women.

Charged with promoting prostitution were:

Justin Jackson, 35, of Maplewood;
Isaiah Nesbit, 23, of Orange;
Darrell Dove, 42, of Newark.

Nesbit and Jackson also were charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

All eight were releasedon court summonses.

MUGSHOTS: Courtesy ROCHELLE PARK PD

CVP EXCLUSIVE: A judge today gave a defense attorney another month to try and strike a plea deal after he rejected an offer of 20 years in state prison — 17 without parole — for a Hackensack man who police said hit his girlfriend in the head with a ball-peen hammer before stealing her car and a chase that ended in a crash.

Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Grootenboer told the Presiding Superior Court Judge Susan J. Steele that a counter-officer made by defense attorney Robert Kalisch on behalf of 52-year-old Mark Hunt was unacceptable.

“However,” she said, “I think it would be productive if we continue talking, and I would like to ask for one more date.”

Kalisch (above, left) later told CLIFFVIEW PILOT that he is seeking parole eligibility after 12½ years in exchange for guilty pleas to second-degree assault, with a 10-year prison term, and eluding police, for an additional eight.

Hunt, who is accused of attempted murder, among other charges, left the Teaneck woman critically injured with multiple skull fractures, authorities said after the Feb. 25, 2014 incident.

CLIFFVIEW PILOT first broke the story: Route 208 crash, arrest ends chase of Teaneck attempted murder suspect

He then stole her 2006 Honda Pilot and $1,100 in cash and fled, hiding out in Maywood, they said.

Four days later, a Maywood police officer spotted the vehicle on Beech Street in town and tried pulling it over – but Hunt hit the gas and sped off, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said at the time.

Paramus and other agencies joined the chase after it moved through Paramus, onto Route 4 West and, ultimately, onto Route 208 West, the prosecutor said.

Hunt lost control of the car on Route 208 at North Ewing Avenue in Franklin Lakes and it slammed into a tree. He was taken into custody after a brief struggle, Molinelli said.

Although the victim’s condition later improved to stable, the woman lost a great deal of blood, he said.

Besides attempted murder, Hunt is charged with armed robbery, eluding and weapons possession. His bail has remained at $500,000.

He has challenged the armed robbery charge, saying it was actually a dispute over money. Kalisch has claimed that the woman had a knife and that his client “freaked out.”

Hunt had an extensive criminal record before then:

2008: guilty plea to assault;
2006: burglary;
2003: theft;
2002: theft charges downgraded; pleaded guilty to obstruction of government operations;
1999: theft charges downgraded;
1997: guilty plea to theft;
1994: theft charge dismissed in plea bargain.

In Passaic County he pleaded guilty to theft in 2000 and had another charge of theft merged the same year, records show.

Both sides are due back in court in Hackensack June 15.

STORY / PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia

PHOTOS: A tractor-trailer snapped a utility pole in half, taking down power lines, near the busy intersection of Kinderkamack Road between Main Street and Grand Avenue in River Edge this afternoon just as rush hour was about to begin.

ABOVE: Aiden Flannery
BELOW: River Edge Fire Dept

ANOTHER CVP SCOOP: A Dumont man under the influence of alcohol or drugs led Maywood police on a chase along Route 17 and side streets before he was taken into custody this afternoon, authorities said.

Michael Robertson, 24, was charged with eluding, resisting arrest, driving under the influence and several motor vehicle violations. He was ordered held on $15,000 bail and was being transferred to the Bergen County Jail early this evening.

An off-duty New Jersey State Police trooper alerted officers at 3:15 p.m. that Robertson was driving erratically on Essex Street, Sgt. Timothy Moran told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

As Officer Peter Donatello approached the green 2007 Jeep Wrangler in his radio car, Robertson took off onto northbound Route 17, Moran said.

Witnesses said he drove on the shoulder at times, passing other cars on the right, before heading north onto Passaic Street.

Police then stopped him at Oak Avenue, Moran said.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy MAYWOOD PD

FOUND: A Bergen County police officer on Route 46 in Teterboro tonight found a 27-year-old woman who wandered off from a special needs facility in Hackensack yesterday morning, Capt. Timothy Lloyd told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

April Small was taken to Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus after being around 8:30 p.m. after Bergen County Bureau of Police Services Officer Jeffrey DePalma found her.

The Jersey City native’s mother was on her way there, Lloyd said.

Small had no money, cellphone or bus pass and doesn’t drive, police said after she went missing from the Friendship House on Atlantic Street just after 11:30 yesterday morning. They thought she might be trying to walk home.

IMAGE: Courtesy HACKENSACK PD

A 21-year-old mechanic from Moonachie accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl was being held $300,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail following his arrest yesterday.

Eduardo Mendiola was charged with aggravated sexual assault, sex assault and child endangerment, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announced this afternoon.

The girl “disclosed to her mother what had taken place” and she went to Moonachie police, who notified Molinelli’s Special Victims Unit, the prosecutor said.

A detective then interviewed the girl, who “provided specific details,” he said.

Mendiola, who is single, was given a June 17 arraignment date.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Waldwick police alerted to a suspicious man trying to get into a car said they found a local man carrying 66 bags of cocaine earlier today.

Denis Estrada, 28, was ordered held on $10,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail after Officers David Passaretti, William Wright and Sgt. Frank Paccione found him in the area, questioned him and took him into custody, Lt. Douglas Moore told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon.

He’s charged with three cocaine possession counts — one with the intent to distribute the drug and another within 1,000 feet of a school zone.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy WALDWICK PD

A Teaneck headhunter double-dipped a commission from Morgan Stanley, pocketing $150,000 that he wasn’t entitled to, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said today in announcing his arrest on theft charges.

Melvin Reed, 58, was arraigned earlier today and released without bail after members of Molinelli’s White Collar Crimes Unit arrested him at his home yesterday following a six-month investigation.

Reed and his company, David Reed & Associates of Teaneck, accepted a $150,000 commission payment from Morgan Stanley Asia, LTD in June 2008 “in exchange for recruiting and placing an employee” with the company, the prosecutor said.

Reed then “advised Morgan Stanley that he had not received the commission check and asked for the funds to be wire transferred to his account,” he said.

Last year, Reed opened a different bank account and deposited the 6-year-old check, “effectively receiving a double commission for the same employee placement,” Molinelli said.

He then used the money “for personal expenses.”

MUGSHOT: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR

UPDATE: A Hackensack police officer was injured, but not seriously in an crash this morning.

According to a witness, Officer Matthew DeBonis was headed west on Central Avenue in a city police cruise when the other driver ran a stop sign on northbound Railroad Avenue at 7:40 a.m., Capt. Timothy Lloyd told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Both were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center.

The driver was issued summonses, Lloyd said.

ALERT: A 9-year-old Mahwah girl told police that a driver with a gold or silver tooth and a scar on the right side of his face pulled up to her and grabbed her arm last night before she ran off.

The girl told officers that she was walking along Margaret Court — in a townhouse complex off Franklin Turnpike, near the Suffern border — when the dark-skinned driver, who looked to be about 30, pulled up in a dark, four-door sedan around 7:30 p.m. and asked if she wanted candy, Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli said this morning.

When she refused, she said, he pulled the car closer and grabbed her arm — leaving abrasions and red marks.

She ran, screaming for his sister, and the driver took off.

The girl described the vehicle as a Mitsubushi — or possibly a Galant — from 1998-2003, with blue license plates. It had been parked near where she had been playing earlier with friends, Batelli said the girl told police.

The chief ordered increased presence at township schools and the area surrounding the reported incident today.

Meanwhile, Schools Supt. C. Lauren Schoen told parents; “We take this incident very seriously, and our staff will remain attentive to the description we have received in order to maintain the safety of our students.”

SHOUT OUT: On a morning when Bergen County commemorated its fallen law enforcement officers, a new sign was dedicated at the Police Officer Mary Ann Collura Memorial Pistol Range in Mahwah today.

The range at the Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute was named for her 11 years ago yesterday.

Time has only strengthened memories of Collura, who was shot and killed on the grounds of the Van Riper Ellis Broadway Baptist Church on River Road after coming to the aid of a fellow officer trying to arrest a murderous ex-con the night of Holy Thursday, April 17, 2003.

The 18-year veteran was Fair Lawn’s first female police officer and a shining light throughout the community.

Respected, admired and loved, Collura had a commendation file that contained a letter citing her professionalism from a motorist she’d ticketed.

She has a street, a rifle range and a post office, among other locations, named after her.

Collura was so dedicated to public service that she nearly joined the Army before volunteering with the borough’s police reserves. Three years later, she was in uniform with the Fair Lawn Police Department.

“I wanted to be on the road, taking it as it comes,” Collura once said, explaining her reason for becoming an officer.

The words still haunt those who loved her, many who still visit her grave in George Washington Memorial Park.

A Clifton colleague was chasing a speeding ex-con on Route 46 when the pursuit headed into Fair Lawn.

Collura was on her way when the driver — a 23-year-old drug dealer from Passaic named Omar Marti — lost control of his car, which ended up on the lawn of the church.

Marti tried to run, but the Clifton officer tackled him and was trying to pepper-spray him when Collura arrived.

Marti, desperate not to go back to prison, pulled a gun and fired, hitting Collura twice.

He then shot the other officer, got behind the wheel of Collura’s cruiser and drove over her while speeding off.

She was only 43.

Investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office traced Marti to a town just outside Tampa, Fla., where he was killed in a shootout with area sheriff’s officers.

PHOTO: Courtesy FAIR LAWN DETECTIVE DAVID BOONE

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: An alert Leonia police sergeant interruped a heroin deal and nabbed a Palisades Park ex-con with a history of arrests and convictions in New Jersey and California.

Sgt. Robert Kennedy had just backed up another officer on a DWI arrest around 8 o’clock last night when he spotted a car with a broken taillight pull up in front of a house on Oakdene Avenue.

Two occupants were acting suspiciously, so Kennedy followed and stopped the car at Lawn Street, Detective Sgt. Chris Garris told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon.

Kennedy immediately recognized the passenger, 46-year-old Luis A. Colon, and summoned backup, Garris said.

He and Officer Erik Goodell then interviewed both men, he said.

The driver, 22, had just bought a small amount of heroin from Colon, who was carrying several bags of the drug, a hypodermic needle and $1,500 in suspected drug proceeds, Garris said.

Police released the driver on a court summons.

Colon, meanwhile, was ordered held on $10,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, charged with distribution of heroin and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

He also had outstanding warrants out of Palisades Park and Saddle Brook, boosting his overall bail to $27,500.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy LEONIA PD

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A series of undercover heroin deals in two counties led to the arrest of a Wallington man, authorities said.

Tomasz Magdziak, 35, was being held on $30,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, chaged with two counts of distributing heroin and one of possessing Oxycodone with the intent to sell it.

Members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Narcotic Task Force team up with Wallington, Garfield and Clifton police in the investigation, Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said this afternoon.

Detectives bought heroin from Magdziak “on multiple occasions in Wallington and Passaic,” the prosecutor said.

They arrested him in Passaic a short time after a heroin and Oxycodone deal yesterday — and found him carrying 177 Oxy pills worth about $5,000 on the street, Molinelli said.

Magdziak, who the prosecutor said is single and unemployed, is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR