Earlier this week, an argument over bulky waste pick up ended in the arrest of a Montclair resident. MPD Deputy Chief of Police Perry Mayers tells us that a township employee was picking up garbage on Ward Place, when Deborah Taliaferro came out to ask why the bulky waste was left behind. The township employee, Luis Nieves, explained it wasn’t a pick up day for that kind of trash. Taliaferro’s husband, Cesar Ilato came out to the curb and began to argue with Nieves, then picked up his leftover trash and threw it in the garbage truck. Nieves says the angry homeowner pushed him, and that’s when the cops were called.
The push, considered an assault, was witnessed by a passing driver, and was also confirmed by Ilato’s wife. Cops arrested Mr. Ilato, charging him with simple assualt, obstruction of justice (Ilato first gave a false name), and a town ordinance violation for tossing his junk on town property ( the garbage truck).
Mayers also reported another fight which broke out between two Montclair High football players at Clary Anderson park on August 23. Apparently one youth, a senior, got angry with an younger team member for using an entry door reserved for upperclassmen. The senior, who socked the second student wounding him in the face, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. The student who was assaulted required multiple stitches. The senior was released to his father.
And finally, a tipster sent in this description of an early morning brouhaha on Tuesday:
At the intersection of James and Midland there was some form of giant fight, it looked like some kind of initiation. There were people on look out as a bunch of others beat one individual. Police were called and arrived promptly in multiple cars. It was 2:30 am when
this happened.
We’re wondering about this one. We know the Montclair TImes heard about it too. But there was no report about it at police headquarters…
The garbage men routinely skip blocks for pick up. I dont think a week goes by without the paper, bottles/cans or grass not collected. It drives me crazy, but I would never have the inclination to hit them. One would think a bottle of booze would have gotten the junk on the truck.
What the hell kind of town do I live in now?
*Thugs vandalizing historic gardens.
*”Fake” fighting on Youtube
*Vandals tipping over garden pots
*Bakery owners allegedly involved in a hate crime beating
*And now, an angry resident is accused of attacking a garbage man?
Sheeesh
slow news day, eh?
You forgot robbers wielding shotguns on Willowdale Avenue…
The garbage pickup routine in this Town is enough to drive you crazy…..They’ve got the trucks and the crews out doing their rounds…then they get all picky about the type of trash they’ll collect. They take only a certain amount and a certain kind of trash and leave the rest… This is supposedly to save $ on the dumping…
After you figure in the employment cost of all these people coming back separate days (including the supervisors following up on the complaints), I’m sure we’re paying more in taxes and getting worse service and more aggravation. It’s all garbage for goodness sake….just pick it up!
Actually, an angry resident allegedly assaulting a garbage man is news….
But is it news enough? How many assaults will occur today in Baristaville? I’m not saying it’s not news but it’s also not much of a story in the grand scheme of things. What is the criteria for an assault to be news here? It’s hardly Murder in Glen Ridge. Ergo, a slow news day.
I think it is BIG NEWS.
THere should be a weekly round up of altercations
Maybe Baristanet should run a weekly crime watch round-up … kinda like the Montclair Time’s Police Botter column, except, you know, comprehensive.
Seeing as how the garbage men on my street routinely leave more garbage on the street than they actually get into the truck, I can see how this can happen.
“Seeing as how the garbage men on my street routinely leave more garbage on the street than they actually get into the truck, I can see how this can happen.”
Ditto that. And let’s not forget the recycling crews. Those guys make a hurricane seem tame by comparison. Nice to see that my tax dollars are being wisely spent on great services.
Big Bob — here’s why it is news and — of course its not up there with murder, or for that matter a vandal attack on flower pots or The Iris Gardens. But something is news when it doesn’t happen everyday — I’m not too sure when the last time was I read about a garbage man allegedly getting attacked by an irate resident. And besides, its a lot newsier than some of the posts here, like yesterday’s unabashed free plug for a store in Brooklyn — run by an MKA grad — which featured a direct link to their retail website.
htb — To the Baristanets’ credit, they do a pretty good job on the crime beat. They often break policebeat stories here, as well as linking to print sources.
Ya know we should only hire garbage men that actually live in montclair so they can truely understand what hard lives we live… Please people… does someone show up at your desk and kick your prissy ass? I didn’t think so. And another thing I pay high taxes in upper barista but I don’t assume that every green truck strap hanger will break the rules for a bottle of booze. Are you people really this used to getting your own way that you need to have every scrap carted away from your over excessive waste producing asses? You have all give new meaning to the “me first montclair” mentality!
Right on Avid, This blog is a very good, and generally reliable, source for what goes on in Baristaville.
I think the gem of this story is the assaulter’s wife. She had no qualms about being a witness against her own husband. He must be a wonderful person.
Giving a false name is an endearing quality and one that greatly contributes to the trust required for a marital relationship.
“And another thing I pay high taxes in upper barista but I don’t assume that every green truck strap hanger will break the rules for a bottle of booze.”
It would be nicer to offer something up than to threaten the guy. Also, you had to stick the “Upper” in there and make the distinction, huh?
I bet the G’men have lot’s of porn.
And we argue and wonder why our youth stage fight videos, or even deck one another because they use the wrong door? These are symptoms of a greater problem afoot in Essex County, and it has something to do with the income disparity. I am not willing to play the blame game, however. No matter your station in life, rich or poor, there is no need to get physical, and certainly it is foolish to give a false name to the cops. That will cost you!
If you just follow the guidelines for garbage and recycling pick up and note when bulky waste is picked up you really shouldn’t have a problem. There isn’t even any bulky waste pick up in the summer. People clean out their basements and leave all the crap on the sidewalk and expect it to be taken away and when it’s not they complain about it.
Nobody’s commenting on the big street fight, or on the assault of an underclassman?
If convicted, the senior should be kicked off the team and jailed. If not convicted, the coach oughta bench him for the season. (Unless he’s an all-state prospect. In which case, forget all about the assault.)
An upperclassmen’s door? Give me a break…
has anyone ever observed:
that in a garden apartment complex, that the separation of one’s garbage and recycling is non-existent? The garbage people throw it altogether at once into one truck to haul away…at 5AM, usually. Is this not illegal??
and per the storm about the kids’ “fight” in anderson park: that’s what happens when someone actually punches someone. blood, stitches, real damage.
For all of the criticisms I read about Glen Ridge on this site, you gotta admit, the know how to do trash. When we forget to put it by the curb, the trash men actually come to the side of the house and get it for us! Can’t beat that service! My tax $$ hard at work. Love it!
“charging him with… a town ordinance violation for tossing his junk on town property ( the garbage truck).”
That’s a nice touch.
The very few times I have encountered a “garbage problem” I have called the town and the problem was dealt with. I have never had a problem with garbage left all over the street as a few people mentioned on here. Give those guys a break==that’s a nasty job and I think they do a good job.
move to bloomfield where bulky is picked up every week.
“There isn’t even any bulky waste pick up in the summer.”
Why isn’t there when it’s the time that people clean out their attics and basements ’cause they are selling their houses.
DOES THIS MAKE SENSE??????
To htb and everyone else who would like to see more comprehensive police/crime coverage in The Montclair Times:
So would we.
We print everything we get from the Montclair Police Department every week. Every single item. We never leave even the smallest incident out.
But for us to report it to you, we have to hear about it. We know there has to be more crime than is being released to us, and we’ve been pressuring the MPD to release all crime reports to us.
There has been some improvement: over the last few weeks we’ve been getting more reports. But in a given week, we’re averaging about 5-10 reported incidents. The neighboring towns of Verona and Cedar Grove, which even combined are much smaller than Montclair, are averaging about 20-30 incidents a week. One random week we checked: we had 17 incidents, and Verona/Cedar Grove had 71.
As I said, we print everything we get from the MPD. It seems to us, as it does to many others, that the MPD isn’t releasing all of the information. We’re working on that, and hopefully the recent trend will continue and they will release more info.
But if you know of a crime or incident, tell us about it. E-mail me at gaitan@montclairtimes.com or call 973-233-5018.
My hope is we can all work together (including the Montclair Times and Baristanet) to improve the crime coverage in Montclair. For example, when we get news of an incident, we let Baristanet know too, because, despite what the more cynical among us might think, what’s most important to The Times is that readers are informed.
Cynical? Moi?
How old does the crime have to be? I have a list going back a good many years.
to sum it up once more before a tangent occurs–
we got the police chief at odds with the town manager, racist insults hurled in town meetings, people circulating fake letters, kids breaking things, uprooting things beating on each other, masked gunmen, sewer bills, garbage related altercations, and more more more,
are we a microcosm of a messed up world (I’m not sure if I’m allowed to swear in a comment) or does the world reflect us?
weesux: as far back you have the time and energy for. We could cross-check with what we got and see how it matches up.
Information that can help show trends is always good.
that was an either or question and I’m not sure where you came out
Sorry, didn’t mean to be unclear. Feel free to send whatever you have. Thanks.
Did Ilato spend time in the clink? Is his wife looking for a divorce, or else why did she contribute to his incarceration by vouching for his ill behavior?
If you want to know what’s really going on in Montclair, buy a radio scanner at radio shack or best buys.
You can get a decent one for under $100, and listen to Montclair Police Dept and Fire Dept all day and all night, if you wish. Every reported break-in, every man with a gun, every “all available officers in MTC, GR, Blfld, etc please report to…”
If you sit around and wait for the police to tell you what’s going on, you’re not going to learn much.
Paul: we already have a radio scanner, thanks. Yes, we do pick up stuff from it.
However, the MPD has frequencies consumer radio scanners do not pick up, and when anything serious happens, they switch over to the police-only frequencies and we never hear it. Sometimes, if someone is listening closely, you can catch wind of something before they switch over, before they realize how serious it is. But not always.
And this all assumes we have a reporter available to be dedicated to monitoring the police scanner like they do at a daily. We don’t have the staff for that.
But more importantly, the police are legally obliged to release all of the information. If they’re not, it’s our job as a newspaper/info source, and everyone’s job as citizens to pressure them to comply.
But thanks for the suggestion anyway.
Communication policy is not set by the MPD. I assume Mr. Hartnett decides what is released, who is permitted to talk, when, and to whom.
Judging by what is released, it looks like “free and open communication” is not on the agenda.
Montclair Times Managing Editor
When you get a week where only a few items are reported would you consider filing an OPRA request and publishing that request on the front page.
A couple weeks of that (It will make news by itself) and there might be more compliance.
What do you think?
montclairlover,
you don’t have to assume.
I’ve been told by several Montclair employees that if they speak to anyone in the press or post on any yahoogroups or blogs that they will be fired.
The edict comes directly from Hartnett.
If all the crime were accurately reported, the white-flight out of Montclair would make your head spin
I don’t think so. I think we’d have neighborhood watches- and it would be a good thing.
“If all the crime were accurately reported, the white-flight out of Montclair would make your head spin”
I hope they take the kids that destroyed presby gardens and the ones selling cocaine with them.
Speaking of OPRA there’s a new push on to tighten up the OPRA laws and put some teeth into them.
Go here to sign a petition to Amend the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA)
and the Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
read about the proposed bills and sign the petition here
There could be an identical black or hispanic etc flight out as well. Why make it about race?
We’re trying to resolve the issue with the MPD in other ways first. We’re ready to file OPRAs if necessary, though.
It’s in everyone’s best interest if the MPD and the media cooperate and work together to get information out to the public. For example, in the recent case of the armed robbery we (and Barista) reported, the story might help the cops find the perpetrator(s).
And by not releasing information about crimes, the MPD will increase the distrust residents have of cops and of government, because people here about crimes that they never see reported, and they suspect cover ups, corruption and worse.
Montclair Times Managing Editor,
“We’re trying to resolve the issue with the MPD in other ways first”
How, by begging and pleading? It doesn’t work- you’ve seen that.
How long are you willing to wait. For a long time it there was NO police blotter – now there are only a few items each week.
I think you chain is being pulled.
I suspect cover ups, corruption and worse in the Police department- and the Montclair Times isn’t reporting any of this.
So now I suspect cover ups, corruption and worse within the Montclair Times.
I don’t buy the Montclair Times any more because when they report a story about Town Government they only interview members of Town Government.
I remember a story where Mr. Hartnett said specifically that there were 3- count them- 3 certified arborists on the town payroll.
He said that they were all certified by Rutgers- turns out that Rutgers doesn’t certify arborists.
Turns out he (Hartnett) lied – that’s news- not covered in the Montclair Times.
And why take it oput on the poor hauler? He is only doeing his job. Take it up with town hall if you don’t like the garbage rules.
I just got back from Cape Cod and folks there don’t have garbage pickup at all. They must haul their own trash to the dump and they are charged $3 a bag. Maybe that’s one reason why they pay less taxes, no?
Going to the dump is a social occasion and you can pick up interesting treasures there as well.
> Ilato first gave a false name
Is it really “obstruction of justice” if the first name he gave was, “Heywood Youblowme”?