Karen Sosa, 43, of Nutley, has been charged for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from her employer, Lynnes Nissan of Bloomfield, Essex County Prosecutor Paula T. Dow announced.
Formerly employed as an accounts payable clerk at the auto dealership, Sosa, who was last living in Pembroke Pines, Florida, was arrested yesterday at her Florida apartment by members of the U.S. Marshals. Sosa has been charged with first-degree money laundering and second-degree theft by deception. She is expected to be extradited back to Essex County early next week. If proven guilty of the charges in a court of law, the defendant could face between 15 to 30 years in prison.

Continue Reading

“Maybe we’ll just leave the whole thing a complete mess.”
That statement, made by Montclair councilor Nick Lewis, pretty much sums up the mood at Tuesday night’s hearing on overnight parking in Montclair. The Star Ledger reports that after residents living in the proposed “O” zone of 27 downtown streets realized anyone could park overnight on their street with a permit, they protested vocally, fearing crime, noise and added traffic/congestion. After hearing residents’ concerns, the council rejected Lewis’ plan in a 6-1 vote.
Another defeated item — The Complete Streets policy — was voted down by council, 4-3. Here’s how the councilors voted:
Africk – N, Baskerville – N, Fried – Y, Lewis – Y, Murnick – N, Terry – N, Weller – Y.

Verona’s got mouth-watering Malaysian. Tempt your palate on Food.

U2 plays the Meadowlands again tonight, but will there be a repeat performance of the hysteria at Penn Station? 1010 Wins reports fans that crowded Penn at rush hour to get to the concert were not allowed to board without tickets, creating a massive crowd at the NJ transit ticket machines.
Clever Commute is warning folks to consider leaving earlier or plan for delays. What’s your plan?

Cars were vandalized during a graffiti spree this past weekend in Montclair, Lt. Scott Buehler, Montclair Police Detective Bureau Commander reports. On 9/19 and 9/20, police took reports from victims on Parkway, Van Vleck Street, Christopher Street, Greenwood Avenue, Midland Avenue, Valley Road, Plymouth Street, Hawthorne Place and South Fullerton Avenue. In each instance, a large white “X” was spray painted on the vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Juvenile Aid Bureau at 973-509-4733.
The vandalism wasn’t just limited to cars. Tipsters have been sending in sightings of new graffiti on homes and streets, some with racial slurs. The garage shown vandalized here is on Valley Road near the A&P.
A message spray painted on the southwest corner of N. Fullerton and Gordonhurst reads “No one is safe (especially white people)”. Another sighting: The Commonwealth Club’s sign, near their parking lot (Northview Ave.) was defaced with the words “no black.”

This Sunday, in Brookdale Park. Details on Barista Kids.

The next vacant storefront on Bloomfield Ave. in Montclair is Dressing for Pleasure, Montclair’s fetish shop that recently protested zoning ordinances prohibiting use of the store’s basement as a dungeon-like event space. Owner/master Ed Dougherty credits the bad economy as “disastrous for retail businesses, but as a specialty store, we were especially hard hit.” Dougherty says the combination of poor business and some recent health problems of his own contributed to the decision to close the store. Dressing for Pleasure on the web remains and customers can continue to shop online. Shoes, fetish wear and accessories are deeply discounted for brisk sale; Dougherty expects to be out of the space a week from today.

Lt. Scott Buehler reports a first-floor Bloomfield Avenue apartment was burglarized on September 17 while the owner was at work.
A Montclair resident called police on the afternoon of September 17 to report a burglary. The victim says he left his apartment at 7a.m. and returned at 4:30p.m. Entering through the front door, he noticed the dead bolt wasn’t secured, although he told police he secured it when leaving that morning.

Continue Reading