SHOUT OUT: Coinciding with Lakewood Police Officer Christopher Matlosz’s 32nd birthday today, an elderly man who went into a witness protection program after his testimony helped convict the man who shot and killed him is receiving a $10,000 reward from the National Police Defense Foundation.

NJPD Executive Director Joseph Occhipinti announced the Safe Cop cash payment this morning to “a senior citizen whose critical information and trial testimony led to the arrest and conviction of Jahmell Crockham.”

The man, whose identity was being held for his safety, “is truly an American hero whose many sacrifices included being placed in the state witness protection program that resulted in a financial loss and psychological toll on his family,” Occhipinti said. “[He] deserves a valor award for not being intimidated for one moment by this career gang member and assuring that truth and justic prevailed in convicting a cop killer.”

Crockham was sentenced to life in prison for killing Matlosz on Jan. 14, 2011. The NPDF posted the reward the following day, at the request of Lakewood police, Occhipinti said.

Jahmell Crockham (Courtesy: CBS2)

A massive manhunt ended on Jan. 16, when authorities caught Crockham hiding in a friend’s Camden apartment.

Established 10 years ago, Safe Cop provides up to $10,000 for public information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who shoots at a law enforcement officer anywhere in the U.S.

It’s been instrumental in the arrests of several suspects in police shootings nationwide, including the killing of Paterson Police Officer Tyron Franklin during a January 2007 robbery at a fast-food eatery in the city.

Crockam was wanted for another murder that occurred a few months earlier when Matlosz pulled up in his cruiser to a Lakewood apartment complex and motioned him over.

Then-Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said Crockam then pulled a gun from his pocket and shot the young officer three times from point-blank range rather than risk going to prison.

Matlosz “was killed for no other reason than that he had a badge and a uniform,” she said.

MORE INFO: NPDF

SHOUT OUTS: A trio of Palisades Park police officers who rescued an 82-year-old woman choking on a piece of meat during a Christmas Eve 2014 dinner received life-saving awards from the mayor and council last night.

Borough Clerk Martin A. Gobbo’s aunt, Thelma Miller of Old Tappan, was on the kitchen floor, having difficulty breathing, when Officers Alessandro “Alex” Monteleone, Theodore Christolias and David Chun arrived at the West Edsall Avenue home.

Monteleone said he “attempted a sweep of the mouth…with my index finger but was unable to dislodge the piece.”

The officers then tapped her back and it came out.

An ALS unit arrived but Miller refused medical attention.

“We are very proud of these officers, who made a difference in someone’s life and the lives of her loved ones,” Police Chief Ben Ramos told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

PHOTO (l. to r.): Police Chief Ben Ramos, Officer David Chun, Officer Theodore Christolias and his father, Mayor James Rotundo, Officer Alex Monteleone

SHOUT OUT: A Teaneck police officer resuscitated a man who collapsed while praying at a local synagogue this morning.

A doctor who was at at Congregation Rinat Ysrael on West Englewood Avenue began CPR after finding no pulse on the 54-year-old victim just before 6:30 a.m., witnesses said.

Officer Richard Factor arrived moments later, administered a shock from a deibrillator and began chest compressions, Lt. Andrew McGurr told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

The four-year department veteran administered a second shock and continued CPR, restoring a pulse, as paramedics from the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps arrived and took over, TVAC Lt. Izzy Infield told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

The man was taken to Holy Name Medical Center breathing on his own and was expected to make a full recovery, Infield said.

SHOUT OUT: Wyckoff police revived an overdosed heroin addict with Narcan.

Officers administered the dose to the 26-year-old man after family members who tried CPR called them on Tursday, Police Chief Benjamin Fox said.

They were assisted by Midland Park police and the Wyckoff Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which took the victim to the hospital, the chief said.

SHOUT OUTS: A group of Port Authority police officers revived a 74-year-old Texas man who had no pulse after suffering a heart attack at Newark Airport yesterday.

The victim was lying down at the Terminal C baggage carousel around 3:30 p.m. when officers shocked him twice with a defibrillator and did chest compressions while keeping his airway open, the authority’s Joseph Pentangelo said this morning.

He then began breathing on his and was taken, conscious and alert, to Newark Beth Israel Hospital.

The Port Authority PD heroes:

PO Mark Zaleski
PO Thomas Small
PO Thomas Gannon
PO Victor Beltre
Sgt Michael Church
Lt. Scott Erickson

SHOUT OUT: An urgent drive is under way to help six members of a Palisades Park family burned out of their duplex last night.

The downstairs couple and their autistic son and the upstairs couple with their 3-year-old son all got our of the house with only the clothes on their backs, friends told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

“They were left with nothing, literally. They couldn’t salvage anything,” one said this afternoon. “Right now they’re at a relative’s house in a small room.”

There’s concern for the autistic son, who is used to routine. Both he and his father are on disability.

The needs list includes:

MEN’S CLOTHING:
Top: XL / Pants: 36 x 30
Top: Small / Pants: 32 x 27 or any short length
Top: 2X – 3X / 44 x 30/32

WOMEN’S CLOTHING:
Top: Large
Pants: 10

CHILD’S CLOTHING:
4T or anything you believe fits

ALSO:
New socks
Toys for the 3yo
Toiletries

CONTACT: Marjoriet@devintristangiveback.com (SUBJECT LINE: “PP FIRE”)

SEE: Two Palisades Park blazes destroy three homes, damage video store

PHOTO, TOP: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Correspondent Damien Danis

SHOUT OUT: A former Washington Township resident got a standing ovation from the New York Yankees as he set off this morning from home plate at spring training in Tampa on a 1,200-mile walk to Yankee Stadium to raise $25,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“The Yankees are such a class act,” 65-year-old Richard Albero told Michael Kay on ESPN Radio while in the 12th mile of his walk this afternoon.

Each mile is named after players who’ve worn the pinstripes, beginning in 1913 — “even if it was only one day,” said Albero, a math teacher who retired to Dunedin. Not all of them will be represented: more than 1,600 players have been Yankees.

COURTESY Richard Albero

Each of the last 10 miles is named for one of the players whom Albero — a father of three who collects baseball memorabilia and cards and participates in various volunteer activities — considers the all-time greatest Yanks (see below).

The key to his plan: “putting one foot in front of the other.” He trained for several months, topping out at 22 miles in a day and says he’s been eating well.

Albero’s brother, Michael, and some friends will alternate shuttling him to hotels and back each day.

Albero plans on walking 15 miles a day on local roads (no interstates), breaking on Sundays, before eventually ramping up to 20 per day.

He hopes to hit home plate in the Bronx on Memorial Day, when the Bombers are scheduled to play the Kansas City Royals. That’s less than three months from now.

COURTESY Richard Albero

“I just think they don’t get the recognition they deserve,” Albero said of the wounder soldiers he aims to help. “Some come back with no arms, no limbs.”

He also is honoring his nephew, Gary Albero, who was killed in the 9/11 attacks.

“At first, I thought most people were getting a buzz on this notoriety,” he wrote yesterday. “But then something funny happen during one of my training walks, I realized my friends and family were seeing a part of me in themselves and saying ‘Go For It!’ ”

He said he will think of them “every time I get a blister, my feet and my back begins to hurt, close calls with cars, frustration on how broke I’m going to be. Through our strengths, I will smile and take the next step north.”

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi brought the entire team to home plate at George M. Steinbrenner Field this morning, as Tampa temperatures broke 80 degrees. They gave Albero some gifts and the standing O before he set off.

“How cool is that?” Albero said.

NOTE: Albero is also accepting Go Fund Me donations to cover the expenses of his venture. CLICK HERE

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Donations are broken out into:

DH: $10

Base on balls: $20

Singles: $50

Doubles: $100

Triples: $200

The final 10 Yankees are “home runs”: You choose your donation.

To donate, go to: RichardsYankeesWalk.org

PHOTO: Courtesy Richard Albero

COURTESY RIchard Albero

HOW YOU CAN HELP: The Ridge Gardens Condominium Association in Mahwah is accepting gift cards for the more than two dozen residents left homeless by an overnight fire.

The onsite office is located on Melville Court by the complex pool (see map, below).

There is a rent mail slot on the side door where people can drop the cards after hours.

Preferred gift cards: clothing stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, restaurants.

PHONE: 201-661-8875

State Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi is also collecting donations at her office: 287 Kinderkamack Road, Westwood, NJ 07675

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ANY OTHER COLLECTION EFFORTS? Text (201 943 2794) or email (GerardJDeMarco@gmail.com) and it will be included here.

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UPDATE: Several families with young children lost their homes, and a resident injured his shoulder jumping from a second-floor kitchen window as an overnight fire — possibly ignited by a discarded cigarette — tore through a group of Mahwah condos. READ MORE….

SHOUT OUT: Sample top craft beers from 25 local and domestic microbreweries while helping raise money for worthy causes this Saturday at the Westwood Elks Club.

The first annual Bergen Craft Beer Experience runs from 7 to 10 p.m. and includes Lagunitas Brewing Co IPA, Ommegang Belgian Wheat Ale, Founders Brewing Co. Breakfast Stout, among other brews.

CLICK HERE for the Beer Fest Lineup

Some of the proceeds will go to:

Army Of Hope, which assists families who have had a father or mother called to active duty with the military reserve or National Guard;.

Elks Camp Moore, which offers a fun-filled vacation away from home for children with special needs.

Mike Fitzgerald, a certified Cicerone beer server and owner of Growler & Gill Craft Beer Shoppe, will help selected featured brews and answer questions about the world of craft beer.

BBQ will be sold — including pulled pork sliders, corn muffin chili bites and Texas lollipops.

Designated driver tickets will be available.

ADMISSION: $35 (in advance)
$40 (at door — supply permitting)

NOTE: Tickets sales are limited and door tickets aren’t guaranteed.

TICKETS / DIRECTIONS / INFO: http://bergencraftbeerexperience.com/

(Westwood Elks Club: 523 Kinderkamack Rd.)

SHOUT OUT: An Edgewater police officer rescued an overdosing heroin addict with Naracan last night.

Officer Robert Carrano adminstered two doses, reviving the 33-year-old victim at the Edgewater Harbor Development, Police Chief William Skidmore told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning.

The victim “was blue in the face with shallow breathing,” following the 10:19 p.m. call, Skidmore said.

He was taken to Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, the chief said.

TRIBUTE: Fond remembrances and heartfelt tributes mounted this morning for Lory Taormina, department head of the Fairview Emergency Response Unit nearly 20 years, who died suddenly yesterday.

“I have yet to meet a person that has impacted more lives than Lory Taormina,” wrote Julio E. Perez. “As I sit here with tears in my eyes I think of the person who got me into EMS. The person who gave me a chance when no one else would and the person who looked out for everyone else.”

Taormina, 37, was “a great friend, great person and had one of the greatest hearts out there,” George Alexiou added. ” ‘No,’ ‘I can’t’ or ‘I won’t’ was never in her vocabulary. It was always, “No problem, hun, I’ll take care of it’.”

Cathy Kerr Tolomeo said Taormina “was so young, about my age, and had one of those smiles you couldn’t help but smile because of. She had a heart of gold and went out of her way to help anyone.”

Sylvie Seukunian Rodriguez wrote: “I went to high school with Lory, she was always the sweetest person. When my uncle died last year she was one of the EMTs, she was there for all of us, hugging everyone and telling us it’ll be OK.”

“My heart goes out to her family, both blood & EMS,” added Shannon Hayden.

CLICK HERE to ADD YOUR TRIBUTE

SHOUT OUT: The River Vale Volunteer Fire Department is holding a no-limit Texas Hold’Em Tournament this Friday.

There’ll be a light buffet, cash bar and beverage at the event. Check-in is 6:30 p.m. Game begins at 7.

Prizes will be awarded to the finalists, with the number of winners TBD.

Bubble wins free entry to the next tournament.

Ticket donation: $100

SITE: North Firehouse, 620 River Vale Road

INFO: (201) 264-0198 (Frank)

SHOUT OUT: The Saddle Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corp. hosts its annual Fish and Chips Dinner from 5-8 p.m. Friday, April 3rd at the ambulance building on Market Street.

Eat in or take out.

DONATION: $12

Although tickets will be available at the door, quantities will be limited.

Ambulance corps members are sellng tickets from 7 p.m. to midnight every day.

INFO / TICKETS: Jessica Sanchez (VP): xosoccerstar220@aol.com

OR: Call the ambulance building any night between 7 p.m.-midnight at (201) 368-8935

SHOUT OUT: Fair Lawn police rescued an overdosing car passenger with Narcan in the parking lot of an adult day care center this afternoon.

A caller at Broadway Adult Daycare summoned police at 1:50 p.m., Sgt. Brian Metzler said.

Officers Louis Evangelista, Michael O’Brien, Luke Hintzen, Robert Manning and Michael Franco found the 19-year-old Bergenfield man unresponsive in a 2000 Chevrolt with New York license plates, he said.

Evangelista administered a single dose of Narcan and the man responded soon after, Metzler said.

Fair Lawn Volunteer Ambulance EMTs Tamar Lesnoy and Jon Ryan took him to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center.

It was the second Narcan save for Fair Lawn police since the program was instituted in Bergen County.

HAVE YOU SEEN HER? Loved ones were hoping someone sees or finds an Oakland woman with a history of mental illness who’d been missing since early Wednesday.

Meaghan Elizabeth “Meg” McCallum, 30, was last seen when she left her grandmother’s house in Montvale around 3 a.m.

She is 5-foot-3 and 210 pounds, with brown hair and eyes, and drives a black, 1998 four-door Subaru with NJ license plates: N32-EAY.

Family members noted that it wasn’t like her to leave without her cellphone or dog.

“Meg is a very kind indivdual and like socializing,” they said.

If you see her, or know where to find her, please dial 911 immediately, or call the Oakland PD: (201) 337-6171

SHOUT OUTS: “Shoot me!” a troubled man shouted at a quartet of Elmwood Park police officers who approached him in a dimly lit apartment room as he reached for a knife in his waistband last night.

Preventing what could have been a tragedy, Lt. Marc D’Amore blasted the man with pepper spray and his colleagues — Officers Gerald Chiavelli, Christopher Finn, Daniel Martinez — wrestled him to the floor and into handcuffs.

Clarence Smith’s sister summoned them to the second-floor Summit Avenue apartment at 7:19 p.m., Police Chief Michael Foligno told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon.

She directed them to the room, where an agitated Smith began yelling at them, the chief said.

The officers “attempted to defuse the situation by trying to reason with him,” Foligno said, but Smith “reached into his waistband to retrieve the knife.”

“Shoot me!” he shouted over and again, advancing on Martinez in an apparent attempt at “suicide by cop,” the chief said.

So D’Amore sprayed him in the face.

After subduing him, the officers retrieved two knives, Folingo said.

No he nor the officers were injured, he said.

Smith was taken to Bergen Regional Medical Center for treatment. Charges were pending, the chief said.

“The officers will be commended for their outstanding split-second decision-making during a life and death situation,” Foligno said. “Their ability to use non-lethal force under duress in a situation that would have warranted higher levels of force — and to do so without anyone sustaining an injury — is a credit to their training and professionalism.”

TOP: Lt. Heath James, Capt. Forest Lyons, Police Chief John Ward, Sgt. Kyle Finch / ABOVE: Sgt. Mke Lembo (ALL PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving)

Lt. Heath James (ALL PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving)

Sgt. Kyle Finch (ALL PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving)

SHOUT OUTS: Four promoted Ridgewood police officers were sworn to their new positions last week.

Capt. Forest Lyons (ALL PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving)

Sgt. Kyle Finch (ALL PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving)

Sgt. Mike Lembo (ALL PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving)

SHOUT OUT: The FBI is looking to hire new agents.

Speakers of foreign languages are highly prized, with a priority for Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Maghreb (Moroccan/Algerian), Yemeni, Afghani, Pakistani, Somali, Uighur, Chinese (all dialects) and Uzbek.

To qualify, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen;
• Be at least 23 years of age, but younger than 37 at the time of hiring, with exceptions are given for federal law enforcement officers (1811s) and those eligible for veteran’s preference;
• Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university;
• Have lived in the U.S. for three of the last five years unless directly deployed overseas (includes military spouses);
• Have a valid driver’s license and at least six months of driving experience

Applicants must also have three years of full-time (at least 36 hours per week) professional work experience, with exceptions:
• Applicants with eligible computer science or IT backgrounds;
• Preferred foreign language speakers who score 3 or higher on an FBI language test;
• Former FBI Honors Interns with at least a 3.0 GPA are eligible for Phase I testing and then must complete three years of work experience before advancing to Phase II;
• Applicants with a Juris Doctor degree;
• Applicants with master’s and/or doctoral degrees can qualify with only two years of full-time professional work experience

APPLY TO: www.fbijobs.gov
DEADLINE: 11:59 p.m., March 31
INFO: www.fbijobs.gov or contact the local FBI Field Office at (973) 792-3000

Specific skills and backgrounds being sought include:

• Cyber Security
• Intelligence
• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Computer Forensics
• Network Administration
• Information Technology
• Laboratory Sciences
• Electrical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Certified Public Accountants
• Bar Certified Attorneys
• Police/Detectives
• Military
• Pilots

SHOUT OUTS: A month to the day that Hackensack firefighters rescued two women whose SUV plunged over the side of a Route 80 bridge, falling perilously close to the Hudson River, a reunion brought them all together again.

Liz Wolthoff, 23, said she and Becca Winslow, 25, were headed to their daycare center jobs when she swerved to avoid a tractor-trailer near the Bogota exit.

Her car hit a patch of ice and slid into a snow bank that acted as a ramp, sending her SUV over the guardrail.

It landed on all fours on a tree trunk and part of a chainlink fence.

“Did I kill my best friend?” Wolthoff said she thought.

“I can’t breathe,” Winslow told her. READ MORE….

STORY / PHOTO: Ron Jeffers

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ALSO SEE:

Photographer captures rescue in Hackensack River bridge plunge

CLIFFVIEW PILOT contributing photographer Brett M. Dzadik was on the scene this morning after an SUV hit a snowbank and went airborne off the side of a Route 80 bridge in Hackensack, landing 40 feet from the river.

Two OK after car plunges off Route 80 bridge in Hackensack

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Two young women survived with relatively minor back and neck injuries this morning after their SUV hit a snowbank and went airborne off the side of a Route 80 bridge in Hackensack, landing 40 feet from the river.

SUV wasn’t the first to fall from Route 80 bridge in Hackensack

ONLY ON CVP: The survival of two women whose SUV fell 60 feet from a Route 80 bridge in Hackensack yesterday reminded some of an Upper Saddle River woman who survived a similar plunge in almost the same spot more than 20 years ago.

SHOUT OUT: Mahwah PBA Local 143 is hosting a “Dine to Donate” at Houlihan’s on Route 17 in Ramsey from 5-9 p.m. Thurs., March 26.

All proceeds from meals bought at the restaurant during that time will benefit the Mahwah PBA Local 143 Civic Association, a registered 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

All money raised by the Civic Association is donated back to the community each year.

Attendees MUST bring the attached flyer the night of the event for the local to get credit for the donation.

RSVP (by March 24): mahwahpba143@yahoo.com