Latest news with #SuzanneRussell
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Woodbridge jewelry store targeted in daytime smash-and-grab robbery
WOODBRIDGE – Police are investigating a daytime smash-and-grab robbery in which an undisclosed amount of jewelry was stolen from a store in the Iselin section. According to police, around 12:40 p.m. June 7 four people entered Virani Jewelers on Oak Tree Road and used hammers to smash display cases before taking an undisclosed amount of jewelry. Police said the robbery took about one minute. The four suspects then fled in a black SUV which was operated by a fifth suspect, police said. The robbery is similar to another daytime smash-and-grab theft. Two weeks ago, a large amount of jewelry was stolen from a Perth Amboy store. Around 2:30 p.m. May 22 the suspects went into Ruby's Jeweler, 171 Smith St., and began breaking the display cases and made off with the jewelry, according to police. No arrests have been announced in that case. And this isn't the first time Virani Jewelers has been targeted by thieves. In June 2022 a group of armed and masked suspects smashed display cases and filled bags with gold from the Virani Jewelers, 1394 Oak Tree Road. The store's security video, which was released on social media, captured the less than two-minute heist in which about eight suspects entered Virani Jewelers just before the business was set to close for the night. And in November 2008 burglars smashed the window of the Virani Jewelers Marconi Avenue store in the early morning hours and made off with about $50,000 worth of merchandise, according to police. The Virani Jewelers stores specialize in jewelry with South Asian styles, especially gold, some intricately designed pieces and sets with price tags of more than $7,000, according to its website. Virani Jewelers has several locations in the Iselin section. Anyone with information on the June 7 robbery is asked to contact Woodbridge Detective Thomas Ratajczak at 732-634-7700. Email: srussell@ Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on Woodbridge NJ jewelry store targeted in daytime smash-and-grab robbery
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
NJ orders Woodbridge company to clean up illegal dumping, pay $200K in fines
WOODBRIDGE – The state is going to court to force a township company and its owner to comply with court orders dating to 2018 for illegal dumping and pay nearly $200,000 in penalties. But, according to court papers, Spector-Woodbridge Company, LLC and its owner William Spector have paid only $50,000 of the penalties, leaving a balance of nearly $150,000. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the company dumped unauthorized fill and illegal solid waste on the property at Pennval Road and Berry Street which contains freshwater wetlands, freshwater wetlands transition areas and waterfront development areas. On April 29 the DEP filed a motion in Middlesex County Superior Court against Spector-Woodbridge for allegedly failing to comply with court orders from 2018 which required the company to complete the removal of the illegally dumped fill and solid waste. The work had been scheduled to be completed by Jan. 5, 2020 and included a $100,000 penalty. A second order in 2021 required the company to retain a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) to oversee the removal of contaminated fill material from the site and to complete the remediation of the property within 38 months and pay a $97,500 penalty, according to court papers. More: Middlesex manufacturer will fight $240K NJ fine over air pollution, odor Court documents state little progress has been made toward removing the contaminated fill material and remediating the site. In addition, more illegal solid waste has been dumped on the property. "The threat to public health and safety and to the environment has not changed despite the (court orders)," court documents say. Only $35,000 of the $100,000 penalty and $15,000 of the $97,500 penalty have been paid with the remaining balance overdue. The DEP is seeking an order directing the company to "immediately take all steps necessary to comply with their outstanding obligations" under the consent orders and impose more monetary penalties for the continued failure to comply, the court papers say. The DEP said the court may also want to consider other sanctions such as appointment of a receiver, the seizure of assets, and/or incarceration. DEP investigators witnessed several loads of fill being deposited at the site during a June 17, 2004 inspection. DEP site inspections from 2005 and 2009 indicated the size of the fill area had grown. Court papers indicated that over the years the fill included bricks, concrete blocks, stone and asphalt, in addition to box trailers and roll off containers filled with scrap tires and other waste debris. Email: srussell@ Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on NJ orders Woodbridge company to clean up illegal dumping
