March 26, 2014 Edition of The Observer

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March 26, 2014 • www.theobserver.com • Vol CXXVI, No. 44

COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD

Tragic death of beloved waitress By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent NORTH ARLINGTON – It was her day off – Tuesday –and Barbara Gangi kept to her set routine. Shortly before 6:30 a.m., Gangi dropped off her wash in front of the Riverside Laundry and started walking across River Road to the Arlington Diner, her home away from home, for a light breakfast. This particular Tuesday, March 18, however, she never got to the diner because she was fatally struck by a car. North Arlington Police Chief Louis Ghione said the mishap occurred as the vehicle, traveling south on River Road, hit the 73-year-old woman as she was crossing westbound, about 100 yards north of the Belleville Ave. intersection. Gangi was taken to Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville, where she was pronounced dead, Ghione said. At the time of the accident, the traffic light at the intersection was green for southbound traffic on River Road, Ghione said. It was still dark and, based on an interpretation of the facts as known to investigators, “we don’t believe the driver was speeding,” he said. An investigation of the accident was undertaken by the NAPD, in conjunction with see ACCIDENT page

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• EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY

Evidence registered with cops By Karen Zautyk Observer Correspondent KEARNY–

F

rom the Department of You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: A suspect in the robbery of a Kearny store has been linked to an earlier heist in Belleville thanks to a cash register drawer he left in plain view on the back seat of his car, authorities reported. The alleged bandit was identified as Matthew James, 28, of Monroe Township, formerly of Belleville. The suspect apparently also has a penchant for lime green T-shirts and lime green/orange gloves, which police said helped in identifying him. Last Wednesday, March 19, Kearny police said, a ski-masked individual entered a liquor store/deli on Davis Ave. at 4:15 p.m. and asked for a pack of cigarettes. He then reportedly ran behind the counter and grabbed a fistful of bills from the register. A short struggle ensued with the proprietor, who was pushed and punched, but who managed to pull up the mask, partially revealing the man’s face, po-

Photos courtesy Belleville PD

lice said. The culprit then fled on foot. Officers Brian Wisely, Luis Moran, Peter Jahera and Giovanni Rodriguez responded to the scene and set up a containment perimeter. Soon after, Moran spotted James running through backyards on the 100 block of Tappan St., police said. Wisely, who had been searching Dukes St. yards, and Jahera joined the chase. Jahera tackled the runner and both officers finally managed to cuff him, although he resisted arrest, police said. When apprehended, James allegedly attempted to discard fistfuls of cash. Police said he had apparently removed some of his outer clothes during his flight and was now clad in a lime-green T-shirt, the same color worn by the Belleville bandit. The proprietor of the Kearny store was driven to the scene and identified the suspect, police said. Meanwhile, Det. Scott Traynor was canvassing the path of flight and on Hoyt St. found a parked 1994 Mercury with its window down and a cash register drawer on the back seat, police

Top: Suspect Matthew James. Bottom: Security camera image of Belleville cash register heist.

see ROBBERY page

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Meadows mulch ignites again By Karen Zautyk Observer Correspondent KEARNY– The pesky mulch pile in the meadows that kept the Kearny Fire Department busy last year has been slumbering all winter, kept quiet, pehaps, by blankets of snow and ice.

But last week, it appeared to be welcoming spring -- in a rebirth of its annoying tendency to spontaneously combust. On March 16, the mulch at Nature’s Choice Corp., 631 Belleville Turnpike – scene of several 2013 fires – was again aflame. A passing motorist reported the fire and the KFD

answered the alarm at 12:37 p.m. Fire Chief Steve Dyl said all Kearny units, along with North Arlington firefighters, responded to the two -alarm blaze, which was declared under control at 4:15 p.m. Dyl said the fire was prevented from spreading outside the

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mulch, but about an acre of mulch piles burned. The compost, which reportedly can be prone to spontaneous combustion, has been vexing firefighters over the years, authorities said in 2013, when it ignited several see FIRE page

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