Police: Landscaping Company Bookkeeper Stole More Than $75K
Township officers make multiple DWI, drug arrests
A Hawthorne bookkeeper has been charged with stealing money from the township business that employed him, authorities said.
Police said an investigation revealed that Tambi Stas, 27, pilfered funds from Landscape Works, 525 Cedar Hill Ave., and misappropriated in excess of $75,000.
Stas, who was arrested Thursday, wrote checks to himself and tried to conceal the thefts by making it appear as if the checks were paid to others, police said.
The Hawthorne man was charged with second degree theft, and the complaint has been referred to Superior Court, police said. Stas was released from custody after posting $50,000 bail through a bondsman.
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Police responding to a medical call on Thursday morning ended up charging a township man with several drug offenses.
Patrolmen William Plisich and Thomas Tully went to a Hillcrest Avenue residence at 6:31 a.m. for a report that a man was unconscious. Ezio S. Cecere, 25, received medical assistance, but police soon determined that he was in possession of drugs, authorities said.
Cecere was charged with possession of heroin, possession of marijuana and possession of a hypodermic syringe, police said. He was released on his own recognizance.
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A Hawthorne man was arrested on drug charges early on Oct. 4 after being pulled over on Route 208, police said.
Sgt. Michael Ragucci clocked John C. Hammock, 20, doing 80 mph on the highway and initiated a stop at 1:15 a.m., police said. Ragucci said an odor of marijuana was evident in Hammock's vehicle, and that he discovered a small amount of marijuana in the car.
Hammock was charged with possession of marijuana and speeding, police said. He is scheduled to appear in Municipal Court on Nov. 4.
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An unlicensed Paramus teen was accused of drunken driving after a traffic stop on Oct. 2.
Police said a vehicle driven by the 16-year-old girl was seen swerving and crossing the centerline on Franklin Avenue at 3:20 a.m., prompting a traffic stop. Sgt. Ragucci, who pulled the vehicle over, said the girl was driving two 20-year-old men who said they let the unlicensed teen drive because they were intoxicated.
The teen submitted to a breath test which revealed she had a "high alcohol content," police said. However, she also initially gave a false identity to Ragucci, police said, leading to charges of providing false information to hinder her own prosecution; DWI; unlicensed driver; reckless driving; failure to keep right; and having an open container of alcohol. Her case was referred to juvenile court.
One of the passengers, Ben Lowenstein, 20, of Fair Lawn, was determined to be the owner of the car, police said. He was charged with DWI by allowing another intoxicated driver to operate his vehicle, police said, and will have to appear in Municipal Court.
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A Van Schaik Lane resident reported the theft of an iPod on Sept. 24.
The iPod had been taken from his vehicle, which was accessed via an unlocked door, police said.
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A Franklin Lakes man was arrested on drug charges Sept. 25 after a traffic stop, police said.
Umar Sadiq, 25, was pulled over on Route 208 at 2:30 a.m. after police said he was clocked doing 80 mph while swerving on the highway. The ensuing investigation turned up marijuana in his vehicle, police said, leading to charges of DWI, speeding, failure to maintain his lane of travel, possession of marijuana and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.
Sadiq was released to a friend and will appear in Municipal Court on Oct. 25.
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A Wyckoff woman was arrested on DWI charges for the second time in the past month after a collision on Sept. 23, police said.
Police said Lisa Cannon, 44, of Crescent Avenue was arrested after she hit another vehicle in the Wyckoff Shopping Center parking lot at 5:06 p.m. Cannon submitted to breath tests that revealed a low alcohol content reading, but was tested by a drug recognition officer who determined she was under the influence of narcotics, police said. She was charged with reckless driving and driving while under the influence of narcotics.
Cannon had been arrested in August on DWI, reckless driving and failure to keep right charges after police said she left the roadway and hit a curb.