A Lyndhurst resident who works as a Jersey City firefighter was arrested Sept. 20 in the township in connection with a theft from a local garage.
One week prior, police said, a Stuyvesant Avenue garage owner reported that someone had removed a poolside basketball hoop from the garage.
After reviewing a private surveillance video, police said their investigation led them to Nicholas Romito, 51, who, they said, had been working at a non-firefighting job near the garage at the time of the crime.
Police said that after they quizzed Romito about the incident, he recovered the missing hoop and returned it to the owner. Romito was subsequently charged with burglary and theft and released pending an Oct. 2 court appearance.
Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman said on Monday that no one has informed him about the arrest. He said the report was “shocking” because he’s found Romito — hired in 1992 — to be a “model firefighter and an outstanding guy.” Romito is currently on sick leave, according to Roman. The Fire Dept. will wait for a disposition of the matter before deciding what, if anything, to do, Roman said.
In other incidents logged by Lyndhurst Police during the past week:
Sept. 27
Two out-of-state residents landed in trouble at the Shop- Rite on New York Avenue. At 3:25 p.m. police responded to the supermarket where they arrested Daniel Shulman, 21, of Newton, Mass., on a shoplifting charge after store security reported that he tried to leave with $68.95 worth of assorted items without paying. He was also booked for possession of heroin and taken to Bergen County Jail, Hackensack, on $5,000 bail. Meanwhile, police said his companion, a 17-yearold female also from Newton, was found to be a runaway. Police notified her parents who came to pick her up.
Sept. 25
Juanita Bergman, 58, of Newark, was charged with shoplifting a pair of eyeglasses valued at $7.99 at the ShopRite on New York Avenue at 10:18 p.m. She was released on a summons pending a municipal court hearing.
At 5:43 p.m. police were called to the Rite Aid on Valley Brook Avenue where they arrested Saty Timite, 21, of Newark, on two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card. Police said Timite tried, unsuccessfully, to use a fake credit card that listed his name but had bogus numbers printed on it. A few days prior, police said Timite used the card to pay for an item at the same Rite Aid. He was held at the county jail on $10,000 bail.
Someone stole a weed whacker and a box of tools, all valued at $250, from a garage in the 700 block of Stuyvesant Ave., police said. The theft was reported at 12:44 p.m. Police said they found no sign of forced entry to the garage.
Sept. 23
Shelly Boyd, 39, of North Bergen, was picked up on a charge of being under the influence of alcohol at 1:04 a.m. at Stuyvesant and Second Avenues. She was also charged with disorderly conduct after police said she began arguing with an officer. She was eventually released to a responsible party, police said.
Sept. 21
A 15-year-old Kearny boy who was playing at the basketball court on Delafield Avenue called police at 7:36 p.m. to report that someone had removed his cellular phone from his gym bag which he’d placed on the ground near the court. The phone was valued at $500, police said.
The owner of a 2006 Maserati reported that someone had damaged the vehicle’s door lock while it was parked in the 200 block of Van Buren Street. The incident was logged at 6:11 p.m. by police. Police were alerted to a home burglary in the 700 block of Riverside Avenue at 7:22 a.m. An intruder gained entry by forcing open the screen of a bathroom window and removed 10 watches valued at $1,200 and $300 in coins from a bedroom dresser drawer, police said.
At 7 a.m. the owner of a 1993 Lexus called police to report that someone had stolen his vehicle while it was parked in the 100 block of Post Avenue. The owner told police he’d left his wallet, cellular phone and change inside. Police said they found the Lexus parked on the same block, near its original location. The vehicle and wallet were returned to the owner but the phone and coins were gone, police said.
Sept. 20
A motor vehicle theft was reported at 3 p.m. in the 300 block of Sanford Avenue Police said the owner had a digital camera with accessories, all valued at $1,300, inside the vehicle at the time it was stolen.
