Maybe it was really Viagra that he needed?
The Nutley Police Department announced that a Harrison St. business was the victim of a shoplifting where an elderly black man, who walked with a limp and used a cane, allegedly stole 23 boxes of Trojan condoms.
The store’s manager told police the man was wearing a black hat, black overcoat and light-colored pants when he allegedly grabbed the condoms and limped away from the store.
The stolen condoms were valued at $395, the manager told police.
The NPD Detective Bureau continues to investigate. No word yet on whether the store manager wants the condoms back if they’re recovered.
Meanwhile, the NPD released the following reports of incidents that took place between Dec. 5 and Dec. 11:
Dec. 5
• Yet another Nutley resident fell victim to fraud.
This time, the resident got an automated phone call directing him to phone a number to reach the IRS. When the resident made the call, he was told he owed $8,000 and one and a half hours to pay the balance or face immediate arrest, according to police.
The victim gave the person on the other end of the phone his name, address and phone number, but wisely did not give out any financial information.
• A warrant for the arrest of Angela Alison, 25, of Morristown, has been issued after police said they linked her to a Harrison St. shoplifting, the NPD said.
The manager of the store called police and told them the customer, alleged to be Alison, was reportedly seen removing three boxes of “an adult-female product” valued at $135. Police said a store clerk ordered the suspect to stop, but she instead left and hopped into a 4-door, red vehicle that quickly drove off.
Alison remains at-large, police said.
Dec. 6
• A motor-vehicle stop on River Road led to the arrest of 39-year-old Dominick Arduino, of Nutley, on an outstanding Lyndhurst warrant. Police said they pulled Arduino over for driving with a suspended license. He later posted bail on the warrant, was issued a ticket for driving while suspended and was released, pending a mandatory court appearance.
• Another motor-vehicle stop, this one on William St., led to the arrest of Ryan Cruz, 21, of Belleville, who was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, the NPD said. Cruz also got a ticket for careless driving — and was released on his own recognizance, pending court.
Dec. 7
Newton Mercedes, 39, of Elizabeth, was arrested on River Road on an outstanding Newark warrant and was issued a ticket for driving a vehicle with an expired registration. Police said Mercedes posted bail on the warrant and after being issued the registration ticket, was released on his own recognizance.
Dec. 9
Call this one mistaken tree-stand identity.
Robert Valente, 49, formerly of Nutley and now of Farmingville, N.Y., was arrested and charged with theft, after he allegedly “stole” a tree stand in front of a Bloomfield Ave. business that he thought was out with the trash.
Police said Valente stopped and put the item in his pickup truck, but when he was questioned by police, who said he was completely cooperative, he told them he thought the stand was out with the trash, since there were numerous other items that appeared to be trash.
Dec. 10
• Gitu Mirie, 34, of Bloomfield, was arrested and issued tickets charging him with drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident after police said he was responsible for smashing his vehicle into several parked cars on Ravine Ave.
The driver, police said, was found sleeping behind the wheel of his own car. Mirie was released on his own recognizance, pending court.
• Anthony Marano, 30, of Nutley, was arrested on Franklin Ave. on two outstanding warrants — one from Paterson and the other from Passaic. Police said they learned of Marano’s warrants while conducting a field interview. The Passaic one was a no-bail warrant, so Marano was transferred into the custody of the Passaic PD , the NPD said.
– Kevin Canessa Jr.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.