February 2, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Midland Park Atlantic Stewardship Bank personnel last week helped police break up a one-man bank fraud operation which had been functioning since 2005. And the suspect got away from the Midland Park branch empty-handed. The credit goes to the bank’s security officer, who had put a system in place in case of an attempt, and an alert teller at the Midland Park branch who identified the suspect and followed the prescribed procedures. Midland Park Police Chief John Casson and Detective John Gibbons said the suspect, a 50-year-old male from West New York, opened new accounts in as many as a dozen bank branches throughout the county using false identification. He used the starter checks to open other accounts and to order regular checks which he then fraudulently cashed using as many as 33 aliases. According to Clarence Reinstra, Jr., ASB’s assistant vice president and security officer, he had received a security alert from the NJ Bankers Association and noticed that many banks in the area had been the victims in recent weeks of false ID and false credential use. The alert included a photo, aliases and copies of two driver’s licenses routinely used by the suspect. Reinstra said that when he discovered that this was the person who had previously victimized ASB’s Westwood and Ridgewood branches, he alerted the branches and set up a procedure and a code that a teller could use to alert him if the person wanted to open an account or cash a check. Part-time teller Joseph Shabrack, who also works at the Goffle Road branch where Reinstra’s office is located, called him using the code phrase that indicated the suspect was present at the branch, and Reinstra notified police. Teller identifies suspect in spate of check frauds When the suspect left without depositing his $650 check, Branch Manager Ray Santhouse also called police and followed the suspect in an effort to see what vehicle he was driving and get his plate number. The suspect was on foot and made his way to Central Avenue. Wyckoff Patrolman Mark Taglarini had heard the suspect’s description over the radio, saw him at the bus station on Greenwood Avenue and arrested him. The suspect pretended not to speak English, until Santhouse pointed out that his English had been fine at the branch. Gibbons processed the suspect using the LiveScan fingerprinting system, which is hooked up to the state police and the FBI computers, to get a positive identification. He said the suspect is wanted for at least a half a dozen area frauds and by the US Marshall’s Service for violation of probation. The INS and the US State Department are also investigating him, Gibbons said. The detective said that the suspect admitted to the frauds under questioning, was charged in Dumont and is in the Bergen County Jail under $30,000. He had blank checks, debit cards and ATM cards with his aliases’ names in his possession. Midland Park could not charge him because he never actually got to deposit his check at the local branch, Gibbons said. “We were fortunate to get him and lucky we didn’t lose any money. It was great that everyone worked together. Everybody followed procedures, and we got the job done,” Reinstra said. Town gets grant for Greenwood Avenue Midland Park will be receiving a grant of $150,000 from the NJ Department of Transportation to repave Greenwood Avenue and improve the parking area adjacent to the NJ Transit bus station. Greenwood Avenue is heavily traveled and serves as a connector link from Route 208. The successful application had been prepared by Capital Alternatives, the borough’s grant consultants. Work will include repaving the street from Birch Street to the Wyckoff border and delineating and paving the commuter parking area adjacent to the bus station, which serves five bus lines. This area, available for resident-parking only for nine cars, is unimproved at the present time and could be expanded to include adjacent property now owned by the NY Susquehanna Railroad. The engineer’s estimate for the project is $365,000: $285 for the paving work and $80,000 for the commuter parking. The borough anticipates doing the work in two faces and applying for additional funds next year. Greenwood was totally reconstructed with NJDOT funds awarded in 1997 and 1998. The job was done in two phases because of the cost, since the project included major drainage work. Patricia’s Coiffures PERMS • COLORING SHAMPOO & SET CUTTING & BLOW DRYING Not Feeling Well Lately? Now a Local Medical Doctor with a NJ License is Available to Visit You at Your Home for an Affordable Fee. 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