Missing Person and Stolen Car Top Local News

Missing Verona Man Reported to Police

A Verona man, last heard from by his Montclair parents on Dec. 12, has been reported missing, according to police. 

William Culbertson, 22, is described as being white, 6-foot, 3-inches tall, about 275 lbs., and has blond hair and blue eyes. 

He is known to frequent Panera Bread in Montclair where he plays chess, according to police. Culbertson has no conspicuous marks, scars or tattoos, officials said, but four of his upper front teeth are implants and may be noticeable when he smiles. 

Car Stolen From Verona Driveway Found in Newark

A car left idling on a Verona driveway Dec. 26 was stolen and recovered the following day in Newark, police said.

The black BMW X3 was taken from an Oakridge Road residence just after 11 a.m., police said.

“The resident reported that he started the vehicle and left the keys in it to warm up,” Verona police said. “When he came back outside the vehicle was missing from the driveway.”

Top Verona-Cedar Grove Issues for 2013

Beginning in 2013, Verona Deputy Mayor Bob Manley said one of the council's main issues will be seeing through a project to bring new athletic fields to Hilltop Park.

During 2012 meetings, the Council has reviewed plans for a new baseball field, multi-purpose field, walking trails and an amphitheater as part of Phase II of the Hilltop Park development plan.

New Bill Proposes Harsher Penalties for Child-Porn Offenders

New Jersey may soon be dishing out more severe penalties to child-pornography offenders, when State Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic) introduces a bill to the State Senate.

O'Toole is introducing the “No Early Release Act,” after reading a recent Star-Ledger exposé “depicting a rapid proliferation of child pornography,” he said.

Verona Court Clerk: Cirilo DWI Trial Postponed Again

West Orange Council President Victor Cirilo’s trial on drunken driving charges in Verona Wednesday was postponed until Wednesday, Jan. 16, according to court officials.

Cirilo is charged with driving while intoxicated following a Nov. 9, 2012 police stop after he made a turn from Bloomfield Avenue onto Mount Prospect Avenue (Route 23) just after midnight, Verona Police Chief Douglas Huber said at the time.

$9.7 Billion Sandy Funding Approved By Congress

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure late Friday afternoon allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to borrow $9.7 billion to pay insurance claims made by victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The bill, HR 41, temporarily increases the borrowing authority of FEMA to allow the agency to carry out payment claims made by property owners to the National Flood Insurance Program.