Bergen County Prosecutor’s office executed a pre-dawn search warrant at one of Mahwah’s Councilman residence on Thursday January 23th at 6:22AM. It began with a dozen Bergen County Sherriff officers dressed in black walking down Oweno Road, usually an empty and sleepy residential street at such an early hour. (see video here)
The Bergen County Prosecutors office refused to comment on who was the person or what was the subject of the investigation. They were only able to confirm that the execution of the search warrant was related to an ongoing criminal investigation. There has been no clarification on the councilman’s Facebook page.
The home, shed and vehicles of the Councilman were observed being searched with flashlights. There were approximate 15 Sheriff officers and Prosecutors involved in the execution of the search warrant. It began at 6:22AM and lasted for about 1h50m . Of the many vehicles to come and go, most were unmarked.
A major clue in the operation is the plainly marked truck of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Cyber Crimes Unit, which was onsite for 1h40m. What is less clear is if the ongoing criminal investigation is a cyber crime, or if the evidence expected to be gathered required cyber crimes unit expertise.
Until recently, the Councilman served as Mahwah Council President. Last November, he easily won reelection and is now one of seven Mahwah Council Members.
According to property tax records, the Councilman’s residence is co-owned with another individual, who is not a publicly involved person. Another vehicle belonging to a non-resident guest was not searched, indicating that the search warrant was targeted to one or more persons residing at the Councilman’s home.
As a neighbor, I happened to be awake at the time, and interpreted what I saw as a potential home invasion. Fortunately the Sheriff’s department had already notified the local Mahwah police, so my mind was set at ease by my 911 call.
Video Timeline:
6:22 am: Twelve Bergen County Sheriff officers arriving by foot to execute a search warrant. (video)
6:30 am: Eight members of the initial team leave the scene by foot. (video)
6:32 am: Three new investigators in khaki pants arrive. (video)
6:32 am: The arrival of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Unit truck. (video)
6:55 am: Arrival of secondary vehicle. (video)
7:02 am: Departure of secondary vehicle. (video)
8:12 am: The departure of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Unit truck. (video)
Mahwah Times 
Leave a comment