Fort Lee Patch’s Most-Read Stories of 2012

Teen Dies in Fall from Fort Lee Cliff

A 16-year-old boy from Fort Lee died when he fell off a cliff in Fort Lee’s section of the Palisades Interstate Park, near the George Washington Bridge in June, police said.

Fort Lee Man Charged with Murder in Connection with Hit-and-Run Death of Girlfriend

A 26-year-old Fort Lee man was charged with murder in connection with the hit-and-run death of his girlfriend in February outside the Fort Lee Community Center, where he allegedly struck her with his car and then drove over her multiple times, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

A 16-year-old boy from Sayreville riding on a bus full of teenagers heading to a Sweet 16 was killed in August after he stuck his head out of a roof hatch on the bus and hit an overpass as the vehicle drove on Interstate 95 southbound, near the George Washington Bridge, an official said.

North Bergen Prosecutor Charged With Money Laundering In Drug Probe

The former law partner of the Fort Lee mayor helped a pair of large-scale marijuana dealers establish a relationship with a crooked bank manager, authorities said. Marcanton Macri, a North Bergen municipal prosecutor, was accused of "facilitating" a relationship between the banker and two Edgewater men authorities said imported as much as 1,000 pounds of marijuana into New Jersey from Northern California since the start of 2012.

Four-Alarm Fire Rips Through Fort Lee Townhouse

No residents or firefighters were injured when a four-alarm fire tore into a six-unit townhouse complex in Fort Lee on a March afternoon, officials said. 

Troopers Seize More Than $780K in I-95 Traffic Stop

A routine traffic stop on Interstate 95 in Fort Lee led state troopers to seize more than $783,000 and arrest two Bronx men on money laundering charges, state police said in a statement in April.

Retired Fort Lee School Nurse Shot By Husband in Mahwah Murder-Suicide

An 82-year-old Mahwah man called his daughter on a June morning to tell her he had just killed her mother and was going to turn the gun on himself, authorities said Friday. When police arrived at the couple's Polo Lane home in Mahwah shortly after 8 a.m., they found 79-year-old Barbara Ellis downstairs with a gunshot wound to the "top of her head," Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli said.

Fort Lee BOE Shuffles School Principals

The Fort Lee Board of Education approved a resolution in July calling for a “restructuring” of administrative staff. Several principals changed schools, but Priscilla Church stayed at Fort Lee High School.

Fort Lee In Sandy's Aftermath

In the aftermath of Sandy, Fort Lee found its streets littered with downed trees, wires and telephone poles. From the Junction at the base of Abbot Boulevard north to Coytesville, large large portions of the town were without power.

Principal Attacked During Field Day

Police in June charged the ex-husband of an employee at Fort Lee School No. 3, with aggravated assault for allegedly punching the principal at the school in the head during Field Day activities, before following him inside the school and continuing the attack, police said.