Bergen bomb squad says mortar at Little Ferry home was dud

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: The Bergen County Bomb Squad determined that a mortar it recovered from a Little Ferry home this morning after a charity worker spotted it being used as a doorstop was inert and posed no threat.

Jerry DeMarco

09/03/2013 5:16 p.m.

“It’s been there for quite some time, at least nine or so years since the homeowner bought the place,” Little Ferry Police Chief Ralph Verdi told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning. “No one before or after really thought about it.”

His officers got the call at 8:57 a.m. from a Habitat for Humanity worker at 135 Lakeview Avenue, Verdi said. Hurricane Sandy took its toll on the house, which is being remodeled, he said.

“He did the right thing,” Verdi said.

“We immediately notified the bomb squad and Little Ferry Fire Department and First Aid,” the chief said.

The specialized Bergen County police unit took the nearly three-foot ordnance from the back of the house.

Bomb squad members later determined that it was “inert,” said Jeanne Baratta, chief of staff for county Executive Kathleen Donovan.

FILE PHOTO: Boyd A. Loving

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