Community Corner

Police Blotter: Mazareigo Son Arrested for Forgery

Abelino Mazariego, 26, was arrested Sept. 2 for forging a donation check.

CORRECTION: Summit Police initially reported the arrest occured on Aug. 24. However, Abelino Mazariego was actually arrested Sept. 2.

Summit Police have arrested the 26-year-old son of Abelino Mazariego, the Summit resident murdered in the Promenade in July.

The son, of the same name, was arrested Sept. 2 and charged with third degree forgery. Patch's initial report stated Mazariego was arrested on Aug. 24 however the police blotter incorrectly stated the date.

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Detective Steve Zagorski said Mazariego received a donation check –one of many the family has been receiving since the elder Mazariego's death– and forged the amount.

The check was originally written for $250 dollars and Mazariego added a "1" and a comma between the dollar sign and the "2" to make the check for $1,250.

Find out what's happening in Summitwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mazariego had cashed the check and it wasn't until the author of the check noticed it has been cashed for more than the amount written that it was reported to the police on Aug. 24.

Zagorski said police compared Mazariego's handwriting with the victim's and confirmed the check has been forged.

"It's a sad chapter to an already sad story," Zagorski said.

Mazariego is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Elizabeth Friday at 9 a.m. He was released on his own recognisance. If found guilty, Mazariego could get five years in prison, a fine, or both.

His brother, Jose Mazariego, was arrested in June and charged with charged him with two counts of third degree providing obscene materials to a minor and one count of second degree child luring. He is still being held in Union County jail on $200,000 bail.

Several area teenagers, including an 18-year-old from Summit, were charged in conenction to the murder of Mazariego in July. No new court dates have been set as the prosecution is in the process of asking the juveniles in the case to be tried as adults. An employee at Overlook Hospital was also arrested for allegedly stealing more than $600 from the victim's wallet when he arrived at the emergency room on July 17.

Patch has previously reported that the family has received dozens of donations from businesses downtown running specials in the family's name or from residents, locally and outside of Summit.

Barbara Bunting said the Summit Area Public Foundation has gotten at least 550 individual donations by mid-August, ranging from as little as $5 to as much as $2,500 a piece.


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