Wife Schemes To Steal Husband's Car In Bergen Co. Before Divorce: Police

ROCHELLE PARK, NJ —A messy divorce spurred a family feud that saw a mother and son jump the family patriarch and drive off in his Ford, Rochelle Park police say.

Joanne Schielzo, 55, and her son Frank, 20, stand accused of trying to steal a Ford Fusion from the Route 17 North storage facility where they lured her estranged husband Monday, police Lt. James DePreta said.

The 61-year-old husband, of Pennsylvania, thought he was there to pick up belongings, but instead found himself pinned by the younger Schielzo as his mother grabbed the car keys, police said.

The son drove off in the Fusion and the mother drove off in her own Lincoln, but returned to throw away belongings that the 61-year-old had left in the Ford, said police.

The 61-year-old jumped on the hood of his estranged wife's Lincoln in an unsuccessful attempt to stop her driving away again, said police.

Evidence against the mother and son include witnesses' testimony and photographs of the man jumping on the hood, said police.

Officers found him lying in the grass surrounded by the belongings his family had chucked at him, said police.

Schielzo and Schielzo, both of Garfield, were charged with second-degree robbery and third-degree theft, said police. Both were committed to the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing, police said.

Rochelle Park Police Chief Dean Pinto put out a statement saying he "warns citizens not to take legal matters into their own hands, rather, allow the court system to litigate civil disputes."