Week in Review: Councilman Steps Down, Resident Indicted for Sexual Misconduct

Welcome to the "Week in Review," a weekly column that highlights the top stories that took place in RiverDell including River Edge Councilman John Cannon attending his final meeting on the dais and River Edge resident Artur Sopel being indicted on 19 counts of sexual misconduct and witness tampering.

After three years, sat through his last River Edge Mayor and Council meeting on Monday. Known for his sense of humor to make council meetings go by faster, Cannon chose to not seek reelection this fall and instead focus his attention to his business.

A Bergen County Grand Jury returned a 19 count indictment Wednesday against former  staffer , 31, of River Edge. Sopel and Michael Sumilikoski, 27, of Elmwood Park, were  on April 5, 2011 on charges that they engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct in with four teenage female students during a school trip to Europe. Sopel's indictment includes five counts of endangering the welfare of a child and 12 counts of sexual assault, which are second degree crimes each carrying a maximum term of 10 years in prison. He is also charged with two counts of witness tampering, a third degree crime carrying a maximum term of five years incarceration. Sopel has to the charges and is currently out on bail.

employee John C. Zerega, 54, of New City, NY was by federal authorities on charges of distributing child pornography. The clubhouse manager has allegedly used his home laptop computer and a computer at the golf club to download and distribute images of nude prepubescent children, some of whom were depicted engaged in sex acts with adults or other children. While the Country Club is based out of Haworth, part of the golf course is located just over the Oradell border.

With by the River Edge council, an area along Kinderkamack Road has seen the  changed to include a multi-family dwelling and allow a possible development move forward to the Planning Board.