Update: New Milford Man Arrested in Luring Case

Tenafly police have arrested a New Milford man in connection with the recent rash of lurings in Tenafly, Cresskill, and Dumont, Tenafly Police Chief Michael Bruno told Patch Friday.

Michael Pezzatti, 20, a former New Milford High School honor student, has been charged with four counts of attempting to lure a child into a motor vehicle-- two charges in Tenafly, one charge in Cresskill and one charge in Dumont. Each count is a considered a second-degree crime, carrying a maximum of five years in prison. 

Detectives from Tenafly, Cresskill and Dumont have been investigating a series of incidents in which the teenage victims reported that a man initiated conversation with them offering them jobs, money for modeling, or asking for help or directions in an effort to lure them into his car. Pezzatti targeted young girls who were walking alone in the area of local schools, police said. 

A source told Patch Thursday that the suspect was employed by Tenafly Kia and may have had access to various cars that were used in attempting to lure girls into his car.

Bruno said that Pezzatti became a person of interest after being stopped in his car by a Tenafly police officer who realized that he fit the description given by the victims. Pezzatti's behavior during this stop raised the officer's suspicions enough that he turned his information over to detectives for follow-up.

The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department BCIU (Bureau of Criminal Investigation Unit) provided detectives with a photo lineup which was shown to the victims who were able to identify Pezzatti as the man who approached them.

After being contacted by police, Pezzatti agreed to be interviewed and was subsequently arrested, Bruno said. He is currently being held in the Bergen County Jail on $250,000 bail.

"This case is a prime example of local and county police professionals working together to bring a very disturbing series of crimes against children to a quick close," Bruno said in a statement.