POLICE DOG DETECTS DRUG SCENT AT ARREST

RUTHERFORD -- A Lyndhurst police dog turned a simple arrest into money
when he picked up the scent of drugs on $7,000 in cash.

Prosecutors began forfeiture proceedings on the bills Tuesday after the
arrests of two Passaic men at the Renaissance Hotel, on Rutherford
Avenue, said Rutherford Deputy Police Chief Steven Nienstedt.

"Considering what we know about the source of the money, it's good to
get it off the street," Nienstedt said.

Rutherford Police Officer Phil Madler got a tip on suspicious activity
in one of the rooms at the Renaissance, and police set up surveillance
July 6.

They discovered that one of the men in the room, Welington Moscosco, 20,
was wanted for outstanding traffic offenses in East Rutherford.

They arrested him without incident as he and Samuel Feliz, 18, left the
hotel that day, Nienstedt said.

A search of the hotel room led to five dime-bags of marijuana.

Both were charged with marijuana possession and released on summonses.

Zak, a German shepherd handled by Lyndhurst police Sgt. Scott Hild,
smelled drugs on about $7,000 the two men had in their pockets,
Nienstedt said.

"Based on the drug dog hitting on the money and other evidence we
discovered, we seized the money under the drug forfeiture statute," he
said.