The embarrassing moment in NJ history you never heard about

Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes and generally live to tell the tale. But this incident that happened in New Jersey back in the 'aughts is so unbelievable that it could have been a dumb episode of an old TV show. You won’t believe that this actually happened here in this state. And relatively recently, too.

So, it’s Thanksgiving 2008. According to Only In Your State, on Nov. 27, around 8:40 p.m., to be exact, the alarm goes off at the PNC Bank on the corner of Routes 518 and 601 in Montgomery Township.

SEE MORE: Here’s where you may catch NJ filming for the Springsteen biopic 

Cops rush to the scene, peering through the dim light and closed blinds, and spot what looks like a shadowy figure lurking inside. Now, naturally, they’re thinking they’ve got a serious situation here, and next thing you know, SWAT teams are called in. They try to get a response—first by phone, then by bullhorn—but nothing. Silence. The place is dead.

By now, it’s a full-blown standoff. They’re evacuating nearby apartment buildings, diverting traffic, and folks are watching this go down thinking they’re witnessing the biggest heist Somerset County’s ever seen. Some reports say this whole thing dragged on for up to three hours.

Finally, SWAT decides it’s time to move in and handle this mysterious “bank robber.” They break in, gear up, and come face-to-face with… a life-size cardboard cutout.

Yep. That’s it. The so-called “suspect” was a cardboard cutout used for advertising, standing there silently the whole time. Over 30 officers from three different towns, Thanksgiving disrupted, the works—all for a cardboard standee. And if that isn’t classic New Jersey, I don’t know what is.

The funniest part? No one ever figured out what actually set off the alarm. It could’ve been a stray balloon, maybe a mouse, or just one of those quirky things that happen when you least expect it. For anyone in the area that night, it’s a story you won’t forget, but for the rest of New Jersey? Just one of those strange tales that reminds us we’ve got the best, and sometimes the weirdest, stories around.

Did you know about this? I didn’t. But for some reason, I feel like it’s so incredibly Jersey.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

Report a correction 👈