Bad Hair Day: New Jersey Woman Arrested For Threatening To Blow Up Hair Club Office
ELMWOOD PARK N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Talk about a bad hair day.
Police in New Jersey say a woman had arguably the worst hair day in history – when she phoned in a violent threat to a hair restoration business in Elmwood Park.
"She said I'm going to come down there and blow that mother f'ing building up," Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno explained.
Police say 47-year-old Jennifer Tuminello was upset about a service or product she received at a local hair club.
It's part of the old Hair Club for Men – made famous by former owner Sy Sperling in those memorable commercials.
Police say Tuminello became increasingly agitated over the phone and ultimately told an employee she was going to blow up the place.
The shaken employee called police. A SWAT team and search dogs raced over to the hair club office and evacuated the entire building.
"How seriously do you take this?" CBS2's Scott Rapoport asked police.
"We take this very seriously. We have to," Foligno said.
"And (we) treat it like the real thing. As if there is a device there. Or if she was on the way there to place one."
After a 90-minute search, no explosives were found and employees were allowed to return.
Police say the 47-year-old Hair Club customer was later arrested at her home in Fairlawn. She's been charged with causing a false alarm and making terroristic threats.
She was ultimately was released for evaluation, pending a court date.
CBS2 tried talking to Tuminello at her apartment, but nobody answered the door.
A spokesman for the hair club's corporate office tells CBS2 the whole incident is baffling.
"I can't imagine how it would escalate to this level," Ron Reis, marketing manager for the Hair Club said.
If convicted, police say Tuminello could face up to 10 years in jail and a $15,000 fine.