Taxi Driver Charged With Manslaughter In Bergen Man's Death

A North Bergen man has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a Palisades Park man he was giving a taxi ride to early Sunday morning, said Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal.

Juan C. Tacilla, 40, a taxi driver, was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Lucas Teletor, 27, of Palisades Park, Grewal said in a news release.

A Post Office worker found Lucas Teletor's body just after 6 a.m. Sunday in the back parking lot of the Ridgefield post office at 757 Broad Ave., Grewal said.

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An investigation by the prosecutor's office and Ridgefield Police Department revealed that Tacilla drove Teletor and an acquaintance from an establishment in North Bergen at about midnight, Grewal said.

During the trip, there was an altercation between Teletor and Tacilla; Tacilla pulled the taxi over near the destination on Broad Avenue in North Bergen and a fight between the two ensued, Grewal said.

Tacilla allegedly struck Teletor "numerous times," the acting prosecutor said. Teletor's body was later found in the post office parking lot.

An autopsy, including a toxicology report, from the Bergen County Medical Examiner's office, is pending, Grewal said.

Superior Court Judge Susan J. Steele set Tacilla's bail at $500,000, with no 10 percent option. He is to have no contact with the victim's family if released on bail.

Tacilla is scheduled to appear before Steele Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., Grewal said.

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Juan C. Tacilla, 40, of North Bergen — Bergen County Prosecutor's Office