'Pasta-Gate' Is Closed: The New Jersey Discarded Pasta Case Has Been Solved!

Social media's latest tasty fixation has a delicious ending!

Last week, the world's collective attention was on a small town in New Jersey after pounds and pounds of discarded pasta had been found in Old Bridge.

Resident Nina Jochnowitz had seen many cases about town during a town council campaign she ran a few years ago, but 'Pasta-gate' undoubtedly had to be one of the weirdest local news items on her agenda!

Jochnowitz took photos of the discarded pasta, which was discovered to contain multiple types of delicious goodness. According to the New York Times, spaghetti, alphabet shapes, and macaroni had been identified among the estimated 300 to 500 pounds. Jochnowitz also reported the mounds of pasta had been measured to be 25 feet.

Jochnowitz's simple gesture of putting photos of the pasta mound on Facebook was only the beginning of the internet's latest fixation!

Old Bridge's local internet scene was reportedly captivated by the photos first; the publication also revealed residents of the suburb began figuring out different theories about how the pasta ended up in the creek!

Restauranteers soon entered the chat to clear their businesses from speculation after the photos began circulating on Reddit.

Anthony Esposito's restaurant had Nothing to do with it, he told the New York Times; Esposito owns Via Sposito, an Italian restaurant in Old Bridge.

Esposito spoke to the outlet and expressed his doubt about the culprit. Although Via Sposito reportedly offers a variety of pasta on its menu, including a few found in the creek, he shared, "Nothing from over here. I guess whoever did that was feeding the forest."

Although the details of 'Pasta-gate' seem like they couldn't exist outside of a 'Monty Python' sketch, the matter did reach the local authorities for investigation. Jochnowitz did contact the police before she shared her photos on social media.

The Police Department of Old Bridge visited the scene and took down the details for a report. The Public Works department then got involved.

The mounds and mounds of pasta were then taken care of, with a reported clean-up of just "under an hour," according to the town's business administrator, Himanshu Shah. It was also "properly disposed of," he said.

Shah also noted the public works department had checked out the scene following the massive exposure from social media. Their findings had been "what appeared to be 15 wheelbarrow loads of illegally dumped pasta along a creek in a residential neighborhood." (per the New York Times)

The source of the massive pasta dump has been identified!

Before the news became public, Jochowitz noted she was aware of the source being a private residence in the New York Times piece. She also stated she had known the head hadn't been a business.

The mystery has been solved, according to the Old Bridge neighborhood residents! According to New York's NBC affiliate, residents had narrowed the source to a home for sale; a military-veteran son had been cleaning out his deceased mother's food supply.

Resident Keith Rost told reporters, "I mean, I feel like he was just trying to clear out his parents' house, and they were probably stocked up from COVID," he speculated. "My grandparents always had a cupboard of cans and pasta just to be safe." Rost also noted that the stockpiling could have resulted from a generational mindset.

Old Bridge's mayor also noted the case had been officially closed.