YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A Maywood police officer who kept his eye on a suspicious vehicle ended up arresting two men before dawn today who police said stole a large amount of copper wire from PSE&G property.

Patrick Hayes, 25, and Robert Santos, 24, both of Saddle Brook, were released pending future court dates on charges of burglary, theft, possession of burglary tools and criminal mischief.

Officer Matt Parodi saw their car parked, with the motor running, at the dead end of West Hunter Avenue near the utility’s West Central Avenue substation  just before 2:30 a.m., Detective Sgt. Timothy Moran told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning.

A short time later, Moran said, Parodi saw it pulling out of the street with the copper.

A representative from PSEG estimated the value of the copper at $8,000, the sergeant said.

MUGSHOTS: Courtesy Maywood PD

YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST: The driver of a BMW sedan sustained a serious head injury after her vehicle collided with a Mercedes SUV in Ridgewood this morning.

The victim was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center after the crash, at the intersection of South Broad Street and Leroy Place.

Ridgewood police, firefighters and EMS units all responded.

Firefighters clearned up a minor fuel spill resulting from teh crash.

Both vehicles were removed by a flatbed tow truck.

STORY / PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: An unlicensed New Milford motorist led police on a high-speed pre-dawn chase, driving his Mercedes SUV through several parking lots, before crashing it into an apartment complex, running and then ducking behind a trash bin, authorities said today.

Officers who found 30-year-old Quincy J. Hilliard hiding there charged him with various offenses, including resisting arrest, leaving the scene of an accident and speeding, Police Chief Frank Papapietro said this afternoon.

Hilliad, of Faller Drive, also was charged with driving with a suspended license and careless driving the chief said.

Officer Michael Lafrano spotted the SUV speeding north on Boulevard near Reichelt Road around 3 a.m., Papapietro said.

Lafrano “activated his lights and attempted to stop the vehicle,” but it kept going, turning onto Faller Drive, the chief said.

Sgt. Brian Clancy joined the chase, as Hilliard kept going, driving through several lots before crashing the SUV into a building at the Brookchester Apartments off Faller Drive, he said.

Hilliard hopped out and ran west, with the officers right behind him, Papapietro said.

After collaring him, police alerted borough firefighters to check the structural integrity of the building, which sustained “substantial damage” to four units.

“Brookchester maintenance was notified and responded to assist residents of the apartments with damage issues,” the chief said. “None of the residents of the apartments were injured or had to be relocated.”

Hilliard posted $7,500 bail and was released pending a Sept. 18 Municipal Court hearing.
MUGSHOT: Courtesy NEW MILFORD PD

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Hackensack police today arrested an alleged “office creeper” who they said spied on women in bathroom at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Women reported three separate incidents — on Aug. 10 and 24 and again on Sept. 6.

In the first, a woman told police that 38-year-old Charles Thomas of Paterson followed her into a bathroom as she went in to rinse out a coffee cup.

She said she screamed and he ran out the door, got into a Pontiac Bonneville and drove off.

Charles Thomas (Courtesy: HACKENSACK PD)

In the last two, however, the women told police that Thomas peeked over the top of a neighboring stall while they were on the toilet, Detective Capt. Thomas Salcedo told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon.

Security officers at FDU spotted the car and got a license plate number, which they relayed to city police, Salcedo said.

“From there, it was just a simple computer check,” he said.

Thomas, who was being processed at Hackensack Police headquarters this afternoon, was charged with three counts of burglary and two counts of invasion of privacy (for the stall incidents).

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: More than three years of heart-rending anguish for loved ones of a Garfield woman slain by ex-con ex-boyfriend after he fled a Newark halfway house was released today during the plea-bargained sentencing of her killer to 45 years in prison.

Friends and loved ones of 21-year-old Viviana Tulli nodded their heads in the crowded Hackensack courtroom after Presiding Superior Court Liliana DeAvila-Silebbi told David Goodell that he must serve 43 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole because of his criminal history.

Goodell, 34, also must pay $5,000 restitution to the Victims of Violent Crimes Compensation Board.

Family members placed photos of Viviana in view before the sentencing

Given the opportunity to speak, he sought leniency.

“I’m not asking for forgiveness. I just want a chance,” Goodell said.

DeAvila-Silebbi wasn’t offering any.

“You have no conscience, no remorse, no soul,” she told him.

Goodell seemed to prove it when, while being led out by Bergen County Sheriff’s officers, he looked in the direction of the Tulli family and shouted, “A-ha!”

A source with knowledge of the incident told CLIFFVIEW PILOT he laughed while riding the courthouse elevator to the jail transportation van.

Moments earlier, Tulli’s sister called Goodell “someone who does not belong among us, and yet he still breathes.”

“Viviana Tulli was young, she was beautiful, she was 21,” Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Wayne Mello told DeAvila-Silebi before she handed down the sentence. “And David Goodell took her life because he could — one more horror of tragedy, of domestic violence, of a man visiting violence on a woman, of a man’s hand on a woman’s throat, as he took the life and breath from her.

“I tremble to my very soul when I look in the eyes of her father.  As a father, I cannot imagine the pain that he and his dear beloved wife have suffered at the hands of a killer that has taken the child that Luz gave life to, that she and Carlos loved and protected.

“As I look into his eyes, he looks out into a darkness and says ‘Why, God?  Why could I not protect her from this evil’? The sad truth is: No man can.”

Out on parole, Goodell fled Logan Hall in Newark hours before he strangled “Vivi” Tulli and rammed her car head-on into a police cruiser in a Ridgefield cul-de-sac on Aug. 30,2010, her dead body still in the passenger seat, in what authorities called an attempt at suicide by cop.

The killing brought to light serious problems with New Jersey’s halfway house system, launching a battle between legislators and Gov. Christie over reforms.

Goodell had faked a seizure at the halfway house, was taken to a hospital and then fled when no one was looking.

Early the next morning, he was standing outside Tulli’s  car, parked in a lot at Ridgefield Park High School, when someone called police. Goodell was disoriented and covered in blood, the caller said.

Officers ended up chasing the car into Ridgefield, where the incident came to a horrifying end.

It was the sisters’ mother’s birthday that day. It was also the same day, in a tragic stroke of circumstance, that their father was laid off from his job.

Goodell previously spent less than half a year in Northern State Prison in Newark for assaulting a police officer and threatening to kill a woman he was dating. He was supposed to remain behind bars until December 2011 after he was sentenced by a Passaic County judge nearly four years ago.

Under state law, Goodell, of Clifton (and, previously, Ridgefield Park), could have been imprisoned for four years on each conviction. But he was paroled in February 2010, five months after serving what was originally a sentence of more than two years, records obtained by CLIFFVIEW PILOT show.

Sisters, Stella (l.), Viviana (PHOTO: Courtesy TULLI FAMILY)

Those with direct knowledge of the case told CLIFFVIEW PILOT they believed he’d be judged criminally insane. Things didn’t happen that way, however: Goodell pleaded guilty to murder in late June as part of a plea agreement, sparing the Tullis the torment of a trial.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Trenton brought attention to Community Education Centers, a private company that operates most of the facilities in the state’s $100 million halfway house system.

After hearing from Stella Tulli (above, left and below, second photo), and other witnesses, the legislators introduced more than a dozen measures aimed at tightening regulations and contracts with the private companies in the system.

To this day, little has been done, however.

In a step welcomed by survivors and victim advocates, Christie in May 2011 repealed a state program that had let some convicts leave prison six months early, hours after legislators approved the move.

The previous program gave an earlier crack at parole to several ex-convicts who went on to commit more violent crimes — including Goodell.

The Parole Board now has discretion to wait three to 10 years following a denial, as well.

Many of those attending today’s sentencing held a steely resolve. At one point, Tulli’s husband reached over and rubbed her shoulders. The group was solemn, united in their determination to see justice finally done.

Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Wayne Mello (STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter)

Public defender Francis Meehan asked the judge to view his client differently than they and Mello did.

“Many people here consider Mr. Goodell to be a monster because of the harm he has done, but I ask you to look at the other side, a person who never had a chance in life,” he told DeAvila-Silebbi. “Both his parents were addicts.  He never had a chance in life.  He left school in the 7th grade, and ended up on the street. He has been incarcerated for 10 of the last 15 years.

“He has been taking care of himself for a very long time, and that caused him to act out in an irrational fashion.”

Stella Tulli, in turn, called Goodell “a piece of garbage.”

“My heart has been ripped from my body, stabbed, stepped on, and shattered,” she said.

“After she was murdered I snuck down into the embalming room and lay with her on the table – held her hand, ran my fingers through her hair,” Tulli said. “I can never erase that image, the bruises on her face.

“Sometimes it is too painful to get out of bed …. The grief never ends …. Yet I still continue to fight for my sister.”

“This was not the first young woman he abused,” said Mello, the prosecutor in the case. “One of them said in the course of the investigation: ‘He will not stop until some girl is dead and he is behind bars for the rest of his life.’

“There is no sentence but the sentence of 45 years – and, truth be told, he wrote that sentence, and that will be his epitaph.”

DeAvila-Silebi agreed.

“Vivi” Tulli

“Domestic violence is rampant – many cases, many victims who die,” she said.

“I’m 100% if you were released today, you would have no qualms about killing another,” she told Goodell. “You’ve been incarcerated more than you’ve been out. But, also, I consider the seriousness of the prior offenses.  A lot of them were assaults – on police officers, women – robberies.

“There is an extreme need to deter you … and that’s the aggravating factor I put the most weight on – the need to deter,” the judge said.

“Viviana was trying to give you some love, some hope, some mercy – and the tragedy is you saw her as someone to be used as property, and not as a beautiful human being,” DeAvila-Silebi continued.

“I don’t accept for a moment that your hard life gives you license to do this.  There are many people who had a horrendous childhood and chose to be loving and giving people.  You have to choose to give love to others — and you chose not to.”
RELATED:

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Loved ones of murder and rape victims — several of them right here in our area — can finally begin to exhale now that Gov. Christie has repealed a state program that let some convicts leave prison six months early. The governor wasted no time, signing the “no early release” measure Monday within hours of the Legislature’s vote for final approval. READ MORE….

Viv’s headstone

EXCLUSIVE: Weeks from the first anniversary of Viviana Tulli’s murder, her headstone is finally in place, replacing a wooden cross sticking from the grave, thanks to a company that responded to a CLIFFVIEW PILOT bid for help. READ MORE ….

THE VICTIM’S SISTER’S STORY (ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT): My cellphone was vibrating. I wished my mom a “Happy Birthday” that morning and all seemed right. But as the hours passed, a feeling of uneasiness crept over me. So I answered. “The police called your father. They want us all to go to the police station,” Mom said. “Something happened to Vivi.” READ MORE ….

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A bloodied man who police believe had just strangled an ex-girlfriend drove her car head-on into a police cruiser with the woman’s body still in the passenger seat, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. The lifeless body of 21-year-old Viviana Tulli of Saddle Brook was found in the car driven by David Goodell, 30, after the crash, he said. READ MORE….

EXCLUSIVE: Accused killer was paroled early after assaulting cops, making death threats …. READ MORE ….

WHAT WE THINK: David Goodell poked a hole in New Jersey’s less-than-secure system of halfway houses nearly two years ago: After slipping away, he strangled his ex-girlfriend before ramming her car into a police cruiser in Ridgefield. Yet it’s only now that anyone is demanding to know how this happened, and what can be done to keep future innocents from harm. READ MORE….

YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST: A hit-and-run crash in Glen Rock injured both drivers, though not seriously, and led to major rush-hour tie-ups tonight.

The driver of a heavily-damaged silver Toyota Highlander got about a half-mile from the scene before a uniformed Glen Rock officer stopped her, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.

At the same time, firefighters responded to the crash site Harding Plaza and Rock Road to clean up a major spill caused when the impact ruptured the fuel tank on a Ford Ranger pickup.

The Toyota Highlander’s cooling system was also damaged, requiring a second cleanup crew.

Hawthorne Fire Company #4 assisted Glen Rock firefighters at both locations.

Meanwhile, Rock Road was closed in both directions from Glen Avenue to Maple Avenue as emergency response workers tended to the injured and the damaged. Portions of Harding Road were also closed, as was Harding Plaza.

Glen Rock EMS responded to both locations, taking the Toyota driver to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. The other driver was treated at the scene and declined to be taken to a hospital.

No word yet on possible summonses.

STORY / PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: An Englewood woman and her boyfriend were in the city lockup tonight, charged with torching her car in order to collect on the insurance.

Katima McCullough, 32, “was behind on car payments and dodging repossession,” Detective Capt. Timothy Torell told CLIFFVIEW PILOT tonight.

Police and fire responded to the fire call around 1 p.m. Sunday and found McCullough’s 2007 Nissan Murano ablaze on Elmore Avenue in the city’s Fourth Ward, Torell said.

“No one was in or around the vehicle and the responding firefighters immediately saw signs of an intentional setting,” the captain said.

McCullough “initially denied any knowledge of the fire and then made an insurance claim,” he said.

City police detectives and Fire Department investigators teamed up with members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Arson Squad.

Besides learning McCullough’s history with the car, they canvassed the area and recovered surveillance video from nearby buildings, Torell said.

It showed her and her 33-year-old boyfriend, Armar Moore, running from the scene of the fire, he said.

McCullough is charged with arson and insurance fraud. Her bail was set at $35,000. Moore was charged with failing to report a fire and hindering apprehension. His bail is $5,000.

They were to be transferred to the Bergen County Jail tonight, Torell said.

“Every time you or me write out a check to our car insurance company, to an extent we pay for false claims like this one,” the captain told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “The investigators on this case did a great job.”

MUGSHOTS: Courtesy ENGLEWOOD PD

EXCLUSIVE REPORT: FBI agents captured a man wanted for robbing seven banks across four counties by tracing the getaway car from a holdup two days ago to his girlfriend – a now-former Saddle Brook “special” police officer, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.

Authorities reviewing surveillance video spotted Jennifer Pinto’s Chevy Equinox leaving the Lusitania Savings Bank in Hillside moments after it was held up on Wednesday, a federal complaint says. Government agents then tracked it to her parents’ house in the township, a law enforcement source told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

“The FBI was tailing her when she pulled up to the house,” the source said. “Then they got out and detained her.”

Bank surveillance images, courtesy: FBI NEWARK FIELD OFFICE

The agents reported finding a black toy gun and shirts that appear to match those that they said Pinto’s 32-year-old boyfriend, Andrew Thomas, was seen wearing in bank surveillance images.

Pinto, who has an 8-month-old child with Thomas, was brought in for questioning, according to an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark.

She, in turn, fingered Thomas for seven holdups and one botched attempt over the past 10 months, while confessing to driving the getaway car in two of them, federal authorities said. Thomas surrendered later that day and confessed, as well, they said.

FBI agents charged him with eight counts of bank robbery and Pinto with two counts of conspiracy for being his alleged wheelwoman. Thomas remained held without bail following an initial appearance in federal court in Newark. Pinto, who the FBI said had been living with him in Newark, was released on a $100,000 bond.

Local police told CLIFFVIEW PILOT that they couldn’t address any aspect of what is a federal investigation. They confirmed, however, that Pinto – who grew up in town and was graduated from Saddle Brook High School — has resigned her position as a special officer after three years.

Federal authorities said Thomas pulled in nearly $50,000 during the holdup spree. He often wore the same clothes and used the same method, walking briskly to the bank counter, demanding money, and then marching out with the cash, their complaint says.

“Give me all your large!” the robber shouted in one holdup, according to the FBI complaint. “Fill it up!” he yelled in another.

All but once, he pointed what appeared to be a black handgun, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said yesterday.

Federal agents were certain that they were pursuing a serial bandit: Surveillance images from various holdups clearly show his face. Last month, the FBI released some of those photos in an attempt to identify him.

EXCLUSIVE REPORT: A Sayreville man who drove to a Dunkin Donuts in Paramus for what he thought would be sex with an 11-year-old girl after sending a photo of his genitals to another he thought was 13 was sentenced to 30 days in the Bergen County Jail yesterday.

Jeffrey Zuber, 41, asked Superior Court Judge Edward A. Jerejian for probation, describing a series of events that he said drove him to depression and deviant behavior — culminating with his arrest by cyber-crime detectives posing as youngsters.

It began with his divorce, Zuber told the judge in Hackensack.

“Life started to change,” he said. “I bought a house for me and my son, and then I lost my job. I didn’t know if I could get another job to pay my bills.”

Things got worse following a massive flood, as well as a death in the family that hit him particularly hard, Zuber said. The house flooded again during Hurricane Irene, he said.

Superior Court Judge Edward Jerejian

Following his June 2011 arrest, Zuber said, he began reflecting on his choices. He also had a life-altering experience during Hurricane Sandy, he said.

“I almost died, swimming for my life,” he said.

Zuber told the judge he’s gotten help from a therapist and found a job.

His defense attorney, Brian Neary, said his client has attended more than 20 counseling sessions while free on $75,000 bail and will be continuing.

To which Zuber added: “I ask you please, your honor: Help me in rebuilding my life.”

Zuber had two experiences with investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office who troll the Internet for cyber predators.

In April 2011, he sold what they described as “obscene material” to them online. Then came the June 7 trip to Paramus, where he was arrested.

Jeffrey Zuber (r.) with defense attorney Brian Neary (STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter)

It was to the third-degree charge of selling obscene material that Zuber pleaded guilty to. He also agreed to participate in a diligent program of counseling and other activities designed to rehabilitate his life.

In exchange, prosecutors dropped nine other charges.

Jerejian said Zuber nonetheless needs to experience jail a bit more, so that he’ll “never want to come back.”
Zuber will get credit for the 10 days he already spent behind bars, dropping the sentence to 20 days, plus three years of probation, the judge noted.

If he violates the terms in any way, he warned Zuber, “you’ll go to state prison for five years.”

“You were looking to have sex with a 13-year old girl and an 11-year old girl,” Jerejian said. “You went to Dunkin’ Donuts in Paramus to meet a young girl for sex.

“Children need to be protected from this whole new world that’s accessible on the internet,” the judge added. “There is a strong need to deter this type of behavior.”

STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: With an assist from their NJ Transit colleagues, Hasbrouck Heights police took an accused burglary into custody early this morning.

A Terrace Avenue resident reported the break-in on Thursday, Detective Michael Colaneri told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

“Possible suspects were developed,” and the list was narrowed down to 49-year-old Robert Kearns, who lives in town, Colaneri said.

An alert was then issued, he said.

NJ Transit police picked up Keans at Penn Station in Newark just after 3 o’clock this morning.

Colaneri said he and fellow Detective Joseph Armeli then went to Newark to interview him.

Kearns, who Colaneri said was carrying four watches stolen in the break-in — three gold and one black — was arrested and charged with burglary and theft.

Bail was set at $50,000 for Kearns, who was being held in the Bergen County Jail pending a court appearance.

MUGSHOTS: Courtesy of HASBROUCK HEIGHTS PD

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A loud boom followed by a momentary loss of electricity rocked Ridgewood tonight after a manhole cover blew.

Authorities were trying to determine the cause of the 7 p.m. blast, which shook business owners, customers and church goers tonight in the area of Prospect and Dayton Streets.

Police and firefighters responded after receiving several calls and found the blown manhole cover in front of 11 Prospect Street.

Firefightes checked the basements of several nearby buildings and found a light smoke condition at 54 East Ridgewood Avenue. They ventilated the basement, as per procedure.

No injuries or damage were reported, even though an unoccupied Ford Escape was parked within a foot of the manhole.

A PSE&G crew was on the scene before 8 p.m.

East Ridgewood Avenue was closed between Oak and South Broad Streets, and Prospect Street was closed between East Ridgewood Avenue and Dayton Street while they worked.

STORY / PHOTOS: Boyd A. Loving

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Fairview police last night grabbed one Bronx man, and were seeking another, after they allegedly tried using phony credit cards at a Broad Avenue liquor store.

The two sped away in a Mercedes Benz as responding officers arrived at the Liquor Depot — driving south in the northbound lane — around 7 o’clock last night, Detective Capt. Martin Kahn told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

The driver tried to turn at 86th Street and Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen but crashed the car into another liquor store, the captain said.

One man fled, but police grabbed the other.

Royer Soto, 19, was being held on $15,000 bail, charged with fraudulent use of credit cards, forgery and resisting arrest. He was carrying a phony Rhode Island driver’s license, Kahn said.

Fairview police have identified the second man and were looking for him this morning.

EXCLUSIVE: A Garfield couple charged in the murder of a Cliffside Park man last July are headed to trial, now that prosecutors have refused to offer them plea bargains.

Due to the seriousness of the charges, neither Michael Sampson — charged with murder in the death of Hector Tito Zabala Jr. — nor his live-in girlfriend, Jacqueline Pierro, will have an opportunity to reduce their potential sentences.

However, that doesn’t mean their defense attorneys can’t pitch their own plea proposals, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Danielle Grootenboer (below, far left) said.

Sampson, 39, is also charged with perjury, which will be tried separately. He remains held on $3.1 million bail.

Pierro has been free on $25,000 bail since shortly after their July 11, 2012 arrests.

Pierro, Sampson (STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter)

Presiding Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi set a trial date of March 25, 2014 for both defendants.

A running factor for Sampson has been the inability of his defense lawyer to be in court.

Steven E. Braun, filling in for him, told DeAvila-Silebi that attorney Miles Feinstein is currently trying a murder case in Sussex County that began in July and isn’t expected to finish until the end of November, the earliest.

With the agreement of both prosecutors, the judge ordered that Sampson will be tried on the murder charges first and then the perjury counts.

The second case arose from what authorities said were false statements that Sampson in court on two separate occasions in 2006 and 2007.

Besides first-degree murder, Sampson faces several weapons possession charges, drug possession and neglecting his and Pierro’s then-4-month old son.

Pierro, meanwhile, is charged with hindering Sampson’s arrest, as well as endangerment — for leaving the boy with Sampson when she knew a manhunt for him was under way.

Sampson and Zabala were drinking at the same Anderson Avenue bar when they got into some kind of argument.

Sampson went to his car, got a gun, then shot Zabala dead as he walked home, authorities allege.

Pierro was in the car at the time and left with Sampson, they said.

STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter

A 25-year-old Jersey City man working as a security guard at a Rutherford hotel is charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy who was staying there over the weekend as part of a class trip out of upstate New York.

Jose M. Olivares was arrested at his home on Monday by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit and Rutherford police and charged with sexual assault and child endangerment.

The incident occurred “during the early morning hours” Sunday at the hotel, county Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said this afternoon.

“The victim had been on a school trip from Syracuse, New York and was staying in a hotel room with two other juveniles,” Molinelli said.

Olivares “was contracted by Calvary Protection Services [South Plainfield] to act as security at the hotel specifically for the students,” and entered the boys’ room, the prosecutor said.

The teen “immediately reported the incident to a chaperone, who then contacted the Rutherford Police Department,” Molinelli said. Police then alerted SVU detectives, he said.

Olivares was being held on $100,000 bail at the Bergen County Jail.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy of BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A long-awaited police consolidation plan unveiled today by the four Democratic majority members of the Bergen County freeholder board promises to save anywhere from $90.6 million to $200.4 million over 25 years by putting the county police department under the control of the county sheriff.

Freeholder Chairman David Ganz said the entire blueprint will be released to all county officials on Friday. However, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has obtained a copy (SEE BELOW).

No one loses his or her job, or takes a pay cut, under the proposal. However, the chain of command changes dramatically, and new hires would come in at the lower base salary for the sheriff’s office. Meanwhile, 10 civilians would take over duties handled by county police at Bergen’s dispatch center in Mahwah and Office of Emergency Management.

County police would still patrol — continuing to write tickets that only they can present in Central Municipal Court — and keep their bomb-squad and SWAT duties.

“For three years I’ve said that merging the County Police with the Sheriff’s Office is a common-sense way to provide millions in property tax relief for Bergen County taxpayers without compromising public or officer safety,” Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon.

“At the end of the day, the details of the plan are a policy issue which must be decided by the freeholders and on which I have no vote,” Saudino added, “but I stand ready, willing and able to work with officials of both parties to implement whatever plan is voted into action.

Bergen County Police Chief Brian Higgins, Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino

“In my first term as sheriff I’ve cut annual spending by over $1.7 million and reduced overtime by over 40%, and I look forward to bringing the same proven results and fiscal accountability to a consolidated county force by improving the overall utilization of manpower across the county.”

County Executive Kathleen Donovan is expected to oppose the plan, which Ganz said will officially be introduced at an Oct. 2 public freeholder meeting. The Board has the votes to approve the plan, as well as enough to override a veto by Donovan.

The fifth vote necessary to override would come from either Republican John Felice or John Mitchell, who have supported the move — and were both part of a GOP effort to merge the agencies. Fellow Republican Freeholder Maura DeNicola supports Donovan in wanting to keep things as they are.

Observers and participants have said Donovan likely would then go to court in an effort to stop the police consolidation, which she repeatedly has said the freeholders don’t have the authority to implement.

Jeanne Baratta, Donovan’s chief of staff, said tonight that her office hadn’t received a copy of the plan. CLIFFVIEW PILOT emailed her one after 6 p.m. today.

During a news conference hours earlier at county Democratic headquarters in Hackensack, Ganz said: “The issue has been studied to death without resolution. We propose to change all that today.”

Ganz (top photo) said he hasn’t specifically discussed the completed plan with Saudino but that “the sheriff has been consulted along.”

Going forward, he said, implementation and changes to the plan will be done by law enforcement professionals.

The major change is to the public safety table of organization, which under an updated county code is now within freeholder authority.  The Bergen County Police as an agency isn’t being abolished – it’s being absorbed by the sheriff’s office, the Democrats emphasized.

The initial savings the first and second year will be “modest,” Ganz said. These will increase over time through retirements.

Conservative estimates have put the number of BCPD employees eligible to retire at 20.

The Democrats offered two long-term projections: One took into account keeping all 524 officers in the two departments, which they said could save more than $90 million a year over 25 years, and another figured in attrition that dropped the number to 480 and promised a whopping $200 million a year in savings over the same period.

HIGHLIGHTS (FULL PLAN BELOW):

·         No one loses his or her job;

·         Entire BCPD falls under Bergen County Sheriff’s Office;

·         BCPD chief reports to the sheriff and cannot hold any other position unless the sheriff OKs it (the current county police chief, Brian Higgins, is also the Bergen public safety director);

·        The Department of Law and Public Safety, under which the county police currently exists, remains, overseeing functions such as county Office of Emergency Management and consumer protection bureau;

·         Larger Sheriff’s Office allows officers to “serve as a force multiplier,” thus increasing county law enforcement capacity;

·         BCPD continues to operate as a unit;

·         All specialty units will continue, with no loss of certifications

·         Same number of officers on the road;

·         Increase efficiency and eliminate duplicate services;

·         Income from Central Municipal Court continues;

·         Savings to taxpayers over 25 years: between $90.6 million and $200.41 million, based on variables;

·         Additional savings can result from “unquantifiable items,” such as sharing vehicles and economies of scale.  There can also be greater savings depending on decisions made in the future by law enforcement personnel.

Bergen County Police Consolidation Plan

1.     THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAN

The Democratic Freeholders of Bergen County seek to reduce taxes and improve public safety by consolidating the County Police as a division of the Sheriff’s Department under a new streamlined table of organization. This document is a plan of action and not another commissioned study into law enforcement.  Once implemented by the Freeholder Board, this plan will improve public safety, save taxpayers millions of dollars, eliminate duplicative services, cut waste, and improve efficiency.

2.     EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Democratic Freeholders of Bergen County propose leaving the County Police as a distinct unit and move it, in its entirety, from civilian administration under the Division of Law and Public Safety, to the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department as part of an organizational realignment.

The Administrative Code allows the Board of Chosen Freeholders to reorganize departments, as they deem necessary and appropriate.   It is the intent of this plan to alter the table of organization.

The County Police will continue as its own division under the Sheriff’s Department, headed by the Chief of Police. This plan mandates no reduction in force.  The new Sheriff’s Department will include 524 sworn officers and consists of 281 corrections officers and 243 Sheriff’s Officers/County Police.  Some duplicative functions may allow for a future reduction in personnel, the Democratic Freeholders plan calls for no force reduction and that all changes in staffing levels will be through attrition.  It guarantees that no officer loses their job.

The Democratic Freeholders of Bergen County believe that decisions regarding personnel and implementation of this plan should be decided by experienced law enforcement professionals.  Posts that may be civilianized such as the Academy, OEM, Communications and Dispatch will be changed by attrition. Qualified experts and retired officers can easily fill those positions at a reduced rate. We have identified 10 positions that may be filled by civilians. As other current County Police officers retire, they will be replaced by new hires within the Sheriff’s Department or though inter-agency transfers.

Additionally the Freeholders will empanel a blue-ribbon panel of law enforcement professionals in order to asses the appropriate level of staffing levels that the merged Sheriff’s Department in order to maintain public safety at the highest level. The panel will set an appropriate table of organization. These determinations will be encapsulated as a Memorandum of Understanding and signed by the Sheriff, the County Prosecutor, the County Executive and adopted by this Freeholder Board. The panel will be commissioned immediately and have no more than 6 months to make these determinations and execute this Memorandum of Understanding.

Key facts:

• No reduction in force.

• The same number of police will be on the road after implementation as today.

• No sworn officers will be laid off.

• Additional savings will occur by taking sworn officers out of dispatch, OEM, Communications or the Academy and replacing them with civilians, at a reduced cost.

• The Chief of Police will report to the Sheriff and shall not hold any other position unless deemed necessary by the Sheriff.

• Additional savings will potentially come from planned attrition over the next 25 years but is not mandated and the ultimate decision will rest with the Sheriff.

• Increased efficiency and elimination of duplication of services will save additional dollars.

• Through coordination, these forces can more effectively serve as a force multiplier thus increasing County Law enforcement capacity.

The savings are substantial

Through this change in the County’s table of organization (above), Bergen County taxpayers will begin benefitting immediately, seeing improved public safety and millions in tax relief.

Calculations and analysis performed for this plan show a minimum savings to taxpayers of $90.61 million with the potential for $200.41 million or more over 25 years including pension responsibilities. This range does not include savings that cannot be quantified at this time (consolidated purchasing and repairs for example) and as such may push savings even higher in both calculations.

The savings of hiring one Sheriff’s Officer compared to hiring one County Police Officer in the current structure is at least $933,612 over the course of a 25 years career including the subsequent pension and health care obligations.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: FOR ACTUAL FIGURES USED, SEE APPENDIXES BELOW

Currently, there is documented duplication in the areas of K-9, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Special Operations Group (SOG), traffic, and detective bureaus, as well as in administration. Merging these services within the new Sheriff’s Department will allow for greater accountability and enhanced law enforcement capabilities.   The merged department creates better flexibility and cross assignment within these divisions that will positively affect overtime and services.

3.      METHODOLOGY  

The plan includes projected costs to the County if no action were taken and two additional models that project a range of savings for the County with a merger over a 25-year period.

Model 1

The minimum savings county taxpayers would realize as a result of this merger is $90.61 million.   This was calculated by the determining the difference in salary and wages, fringe benefits, clothing allowance and projectable elements of pension, healthcare and overtime over the course of a 25-year career.  This model maintains the exact number of officers we have today in both the Sheriff’s Department and County Police.  It reduces overtime percentages of County Police Officers to 1.9% of salary a level consistent with the Sheriff’s Department from their current levels of 6.43%. The merged department will allow for better flexibility and cross assignment within these divisions that will be able to positively affect overtime and services.

The first model further calculates the cost savings of civilianizing 10 positions through attrition.  The positions would be filled by qualified experts or retired police officers. Those positions include uniform officers presently assigned fulltime to the dispatch center, training academy and Office of Emergency Management.

Model 2

The second model takes into consideration the potential savings by eliminating duplicative services and increasing efficiency.  Among the areas of duplication are K-9, SWAT, Special Operations Group (SOG), traffic, detective bureaus and administration.

The Democratic Freeholders conducted nearly 50 professional interviews, both formal and informal.  The Freeholders examined findings in the Guidepost Report, findings in the Bergen County Law Enforcement Consolidation Task Force and the 1990’s Buracker Report.  Additionally, a thorough structural and fiscal analysis was performed on what has been done in other counties in New Jersey.

Officials who were consulted include the current Bergen County Sheriff, the former Director of Law and Public Safety, the Bergen County Prosecutor and the Sheriff of a neighboring county who had implemented a similar merger.

Using different projections and reports and based on professional expertise it is believed that a Sheriff’s Department force of 480 officers would provide all of the law enforcement services currently provided in the two separate departments.   Achieving this staffing level would only be done through attrition and once again is not mandated.  It will be up to the Bergen County Sheriff to make these determinations.  It would not be prudent to make definitive decisions prior to the merger being implemented.

Not included in either model is savings associated with the two departments that cannot be quantified at this time and will only be realized post merger.  They potential selling of office space by consolidating buildings, consolidating record keeping, reduction in demand for vehicles and gas, consolidation of IT, combining administrative staffs, and consolidation of garages.

After the merger takes full effect and with proper management, additional savings bringing the total saved to well over $100 million in model 1 and $210 in model 2 is probable.

Formula Facts

Individuals

The calculation of the cost of each individual is comprised of five elements. The elements are salary, fringe, shift differential, clothing allowance, and the county’s anticipated pension bill.

Salary

Salary is calculated using the step system as outlined in the appendix. Once an officer reaches the top step of their rank they then begin to receive annual raises. Bergen County Police Officers receive 2.49% raises and Bergen County Sheriff’s Officers receive 2% raises.

Fringe

The fringe costs associated with the employees in the models were calculated using the percentages of salary that those costs represent. The elements incorporated into the overall fringe rates are Medicare, Social Security, Medicare Reimbursement, Dental, Eyeglasses, Prescription, Workers Compensation, Unemployment Trust Fund, Hospitalization, Pension, and Longevity. The County Police Contract fringe rate is 59.75% of salary. The Sheriff Department Contract fringe rate is 72.84%.

Clothing Allowance

The cost of clothing allowance is calculated at a rate of $850 per Bergen County Police Officer. The clothing allowance for Bergen County Sheriff’s Officers is calculated at a rate of $1,200 per officer.

Shift Differential

Shift Differential is bonus pay which officers receive for working on a less desirable shift. All Bergen County Police Officers receive an annual shift differential payment of $2,608. Shift differential is paid out to 71.8% of Sheriff’s Officers at a rate of $3,000 per annum.

Pension

The pension cost that an officer presents to the county was calculated by multiplying the average of their three highest annual salaries by the actuarial rate and the number of years that the county will be making the payment. For years where the actuarial rate was unknown the ten-year average of 18.52% was used. The time period used for all officers was the first 20 years of payments that would be accrued.

Health Payouts

These numbers were not included in the overall calculations but have been taken into account as potential expenses in the course of normal county budgets. The size of this expense is not expected to change as a result of this reorganization of Bergen County Law Enforcement.

Job Vacancies / Hires

The attrition rates were applied at a 5.54% rate for the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and a 4.72% rate for the Bergen County Police. Changes in overall cost to the county from retirements by officers were determined using the projected average cost of an officer in that year.

4. IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY

The goal of police consolidation has always been to not only save taxpayer dollars but also to improve public safety in the process.  Through this plan Bergen County will create one cohesive county law enforcement department under the Sheriff’s Department that will allow for better communication, fluidity, greater accountability and increased capabilities.  This plan will create a Sheriff’s Department that can focus on its previous core responsibilities while also becoming a reliable support agency for local police departments.

5. CURRENT MAKEUP OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN BERGEN COUNTY

Bergen County has 436 Sheriff’s Officers, 88 County Police Officers, and more than 2000 officers in its 68 municipal police departments. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s office is the lead law enforcement agency, and Bergen County has areas of overlapping jurisdiction with the New Jersey State Police the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police, NJ Transit Police and Port Authority Police.

While the intention of these multiple layers was to offer support and provide specialty units to local law enforcement, redundancy has developed over time. This redundancy is what taxpayers can no longer afford.

The services offered by both the Sheriff’s Department and County Police are essential to public safety in Bergen County. However, two separate county agencies duplicating services does not speak to efficiency or the best utilization of resources.  The lack of communication and cooperation alone wastes tax dollars and puts public safety at risk.

A potential situation could arise, with the multitude of law enforcement departments in Bergen County, where as many as 5 law enforcement agencies arrive on a scene. If a fatality were to occur on the New Jersey Turnpike or Route 3, local police would be the first responders, as well as the County Police’s Medical Examiner’s Office Investigators, Sheriff’s Department Officers with the Bureau of Investigation, the Bergen County Prosecutor with the Fatal Accident Squad, and the State Police because the accident occurred on a State Highway.

6. HISTORY

Sheriff

In the State of New Jersey, the County Sheriff is a constitutionally mandated elected position.  The history of the office traces back to as early as 1661, the Dutch appointed a “schout” or sheriff for the town of Bergen. He served until 1664 when the British took control of the province. The Schout took control again when the Dutch reasserted authority in 1673, but the following year, the British retook the province and the Schout vanished from Bergen County history.

By Act of the General assembly in 1682, a sheriff was to serve annually in each county.  By 1698, the Sheriff served for a year then had to sit out three years before he could again hold that office.   The NJ State Constitution of 1844 increased the Sheriff’s term to three years and provided for his selection by public election.

The Sheriff is a constitutional officer who serves a three-year term and may succeed himself (unlike in 1844).  He is the chief elected law enforcement officer of the county.

County Police

The Bergen County Traffic Police was started in 1917 when the Board of Chosen Freeholders appointed Arthur “Bert” Bredin, as the lone Police Officer to regulate the increasing traffic on County roads.  Initial duties included monitoring the condition of County Roads for safety and reporting any defects to the County Road Department and County Engineer.  In 1918 George Shafer was added to assist Peter Siccardi with police duties.  In 1921 the County Freeholders expanded the Police Department to eight members – a Chief, Lieutenant, and six Patrolmen.  During this early period of the Bergen County Traffic Police, enforcement centered on speeders, weight limits on county bridges, as well as monitoring and providing assistance to all local police departments with basic police services.

In 1924 the Department was increased to twelve men.  The Bergen County Traffic Police Headquarters was located in a single-family house on the corner of Hudson, Essex and Main Street, Hackensack (this building has since been demolished) on the same location as the old County Administration Building.

In 1928 the Bergen County Police Department became the first department in the United States to have an Aerial Police.  After a crash the Freeholders refused to pay for the repair or replacement of the aircraft and the era of the first Aerial Police came to an end.

Today, only Bergen and Union Counties maintain county Police Departments. Camden County recently reinstituted its County Police Force primarily to replace the City of Camden force.  County police departments across the State other than the two remaining have been merged or phased out entirely. In 1992 a blue ribbon panel under Governor Jim Florio concluded that law enforcement responsibilities not performed by County Prosecutors should be placed under the County Sheriff’s departments.

The Sheriff’s Department is constitutionally mandated in New Jersey, where the County Police Department is not.

VII.  FINDINGS

Models – Two models show our projected range of savings to be between $90.61 million and $200.41 million dollars over the course of 25 years, plus savings in resulting pension bills and certain fixed cost programs.

The difference between the County Police and Sheriff’s Department contracts is stark, while Sheriff’s Officers receive the very same academy training. The eventual hiring of all employees on the Sheriff’s contract will result in significant savings.

The Bergen Freeholders have long regulated overtime in all county departments including the County Police and the Sheriff. The Democratic Freeholders anticipate further reductions in overtime, which costs taxpayers 1.5 times hourly salary plus additional costs.

Overtime will be reduced and can be projected at a lower rate. Increased fluidity between departments would equal less overtime. Better cross training between departments would equal less overtime.

One of the final and most important results from this organizational shift will be an improved and increased exchange of information between State, County and Local Law Enforcement. By consolidating county law enforcement under one agency, the flow of information will be much more seamless and will help avoid the miscommunications we have witnessed in the past.

Savings not factored into formula

By placing all County Law Enforcement at the Sheriff’s offices, the merger will allow the county to repurpose and/or sell off any additional space and better allocate equipment.

By combining the two administrative staffs the Sheriff’s Department will be able to eliminate some administrative positions.

By bringing all payroll operations under one roof, the county will be able to obtain some modest savings.

By consolidating record keeping the merger will make law enforcement communication and follow up more seamless and less expensive

Consolidation of IT will make law enforcement purchasing and communications more efficient.

Consolidation of garages, a reduction in demand on vehicles, fuel and maintenance will result from the Sheriff’s Department/County Police merger.

Increased revenue generated by Central Municipal Court through additional productivity.

VIII. CONCLUSION

Bergen County taxpayers will save millions while increasing public safety by changing the County’s table of organization and placing the Bergen County Police under the direct authority of the Bergen County Sheriff.   All other divisions currently under the Department of Law and Public Safety will remain under the authority of the County Executive.

The projected range of savings is between $90.6 million and $200.1 million on personnel alone.  There is the potential to save millions more in areas unable to be included in our calculations at this time.   The Sheriff’s Department will evaluate areas of duplication that exist and all decisions related to staffing and implementation will be determined by the law enforcement.  The plan makes absolutely no mandates on staffing levels.

The proposed organizational shift will allow Bergen County to better utilize its law enforcement officers and create a more efficient unit. With limited communication and cooperation between the day-to-day operations of both departments, the benefits of moving the County Police into the Sheriff’s Department will go a long way in streamlining law enforcement.

This plan will also allow the Sheriff to gradually move all of Bergen County Law enforcement under one contract.  All current County Police Officers will finish their career under the current salary scale. All changes have been planned through the use of retirements, attrition and gradual transition. The civilianized positions such as the Academy, OEM, and Communications will be by attrition.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Sheriff, the County Executive and the Board of Chosen Freeholders will outline staffing levels and the final Sheriff’s Table of Organization.

The Democratic Freeholders of Bergen County created a plan that looked at the long-term health of Bergen County’s finances and not one-year gimmicks while keeping in mind the most important responsibility, public safety.

New Jersey State Police were still trying to determine what made a member of the Big Apple Circus lose control of a pickup truck, sending a camper dangling over a Route 287 overpass in Mahwah yesterday.

NJSP Sgt. Adam Grossman said the crash remains under investigation, a day after the Ford F350 overturned and the camper tilted precariously over the bridge, blocking two lanes of the highway.

The State Police Incident Management Unit, along with the New Jersey Department of Transportation, diverted traffic from the area following the 10 a.m. crash.

Two female occupants of the Ford got out OK, without serious injury, Grossman said.

YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST: In the largest display of its kind in Bergen County, 1,800 t-shirts that hung on The Green outside the county courthouse yesterday gave each of their creators the loudest voices of those at the 20^th annual Clothesline Project.

The t-shirts, created by victims and survivors, were created and displayed to raise community awareness of domestic violence against women, men and children.

One of those creators, a survivor of domestic abuse, told the hushed gathering how feelings of shame, guilt and the fear of loneliness kept her “captive to a distorted definition of love.”

State Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (STORY / PHOTO: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter)

With help, she said, she left her abuser behind and made a new life.

“We must break the chain of violence and it starts with each and every one of us,” state Sen. Loretta Weinberg told the crowd. “It starts with the education system. It starts with bullying laws. It starts with our families.”

Several others spoke – among them, Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and state Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (photo, below).

Other attendees included state Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Catherine Fantuzzi, Shelter Our Sisters Associate Executive Director Lil Corcoran and Lydia Pizzute of HealingSPACE, which hosted the event.

*     *     *     *     *     *

CONSIDER:

• 1 in 4 women will be the victim of a sexual assault;

• 1 in 6 boys will be a victim of sexual abuse before the age of 18;

• 1 in 4 women will have experienced domestic violence;

• Roughly 1/3 of female homicide victims are murdered by an intimate partner.

*     *     *     *     *     *

CLIFFVIEW PILOT PHOTO

The Clothesline Project (CLP) began on Cape Cod, MA, in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women. It has since spread world-wide.

Ninety shirts were hung during the project’s first year in Hackensack in 1993.

The numbers have continued to grow, with messages that are, by turns, angry, sensitive, and hopeful.

Although the amount can be staggering, Corcoran said, it “represents just a fraction of the violence.”

STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter

Seven customers were aboard a New Jersey Transit train that struck a 39-year-old borough man in Ramsey early this morning 200 or so yards west of a grade crossing.

Service had been completely restored by 8:30 following the incident two hours earlier. It occurred west of the Goertzen Plaza crossing and involved a Hoboken-bound main line train, NJ Transit’s Nancy Snyder told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Service was temporarily suspended between Allendale and Suffern, Snyder said. The Port Jervis line had service temporarily suspended east of Suffern, she said.

NJT police were continuing an investigation.

SPECIAL REPORT: A popular retired North Arlington fire chief remained in critical condition following a violent crash in Lyndhurst on Saturday, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.

Robert “Bob” Melofchik was in a North Arlington Fire Department SUV when it was broadsided on the passenger side at the corner of Lake and Dellafield, Lyndhurst Police Chief James O’Connor confirmed tonight.

Melofchik, who is also a fire instructor, was serving as acting  North Arlington fire chief, covering the borough while department officials attended the New Jersey Firemen’s Convention Friday and Saturday in Wildwood.

His vehicle was struck, spun, overturned and hit two parked cars after the other driver apparently ran a stop sign, O’Connor said.

The SUV landed on its passenger side, requiring that Lyndhurst firefighters extricate him, the chief said. The Lyndhurst Police Emergency Squad then rushed Melofchik to UMDNJ in Newark, he said.

Although O’Connor didn’t know the extent of the career firefighter’s injuries, various sources confirmed that he sustained multiple broken ribs and a broken collarbone, while suffering internal bleeding and possible other internal injuries that required emergency surgery.

“He has a long road to recovery ahead of him,” a family friend said. “I ask that everyone please say a prayer for the Melofchik family during this time of healing.”

“A lot of people all watching and waiting,” another told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “His family is by his side — but so are we in our hearts.”

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN? Wyckoff police are asking the public’s help in finding a 20-year-old borough man who they said left behind methamphetamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone drugs after smashing his parents’ car, as well as windows and doors in their home.

Tyler G. Speziale “is believed to be in the company of a female friend whose parents are concerned for her and they request that she contact them,” Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox said this afternoon.

The incident occurred Sunday afternoon, when a quartet of officers responded to a domestic call at a Griner Court home, Fox said.

They found that Speziale “had been in an argument with his parents, during which he caused considerable damage,” the chief said.

Speziale then took off on foot, he said.

The officers found pot and various other drugs during a search of his bedroom, along with syringes, a digital scale and baggies ordinarily used for packaging and selling narcotics on the street, Fox said.

A warrant was issued for Speziale’s arrest, charging him with possession and distribution of anabolic steroids, possession of marijuana, prescription legend drugs, drug paraphernalia and hypodermic needles, and improper destruction of hypodermic needles.

A judge set bail at $150,000.

Anyone with information regarding Speziale’s whereabout is asked to call Wyckoff Police: (201) 891-2121. All information will remain confidential, Fox said.