Rich Mastrangelo for Essex County Sheriff

COUNTY POLICE FADE AWAY
UNDER SHERIFF'S WATCH

Audio Tape Confirms Fontoura Too Weak to
Fight Administration for Public Safety

(Cedar Grove, NJ) -- On Oct. 2, the 111-year-old Essex County Police, protectors of county parks and roads, will be disbanded. Its policemen will become regular officers of the Sheriff's Department. After he repeatedly broke contract rules because of lack of manpower, Armando Fontoura decided to bust up the County Police union rather than fight the administration for new hires. While Fontoura claims the disbanding is for efficiency, in reality it illustrates the weakness of a sheriff unable to stand up to friends in his own political party. When Jim Treffinger tried to snatch $4.8 million from the Sheriff's budget in 2000, Fontoura pulled out all the stops to oppose him with a public uproar. This year, however, Fontoura let $3.5 million slip out of his department without making a peep against Executive Joe DiVincenzo, his former campaign manager. In a recently released audio recording Fontoura admits he is helpless to stop public safety funds from draining away.

"If you don't have five votes on a freeholder board you can't fight the administration," said Fontoura in the audio tape, recorded during a meeting with County Police officers and sent out by a member of the force. "The administration is very good at going there, before I can get to there and get...the vote that they need. You know. So, they have more things to trade with than I do. I don't have anything to trade with other than PBA cards, which, you know, that's about it. Most of the--all the guys here are civil service so I can't even offer anybody a job for their son or their daughter, which I wouldn't do anyway. It's hard for me to bargain. Very frustrating."
Fontoura did not bother to bargain with Treffinger over the budget. He took 50 Sheriff's officers with him to a 30-minute presentation in front of the Freeholders, according to Star-Ledger reports from the time. Fontoura organized a letter-writing campaign from a dozen high-ranking lawmen to shame the County Executive into giving up his proposed budget cuts.

This year's massive funding cut was met with silence.

Fontoura's silence has led to a severe lack of manpower. The County Police have dwindled to 27 rank-and-file officers. The Bureau of Narcotics is a mere shell of its former self, with only 15 members--five of whom are regularly pulled into court security. The Courts division is so understaffed that several other divisions are depleted to fill in the gaps. By changing the County Police to Sheriff's Patrol, Fontoura is not adding anyone new to the streets. It's more likely that the patrolmen will be pulled into the courts. On the audio tape, Fontoura promises the officers they won't be sent to the courts but refuses to put that promise in writing.

"The 'Sheriff's Patrol Division' is just smoke-and-mirrors," said Rich Mastrangelo, candidate for County Sheriff. "Fontoura can't add officers from other divisions because he has none to spare. Plus he is losing at least 10 county policemen who'd rather transfer to another department than become a Sheriff's officer. Our county parks and road will continue to suffer without police presence because after 16 years my opponent has no will to fight."

"As Sheriff I will not stay silent. I am a cop, not a politician. If I don't have enough men to keep our courts and county safe, I will make sure the County Executive hears about it, the Freeholders hear about it, and most importantly the citizens hear about it."

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CONTACT: Jack Grimes
(908) 887-2268 cell