Posted by HaHA North Bergen on May 29, 2006 at 10:19:52:
3 Years later and nothing has changed
Thursday,
February 10th, 2005
By the WebMaster
In July of 2002 we reported the vehicles parked in the yellow zone in front of Town Hall
to our viewers, nothing has changed since then. Does anyone recognize these vehicles?
Now this person has some really big balls. How can this go without a summons?
Police kill distraught fire retiree in standoff
Friday,
February 4th, 2005
By the WebMaster
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
By TOM TRONCONE
STAFF WRITER
NORTH BERGEN - He was known around town as "Butchy," a colorful firefighter admired by the young sons of cops,
town employees and fellow members of North Bergen's bravest.
Two township police officers, Sgt. Carmine Pellechio Jr. and John Martin, were among the youngsters whose dads
palled around with John "Butchy" DiTursi.
So when an armed DiTursi barricaded himself in his Boulevard East condo Monday night, the pair were among many
friends and colleagues who flocked to the building, hoping to help end the tense standoff.
But an intoxicated DiTursi wouldn't surrender. And about five hours after the standoff began as a fight between
DiTursi and his longtime wife, Joan, Pellechio and a Union City tactical officer shot and killed the retired fire
captain, authorities said.
"He had a rifle and a shotgun, and people tried to calm him down to no avail," Hudson County Prosecutor
Edward DeFazio said. "Shortly after 11 p.m., he walked out of the apartment and into the hallway and leveled
his rifle in the direction of the officers, and two of them shot him."
Pellechio and Union City Officer Archer Cuellar fired a total of four rounds, three of which struck DiTursi -
two in his torso and one in his leg, DeFazio said.
The 58-year-old died a short time later at Palisades Medical Center.
The emotionally charged standoff started about 6 p.m., when DiTursi returned home and, for unknown reasons,
became embroiled in an argument with his wife, DeFazio said. The argument turned violent as DiTursi started
"breaking things up in the apartment," the prosecutor said.
Joan DiTursi ran from the apartment and dialed 911. Police also received a 911 call from DiTursi's brother,
DeFazio said.
Police arriving at the apartment found DiTursi barricaded inside with two 12-guage shotguns and a high-powered,
.3006-caliber hunting rifle with a scope, DeFazio said.
For five tense hours, police pleaded with DiTursi to surrender. Pellechio and Martin talked with him from the
hallway outside the condo, and friends and fellow firefighters did the same from beneath a fourth-floor balcony
as DiTursi occasionally walked out holding the rifle, the prosecutor said.
"We thought we had a chance," North Bergen Police Chief Angelo Busacco said. "John Martin's dad was a firefighter,
and John knew him as a young boy, and Carmine's dad knew him very well. ... Those were the only guys he would talk to."
But DiTursi, whom DeFazio said was drunk on wine, refused to lay down his guns, even firing a shot inside the
apartment before the standoff came to a deadly end.
"They tried to use people who knew him from the fire department," DeFazio said. "They tried phone contact.
But nothing worked. It was a volatile situation and they had to do what was required under the circumstances."
DiTursi legally owned the three guns, each of which was loaded, DeFazio said. Inside the apartment, police
found about 100 rounds of ammunition.
Residents near DiTursi's fourth-floor unit in the brick apartment building said they heard the argument
between DiTursi and his wife. Shortly thereafter, Joan DiTursi ran from the apartment, calling for help.
"It's all right, I'm just having a fight with my wife," one neighbor recalled DiTursi saying in the ornate hallway.
The woman said she heard screaming and loud talking in the hallway about 15 minutes later from DiTursi's wife and police.
The neighbor also said she heard police alternately pleading with DiTursi and shouting among themselves:
"Don't hurt John, I don't want anything to happen to him," she recalled hearing.
"John, you can't change your past. I won't let anything happen to him. What did you do over there?"
DiTursi served on the North Bergen Fire Department for 20 years and was promoted to captain in 1991.
He retired in 1997 as a result of leg injuries he suffered jumping from a second-floor window during a fire.
He graduated from North Bergen High School, where he was a star football player.
"John was a great guy and an excellent firefighter," Busacco said. "He always treated his fellow firefighters
with the utmost respect and vice versa. He had passion and compassion."
"He was dedicated to the town," Mayor Nicholas Sacco added. "He became a firefighter and worked his way
through the ranks."
One man who showed up at the apartment building Tuesday afternoon and identified himself as a DiTursi family
member said that the retired captain suffered from depression. He declined to give his name.
Pellechio and Martin were sent to Hackensack University Medical Center for evaluation, Busacco said.
Union City brought in a counseling firm, Cops for Cops, to speak with Cuellar and all the officers involved
in the incident, Police Chief Charles Everett said.
Cuellar, a 10-year veteran, is a member of the city's emergency services unit, which is trained to use special
weapons and tactics, Everett said. Cuellar shot DiTursi with an AR-15 assault rifle, which is similar to the
military's M-16.
"He's shaken up, but not unreasonably so," Everett said.
"He understands the circumstances."
A North Bergen police psychologist must clear Pellechio before he can return to active duty, Busacco said. Pellechio,
a 12-year veteran, shot DiTursi with his police-issued 9mm handgun.
None of the officers involved in the shooting could be reached Tuesday.
Without going into my opinion of the events of the other night, I will touch base on the departments
professionalism and radio communications or lack thereof. You can be the judge for yourself.
Here is 13 minutes of the events radio transmissions. The file is 12 megs long and in MP3 format.
Here is the video from News Channel 12.
PBA Local 18 has concerns about their Integrity, ...why start now?
Wednesday,
January 12th, 2005
By the WebMaster
As members of PBA Local 18 have already mentioned in our forum area...
Does your PBA President violate his own contract and state law and work for FREE?
When one of your members goes to the PBA on a contract violation, like let's say early recall to duty,
does YOUR PBA tell the member, don't worry kid, do whatever the Captain tells you to do?
Does your PBA allow members to go out severely shorthanded and do NOTHING about it?
Do you have to qualify ON YOUR OWN TIME for STRAIGHT TIME coming in violation of YOUR OWN labor contract?
Do you qualify in a dinky, inside range open to the public?
Do your members get NO in service training whatsoever except for the bi-annual qualification?
Do you have members working out of title for EXTENDED periods of time without being paid for that rank,
and without a HINT of promotion, with ACTIVE lists, and openings available?
Do your members pay over 600 bucks a year in union dues for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?
One last thing Ken. We haven't lost our court case, ... yet. You can refer to us as the NorthBergenPD.Com website.
North Bergen finally installs new MDT's in their patrol vehicles
Friday,
December 31st, 2004
By the WebMaster
It's apparent by the photo that the Police Officers on the road are doing their best
to get by with what equipment they can beg, borrow or steal. We'd like to wish a Happy
New Year to everyone in the department. Hopefully when Chief Bozocco retires
things will make a turn for the better.
For the record, NorthBergenPD.Com officially withdraws our offer to donate any equipment to the North Bergen
Police Department.
How much loot will the Dapper Don aka Buddy Bozocco cash in on?
Wednesday,
December 22nd, 2004
By the WebMaster
This entire article was posted by a visitor to the message board, it's definately fit to print here:
The article below was taken from The Record newspaper printed today. It foreshadows the events about to take
place in North Bergen when the current Chief of Police, Angelo "Buddy" Busacco retires from active duty early
in 2005.
It is no secret that he has accumulated an enormous amount of unused sick and vacation time over his 30+ years
of service and will be looking to cash in when he leaves. Taxpayers will have to prepare themselves for the
bombshell that will be dropped by Mayor Sacco when he attempts to explain why taxes will rise to pay for the
cost of Busacco's "golden parachute". This is just one part of the saga of retiring cops and increased taxes
as Captain Robert Carmeci retires with the same, if not bigger package accrued while he was aid and liaison to
former Mayor and commissioner Leo Gattoni Sr. Each officer collected time in lieu of payment for their working
days off and overtime, however as in the article below, this time is either undocumented or fabricated because
there was no one to oversee the records.
This is just another form of corruption that exists in North Bergen, disguised to fool the taxpayers. So when
Mayor sacco sends you his infamous letter telling how taxes are “stable” and talks of his modest home valued
at the average $140,000, then blames the increase on the police budget without being specific, you will know
that this is the reason your taxes went up.
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