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A Case of Fraud ?: Bergen County GOP chief demands sheriff give back funds ,

Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino

Police Merger 

FRAUD

this may even cast the election results in doubt 

JANUARY 19, 2016    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016, 1:21 AM
BY JEAN RIMBACH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

n the wake of his switch to the Democratic Party, Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino has been accused of fraud by county Republican Chairman Bob Yudin, who labeled him a traitor and said he should return thousands of dollars raised recently under the guise that he was a member of the GOP.

“Mr. Saudino perpetrated what basically amounts to fraud among Republican donors here in Bergen County,” said Yudin. “Recently, Mr. Saudino raised tens of thousands of dollars from Republican residents under the ruse he was one of them. I call on Mr. Saudino to return this ill-gotten money immediately.”

Yudin noted that Saudino held a comedy night in November that drew nearly 1,000 people; a flier for that event said tickets were $125. But the county chairman said he’s referring to any money raised recently by the onetime Republican.

“He should return those monies, because they were secured under false pretenses,” Yudin said. “If these people had known he was going to be a Democrat, that he was going to be running on the ticket of Clinton or Bernie Sanders, that he was going to be in the same party as Barack Obama, most of them wouldn’t have given him a penny.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/gop-chief-demands-sheriff-give-back-funds-1.1494611

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Bergen Police Merger good to go

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Bergen Police Merger good to go

Freeholders give final approval to combining Bergen County Police and Sheriff’s Office

February 25, 2015, 9:32 PM    Last updated: Wednesday, February 25, 2015, 9:53 PM
By JOHN C. ENSSLIN
staff writer |
The Record

The Bergen County freeholders took what was called a “historic” final step Wednesday toward creating one unified county law-enforcement agency by combining the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office.

By identical 6-to-1 votes, the freeholders gave final approval to two ordinances that will place the 98-year-old County Police Department’s 95 officers under the command of Sheriff Michael Saudino.

Freeholder Maura DeNicola, who has questioned the estimated savings of the consolidation plan, cast the lone dissenting votes.

DeNicola said she realized the plan was moving ahead and she wanted it to happen as efficiently as possible.

“But I’ve always felt that this takes us in the wrong direction in Bergen County in terms of trying to save money and make policing more efficient,” DeNicola said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/freeholders-give-final-approval-to-combining-bergen-county-police-and-sheriff-s-office-1.1277828

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Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli details plan for merging County Police and Sheriff’s Office

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Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli details plan for merging County Police and Sheriff’s Office

JANUARY 14, 2015, 9:08 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015, 9:14 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told the freeholders Wednesday that a plan to fold the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office will not only save money but will also make county law enforcement more efficient.

In a presentation at the board’s work session, Molinelli predicted that response times to calls for service will go down because of the way patrol vehicles will be deployed by the new combined department.

The new force will patrol the county by sectors, Molinelli said. That will be an improvement over the current setup where County Police patrol mostly county roads and facilities, he said.

“That’s not a negative on the County Police, they are an outstanding department,” Molinelli said.

But combining the two departments will create other efficiencies that will improve public safety.

When a small municipal department arrests someone in the middle of the night, he said, that town’s patrol officers often have to transport that person to the County Jail in Hackensack.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-prosecutor-john-molinelli-details-plan-for-merging-county-police-and-sheriff-s-office-1.1193360

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Tedesco moves to merge Bergen County Police with Sheriff’s Office

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Tedesco moves to merge Bergen County Police with Sheriff’s Office

January 1, 2015, 12:43 PM    Last updated: Thursday, January 1, 2015, 2:11 PM
By JOHN C. ENSSLIN
staff writer |
The Record

In one of his first acts after being sworn in early Thursday, Bergen County Executive James Tedesco signed an agreement that lays the groundwork to combine the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office.

The agreement — subject to approval by the freeholders — would fold the 103-member County Police force as a bureau within the Sheriff’s office.

It also sets an eventual goal of reducing the County Police through attrition and without layoffs to a core group of 49 sworn officers under the Sheriff’s command.

The 31-page memo, co-signed by Sheriff Michael Saudino and County Prosecutor John Molinelli, marks a significant turning point after more than five years of conflicting studies and intense political debate over how to consolidate county law enforcement.

“I believe this is the right thing to do for the people of Bergen County,” Tedesco said moments after signing the document at a ceremony in the freeholder caucus room.

Tedesco, a former Democratic freeholder, campaigned hard for the consolidation, arguing that it will save taxpayers between $90 million to $200 million over the next 25 years.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/tedesco-moves-to-merge-bergen-county-police-with-sheriff-s-office-1.1184663

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Bergen County Police chief takes last walk through door as force faces merger plans

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photo by Janet Occhiuzzo Higgins

Bergen County Police chief takes last walk through door as force faces merger plans

DECEMBER 12, 2014, 6:23 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2014, 6:50 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Bergen County Police Department chief known for his vocal criticism of a police-services merger was speechless Friday during a ceremony to mark his retirement.

Brian Higgins left his department’s Paramus headquarters at 3 p.m. for the last time with a traditional “walkout” ceremony on his 50th birthday, holding hands with his wife, Nanette, and 6-year-old son, Viktor, as the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County played outside. His last official day will be Dec. 31, but he’s taking personal time off in the interim.

“I don’t know what to say, other than thank you,” he told the more than 100 people assembled.

Higgins, a leading opponent of the plan to merge the County Police into the county Sheriff’s Department, announced his retirement last week after nearly 25 years with the county force. He had started his career in Carlstadt and transferred to the county force two years later in the hopes of becoming a mounted officer. He served in that unit and led several other divisions, including the SWAT team and the police academy.

“I’m tearing up,” said Capt. James Mullin, who Higgins advised as his field training officer after he graduated from the academy. “It’s a happy day for him, but it’s a sad day for us.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-police-chief-takes-last-walk-through-door-as-force-faces-merger-plans-1.1152831

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Bergen County police chief to retire this year

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Bergen County Police Department Chief Brian Higgins

Bergen County police chief to retire this year
December 1, 2014, 3:35 PM    Last updated: Monday, December 1, 2014, 3:37 PM
By Stefanie Dazio
staff writer |
The Record

Bergen County Police Department Chief Brian Higgins, 49, plans to retire Dec. 31, authorities said.

Higgins, who is also the county’s public safety director, filed his letter of intent to the county executive on Nov. 25 and told his department today, Capt. James Mullin said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-police-chief-to-retire-this-year-1.1144416

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Bergen County Executive-elect James Tedesco vows to push ahead on police merger

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Bergen County Executive-elect James Tedesco vows to push ahead on police merger

NOVEMBER 5, 2014, 11:48 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014, 12:06 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN AND JEAN RIMBACH
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

A day after his come-from-behind victory in the race for Bergen County executive, James Tedesco signaled he will follow through on one of his main campaign pledges: merging the Bergen County Police into the Sheriff’s Office.

At a freeholder work session Wednesday, Tedesco asked the board’s attorney to make a formal request that the county voluntarily drop the lawsuit that County Executive Kathleen Donovan filed against the freeholders seeking to block the merger plan.

Tedesco, a Democrat, defeated Donovan, the Republican incumbent, in a decisive 54 to 46 percent vote on Tuesday.

Tedesco, who will take office in January, has said he will make the consolidation of the two departments one of his top priorities during the first 100 days of his administration.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-executive-elect-james-tedesco-vows-to-push-ahead-on-police-merger-1.1127187

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Bergen County executive’s suit against police merger dealt blow in court

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Bergen County executive’s suit against police merger dealt blow in court

APRIL 25, 2014, 2:28 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014, 9:36 PM
BY PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

A state judge Friday dealt Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan a setback in her bid to bolster a lawsuit challenging the merger of the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office with claims that two Democratic freeholders violated ethics laws.

In a bench ruling in Hackensack, Superior Court Judge Menelaos W. Toskos denied Donovan permission to amend her suit to add a fifth count contending that the merger votes cast by the two freeholders were tainted by a conflict of interest because their children are Sheriff’s Office employees.

To press such a claim, the judge said, the county executive would have to provide more specifics in her pleadings about the alleged conflict, such as how the freeholders or their children might benefit from the proposed merger.

James J. DiGiulio, an attorney for Donovan, told the judge after his ruling that such information would be included in a further bid to amend the complaint.

In a suit filed last year, Donovan is seeking to overturn the freeholder board’s approval of the merger.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-executive-s-suit-against-police-merger-dealt-blow-in-court-1.1003357#sthash.QVy7ggDE.dpuf