Author Topic: Police Commissioner/Police Director  (Read 11071 times)

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Police Commissioner/Police Director
« on: May 31, 2013, 09:49:32 AM »
Hackensack will restore police commissioner post
Friday, May 31, 2013
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK – The newly elected City Council will revive the post of police commissioner, which was abandoned 20 years ago, to oversee police affairs and improve communications with the department as it rebounds from a time of turmoil.

But the new police commissioner would exercise no authority over Police Director Michael Mordaga, who assumed that job in February, months after the criminal conviction of the former police chief.

Councilman-elect David E. Sims will be named to the position when the new council team is sworn in July 1. Incumbent John Labrosse will be sworn in as mayor, and Kathleen Canestrino as deputy mayor, the slate announced Wednesday.

Sims said he will report on police issues to the council and will work with Mordaga to communicate concerns to and from the public.

The police commissioner's role won't include any direct oversight of the department; Sims doesn't expect to be privy to internal matters, including personnel decisions or internal investigations. The position won't come with any stipend or pay.

The five members of the Citizens for Change team swept the May 14 council election in an upset win against a ticket that was seen as tied to the political establishment that had ruled the city during a time of costly litigation and allegations of corruption.

Nowhere were the problems more pronounced than in the Police Department. Police officers say ex-Chief Ken Zisa ruled the department under threat of intimidation and retaliation. More than 20 police officers sued the department and Zisa, who was convicted of insurance fraud and official misconduct last year.

"Under the previous police chief, the department became a tool for politics and a source of intimidation," said Sims, a school paraprofessional.

"I will not tolerate that behavior and I believe that our new police director will not tolerate that conduct from the department either," Sims said.

Mordaga said he also understood the position would focus mainly in community affairs.

"I think Mr. Sims, as councilman, would be very helpful in that respect of assisting me in communication with the general public," said Mordaga. "There's a lot to do there."

The city used to have a police commissioner, but the post disappeared some two decades ago. Canestrino said she did not know why or how the police commissioner position was dissolved.

Canestrino said her team had pledged to focus on the community's needs and the police commissioner job was one way to do that. "This will be a very important role in bridging that gap," she said.

Labrosse, a council member since 2009, led the Citizens for Change ticket and was the only incumbent in the race. Canestrino has been an activist in the city for years and ran unsuccessfully for council four years ago.

Email: adely@northjersey.com
« Last Edit: June 28, 2013, 08:35:02 PM by Editor »



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Re: Police Commissioner/Police Director
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2013, 11:20:02 AM »
Meeting Mordaga: a sit down with Hackensack's police director (Part 1 of 3)
Friday, June 14, 2013
BY CAESAR DARIAS
CORRESPONDENT
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK — His resume lists dozens of credentials, awards, and commendations — including recognition from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration and the New Jersey Legislature.


Michael Mordaga was named police director of Hackensack in January with great support from politicians, area police officers, residents, and community leaders.
RICHARD FORMICOLA/PHOTO

He has worked every kind of case from homicides and gang enforcement to narcotics and counterfeiting.

He has an extensive criminal justice education background and training.

His reputation for chasing bad guys while clinging to the hood of a speeding car and saving babies who aren’t breathing make him seem like a cross between Starsky and Hutch, and a detective from NBC’s Law & Order series. While those cops are fictional, over the course of three interviews over the last two months, Hackensack Police Director Michael Mordaga made it clear that he means business and that his plan to rid the city of bad guys is real.

Moreover, Mordaga enjoys enthusiastic support from the city manager, a city councilman expected to be the next mayor, the police union, and city residents.

When Mordaga was unanimously appointed during a city council meeting in January, the council chamber — which usually veers toward emptiness during meetings — was packed with local and area police and community leaders showing support. Every person who spoke at the standing-room-only meeting praised the appointment of Mordaga.

Four months into his tenure, the support has grown stronger.

Mordaga, a graduate of Hackensack High School, joined the Hackensack Police Department in 1977 as a patrolman and worked his way up to police inspector. He was chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office from 2002 to 2007.

During an interview on April 2 in Mordaga’s office, the director said he has "a vision" as to how the police department should be administered. His plan includes a comprehensive "quality of life initiative."

Mordaga declared that he wants to depoliticize management decisions, while instilling discipline, professionalism, and fairness to a department rocked over the last two years by lawsuits and the arrest and conviction of its former police chief, Ken Zisa, who is, currently, out on bail pending an appeal.

During the sit down, Mordaga addressed a lawsuit filed against him, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, and the state’s Criminal Justice Division, in August 2012, by the estate of reputed mobster, Frank Lagano — a former Tenafly resident.

The suit alleges that, while Mordaga was chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office, he pushed Lagano to hire a hand-picked criminal defense attorney and that information leaked by an unknown person led to the shooting death of Lagano in the parking lot of his East Brunswick diner in April 2007.

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli, who told The Record in December that his office investigated the matter, has strongly denied that the allegations are true and found none of the charges "to be of any merit whatsoever."

Molinelli also told The Record he believes the lawsuit was filed "to put pressure on us to turn over seized assets" that were obtained in 2004 during the gambling, loan sharking and extortion bust known as "Operation Jersey Boyz" — which led to dozens of arrests and the seizure of guns, drugs and more than $1 million. As reported in The Record, no one has served a day in jail.

Mordaga insists that it is all about payback from criminals.

"If you arrest big people you’re going to get big problems," Mordaga said. "Because they don’t like to be arrested. If you don’t rock the boat then you won’t have anything negative."

Regarding the impact of the Lagano estate’s lawsuit, Mordaga said: "I can’t be bought. Period. Someone is out to get even. He was never arrested until I arrested him. The state and the FBI never arrested him."

The lawsuit against the prosecutor’s office has since been dismissed by a federal judge. Mordaga says he expects the same result

Mordaga said he wants to, not only rock the boat in Hackensack but, he’d like to sink drug dealers. He calls it one of his top priorities — along with addressing crime related to the homeless and maintaining a close working relationship with business owners, clergy, and community groups.

While addressing law enforcement issues and supporting cops, Mordaga said he will demand discipline and dedication from the rank and file.

"The department was suffering greatly from a lack of morale," Mordaga said. "We’re going back to the tradition of wearing a hat and tie to show professionalism. It had changed in the last three years."

Mordaga said the police uniform "has a physiological effect. The police department is a semi-military operation. Police officers are armed. With that authority comes rules, regulations and discipline. It’s a sign of authority when interacting with criminals."

Mordaga said he "expects leather gear to be polished. Everyone has to have the same appearance."

The director was quick to say that "the majority of the rank and file adhere to rules."

Those that do not follow the rules will suffer the consequences, according to Mordaga.

"Rules and regulations are very important to follow," Mordaga said. "Moving forward they’re going to be strictly enforced. The most important aspect is that it’s done fairly and impartially. There will be no politics as long as I’m here — no outside interference in the police department. That was one of the assurances I was given by the city manager."

Stephen Lo Iacono, Hackensack city manager, said he agreed with Mordaga.

"Absolutely," Lo Iacono said last week when asked about his no-politics assurance to Mordaga. "I feel very strongly about that, personally."

Mordaga said he will not allow anybody to be targeted, hired, or promoted because of politics.

"Any infraction is significant," Mordaga said. "However, someone is going to be charged only if they break them. We will put people in certain positions because of their ability and performance."

Mordaga said he aims to restore esprit de corps.

"I have a vision," Mordaga said, who declined to discuss the previous leadership in the police department. "It’s good for the men and women of the Hackensack Police Department to have pride in their department and actually come to work and enjoy their job. Since I’ve been here, what I’ve witnessed is I see professionalism. I see them working as pros. Police officers are out there doing their job. I couldn’t ask more of them."

Mordaga said the number of arrests and traffic summonses would increase due to the newly recouped morale.

"When it comes to any workplace, if the morale is down, if the employees are not happy in the workplace it’s going to affect the job they do," said Mordaga. "If they’re happy they work a lot different."

Mordaga said he has "realigned" his supervisors.

"Each tour has a lieutenant in charge of the tour and a sergeant supervising on the road," Mordaga said.

Asked who is his No. 2 man in the department, Mordaga said there is no deputy. However, it must be noted that, the council-elect announced on May 30, it will restore the position of police commissioner without any supervisory power over Mordaga.

Mordaga said an improved police department will allow him to bust more drug dealers. There will be "strict narcotics enforcement," Mordaga said.

"The bulk of crimes are directly linked to narcotics," he said. "It’s very, very important, especially in a city environment."

See next week’s issue of the Hackensack Chronicle for Part 2 in the series on Michael Mordaga.

Email: hackensack@northjersey.com
________________________________________

Part 2 in series

Part 3 in series
« Last Edit: June 28, 2013, 08:35:25 PM by Editor »

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Re: Police Commissioner/Police Director
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2013, 11:53:35 PM »
Hackensack police director calls for national fingerprint screening of gun buyers
Monday, October 14, 2013    Last updated: Tuesday October 15, 2013, 3:56 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
 
When Michael Mordaga was a Hackensack detective, he was nearly killed when a suspected drug dealer rammed his car into him and two other officers during a drug stakeout on May 26, 1989.

With Mordaga, then 34 years old, snagged on the hood, the driver sped off. Mordaga reached for his gun and shot the driver through the windshield. The car crashed into a pole, sending Mordaga airborne and into a wall, leaving half his torso purple and blood gushing from his scalp. He thought he might die.

So it was troubling when Mordaga, now Hackensack’s civilian police director, recently got a call from the Virginia State Police telling him that the man who nearly took his life 24 years ago had been arrested with handguns. Authorities said Edward Carter Irvin, who served 12 years for attempted homicide in the incident that nearly killed Mordaga, had bought three guns in Virginia, which is known for its lax gun laws, by changing his name and denying he had ever been convicted of a felony.

For Mordaga, the phone call from Virginia was more than a reminder of his brush with death. It was proof, he said, of the need for a national fingerprinting system to screen gun buyers.

“This was a person who tried to run me over,” he said. “If it’s that easy for a convicted felon who did time for trying to kill a police officer [to get a gun], then that’s an issue.”

Gun control advocates argue that some national uniform method vetting the backgrounds of gun buyers is needed to reduce gun violence in the United States. But many gun-control critics say fingerprinting is another big-government intrusion on the rights of ordinary citizens.

Mordaga said he supports citizens’ rights to own firearms and believes criminals can be deterred from committing residential break-ins if they think homeowners have guns. Still, he said, gun control measures must be strengthened to make sure criminals are not able to get firearms — and a national fingerprinting system is a way to accomplish that.

“It should be the same criteria across the country,” he said. “For whoever purchases handguns, there should be a legitimate background check across the country.”

Six states, including New Jersey, require fingerprinting before a person can get a handgun license. But many gun-rights advocates argue that fingerprinting is an invasion of privacy that won’t keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

“If you go to fingerprinting, you infringe on [the] privacy rights and constitutional rights of every American, but the criminal will find a way to get around it,” said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun-rights group.

But others argue that stronger gun-control methods like fingerprinting can help reduce illicit gun transactions, even when guns are being illegally trafficked from out of state.

“We find it’s still beneficial for the state to have its own strong system to keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” said Daniel Weber, director of the Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “While it’s not foolproof, it elevates the street price and makes it generally less available.”

While the call for more and stricter gun control laws has grown stronger since the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., last year, in which 20 children and six adults were killed, fingerprinting hasn’t taken a leading role in the national discourse. President Obama’s gun control proposal, which failed, did call for expanding criminal background checks but did not call for the mandatory fingerprinting of gun buyers.

Local law enforcement leaders, including Mordaga, fear criminals will continue to get guns in New Jersey – even though the state has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation.

“People buying guns in other states and bringing them here — that’s the way criminals have been getting their guns for years here,” said Mordaga, a former chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office who took charge of the Hackensack Police Department in February.

New Jersey has a law on the books that requires the state’s gun dealers to sell only so-called smart guns equipped with user-recognition technology within three years after the first model hits the market. The law, which would require the exclusive sale in the state of guns that fire only in the grip of an authorized user, has been largely forgotten since it passed in 2002, but The Record reported Monday that a German company has announced it plans to introduce the first such gun within 45 days.

Mordaga said he wasn’t familiar with the issue, but added that he would be concerned that the new technology could malfunction.

Another stark reminder of the dangers of out-of-state illicit guns came in July, when Robert Leonardis, a Hackensack resident and a reputed gang member, opened fire at police officers on a city street and was himself shot. Leonardis’ gun was found to have been trafficked from Florida, authorities said.

Of more than 2,000 guns used to commit crimes in New Jersey last year that eventually were traced to their state of origin, 80 percent came from elsewhere, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

More than half — 55 percent — came from seven states: Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Ohio, all of which have weaker gun-control laws than New Jersey.

Before selling a firearm, dealers in Virginia must contact the Department of State Police, which conducts a background check on the would-be buyer. Irvin was able to buy three guns in Virginia despite his felony conviction because, while in prison in New Jersey, he changed his name to Siddeeq Mu’eem Mu’min, according to an ATF report.

He bought three semiautomatic weapons using the new name, and he denied on forms that he had any felony convictions. He bought the guns at a licensed sporting goods store and a police equipment store, according to the ATF report. It is not clear how he was caught, but the report notes that, on one occasion, he sold a .40-caliber pistol to a sporting goods store, and the gun was later found to have been stolen.

One of the three guns that he bought made its way to New Jersey last year. According to the ATF, report, Mu’min met his brother, Karl Irvin, a convicted felon who lives in Irvington, at a Maryland rest stop and gave him a gun.

The Virginia State Police, the Richmond, Va., police, and ATF agents arrested Mu’min in February.

He has been charged with three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and was released on bond. His trial is set for Nov. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Reflecting now on that harrowing morning in 1989, Mordaga says he was lucky. He recovered from his injuries and moved on with his career, and his life.

But he said the call from Virginia resurrected the memory and prompted him to speak out.

“People get fingerprinted when they want to become coaches in Little League,” he said. “People get fingerprinted for a lot of different things. I support a civilian’s right to bear arms and protect the home and possess firearms, if allowed to have one,” he said. “On the other hand, no one should be against being fingerprinted if they want to have firearms.”

Email: adely@northjersey.com

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Re: Police Commissioner/Police Director
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2014, 10:07:02 AM »
Hackensack seals 3-year pact with police director
Tuesday March 4, 2014, 9:14 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — The City Council has approved a three-year contract for its police director, Michael Mordaga, who took the helm of the police department 13 months ago.

Under the contract, Mordaga will make $150,000 a year, the same salary that he currently earns, said city spokesman Thom Ammirato.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Hackensack_seals_3-year_pact_with_police_director.html#sthash.jynMciNL.dpuf








 

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