"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana
The following is just a "snippet" of Lodi's history…….
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.thebird.copwatch/4jBXTjm7UpQ
8/5/98
Another Lodi cop charged in probe
Tuesday, August 4, 1998
By DANIEL SFORZA
Staff Writer
A
Lodi police officer who once did business with a
member of the Genovese
crime family was arrested Monday for allegedly assaulting and
threatening to kill the owner of a massage parlor
that is at the center of an investigation into police misconduct.
Lt. Vincent Caruso, 31, of Saddle Brook is the third officer charged with official misconduct
since the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office sent monitors into the Lodi Police Department
nearly three weeks ago.
"This is a Prosecutor's Office that just wants to arrest cops. Period," said Caruso's attorney,
Robert Galantucci. "He has latched on to cops the way Ken Starr has latched on to the White House."
Caruso
was charged with misconduct for "physically assaulting and threatening
to kill" Luke Hoffman, owner of the Ultima Spa on Terhune
Avenue, according to a statement from Bergen County Prosecutor
William H. Schmidt.
"Mr. Galantucci is representing a client and speaking as a defense attorney," Schmidt said
Monday. "He seems lately to want to attack individuals instead of defending his clients."
Several Lodi businesses, including Ultima Spa and East Coast Body Builders on Garibaldi
Avenue, are part of an investigation by the FBI and the Prosecutor's Office into Lodi police
officers
and their possible connections to prostitution, gambling, and the
Genovese crime family, police and local officials said.
(sidenote)
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/07/nyregion/gym-housed-fraud-ring-federal-officials-say.html
On July 16, Schmidt sent two senior investigators to work in the department to protect public
safety
and the integrity of the investigation. Neither federal authorities nor
Schmidt has disclosed details of the probe.
"It's going to take awhile," Schmidt said. "We are continuing with the investigation and certainly
the investigation will have to proceed in front of a grand jury."
Schmidt said several Lodi officers have turned in their comrades.
"I think it's commendable that there is no blue wall of silence," said Schmidt, referring to an
unwritten practice of police officers protecting their own. "I am very proud of the Lodi police
officers who are standing up for the integrity of their department by being willing to charge
fellow officers for criminal wrongdoing."
Part of that alleged wrongdoing occurred at the Ultima Spa, the site of a suspicious fire in
1996 and a prostitution raid by police earlier this year. Caruso was present at that raid, as
well as at other massage parlor busts within the past year, Lodi Mayor Philip Toronto said.
During
the raid, Caruso arrested Hoffman, took him into the back of a squad
car, and told the massage parlor owner not to spread rumors
about him, Toronto said.
Toronto, who said there is an audiotape of the episode, said Hoffman was an FBI informant.
The investigation into the 31-member police force, which some say began two years ago,
heated
up after the indictments in April of 14 people, including John Gatto --
the son of Louis "Streaky" Gatto -- who federal authorities
say has run the North Jersey faction of the Genovese crime
family since his father was sent to prison in 1991.
(sidenote)
Cafe
d el vagabond, now the 17 Summer restaurant. The Cuccia family
purchased the property from the Manfredi family in 2015.(Manfredi is
another well known Lodi Family.) The Cafe/Social Club was a favorite
hangout for Louis “Streaky” Gatto and his son-in-law, Alan Wolshonak,
a/k/a/ Alan Grecco.
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/746/432/1757002/
This one reads like a movie,
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/924/491/224083/
http://openjurist.org/488/f2d/588/united-states-v-manfredi
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2002&dat=19720811&id=yrIiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=abMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1621,3059477&hl=en
Among those indicted with Gatto was
John Giaquinto, who owns the Hasbrouck Heights
businesses Tees for Two Inc. and The Cigar Den.
According to the indictment,
Giaquinto -- known as "John John" -- participated in the "collection
of unlawful debt and acts of extortion."
Giaquinto
has had business dealings with Caruso, a fellow cigar aficionado and
entrepreneur, Galantucci said. "I think he sold him some
equipment, humidifiers," Galantucci said of the relationship.
"
They weren't partners." (sure they weren't, & Vin Martin wasn't his friend either)
Caruso used to own a cigar kiosk in Paramus Park mall, which he sold to Giaquinto,
Galantucci said. Giaquinto ran the kiosk as a subsidiary of The Cigar Den before pulling the
plug several months ago.
Now Caruso runs his business strictly on the Internet, where he sells Al Capone, H. Upmann,
Macanudo, and other cigar brands.
(sidenote)
City Cigar
Company Name: City Cigar
SIC Code: 5311
SIC Description: Retail shops
Phone Number: 2015835000 (+1-201-583-5000)
Fax Number: 2015870685 (+1-201-587-0685)
Web Address: CITYCIGAR.COM
Email: sales@citycigar.com
Country: U.S.A. - United States
State: NJ - New Jersey
City: ROCHELLE PARK
Address: 181 South Street
ZIP Code: 07662
During an interview several weeks ago anticipating his arrest, Caruso proclaimed his
innocence. "I can tell you this. I didn't do a thing," he said. "That's all I got to say."
Giaquinto didn't return calls to his businesses Monday.
"It's just an overzealous prosecutor playing with his hobby horse," Galantucci said Monday.
"Some prosecutors direct their attentions at drug dealers. This one has decided that he is
going to go after police."
The investigation into Caruso was conducted by Chief Roger W. Kane of the Prosecutor's
Office, Capt. Joseph Caiati of the Lodi Police Department, and members of the Lodi police
force. If convicted, Caruso, whose salary is $67,000, could receive 10 years in prison and
fines of up to $150,000. Bail was set at $10,000.
"Shortly
after the raid, Bergen County prosecutor, William Schmidt, made a
motion to have all charges against Caruso dismissed. Caruso was
reinstated and promoted to deputy chief, and he currently runs the
day-to-day operations of the Lodi Police Department and will collect a
reported $200,000 in back pay. "
Lodi Police Chief Edward Kukalski did not return calls Monday.
Caruso's arrest marks the second from the department in a week.
On July 28, Officer
Christopher Perrelli was charged with using his position as a police officer in an unlawful and
unauthorized manner to obtain a benefit for another.
Perrelli was questioned by law enforcement officials about his association with East Coast Body
Builders, sources said. Perrelli works out at the gym, the sources said.
(sidenote)
LODI COP RE-INDICTED IN GYM CASE -- OFFICER ACCUSED OF TIPPING OFF OWNER ABOUT
CORRUPTION PROBE
By CHRISTOPHER MUMMA, Staff Writer
Date: 10-29-1999, Friday
Section: NEWS
Edition: Four Star B, Also in Three Star B
A Lodi police officer whose indictment on corruption charges was
thrown out last month by a Superior Court judge has been indicted again
on similar charges.
The case against 29-year-old Christopher Perrelli centers on his
alleged involvement with the owner of East Coast Body Builders, a Lodi
gym that has been a key part of an ongoing federal and …
The Garibaldi Avenue gym was at the center of a fraudulent credit-card ring, according to a 1997
federal indictment. The gym served as a clearinghouse for stolen goods and fake American
Express credit cards, according to federal documents filed in the fraud case.
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/07/nyregion/gym-housed-fraud-ring-federal-officials-say.html
County and federal investigators are trying to determine whether Lodi police officers helped
protect that ring or had other associations there, officials and other sources have said.
The first officer to be arrested was Sgt. Ernesto Iodaci, who was charged July 17 with using his
position in an unlawful and unauthorized manner to injure others through a pattern of abuse.
Iodaci,
37, whose salary is $63,000, also was charged with using his office to
illegally obtain benefits. The 11-year veteran's arrest is
not thought to be connected with the probe into
organized crime, sources said.
Both Iodaci and Perrelli have been suspended without pay.
https://www.policeone.com/archive/articles/35059-Witness-says-cop-offered-ticket-fix-traffic-summonses-could-disappear-Lodi-NJ/
Borough Manager Joseph Dominic declined to comment on Caruso's arrest, referring all
calls to the Prosecutor's Office, but did say that it is borough policy to automatically suspend
without pay any employee who is charged with a crime.
The
writer of this article is a reporter with the publication,"The Record".
According to his LinkedIn page, he was a Municipal Reporter at the
time…
"Municipal Reporter
The Record
June 1994 – June 2000 (6 years 1 month)
Covered a variety of municipalities in Northern New Jersey.
Wrote about everything from municipal budgets to education to corruption.
Was responsible for filing daily stories and developing longer term work."
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-sforza-3792aa7
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PERSONS MAY NOT LIKE THE INFORMATION TO BE PUT BACK INTO PUBLIC VIEW,
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