Post by WaTcHeR on Sept 6, 2006 9:13:21 GMT -5
09.06.2006 - PASSAIC -- The daughter of Mayor Samuel Rivera who lied on her state application to become a police officer has resigned, capping an embarrassing episode for the department that led to an investigation by the county prosecutor.
Passaic County Prosecutor James Avigliano said Tuesday that Officer Alexandra Rivera, 21, submitted her resignation on Saturday, citing personal reasons, though he later added that she stepped down rather than face charges for falsifying a state application, a fourth-degree crime.
"If you look back on the history that we have had with police officers being charged with a crime, we have always given the police officer a chance to resign, and if they resign, that would be the end of the case," Avigliano said. "I'm not talking about a cop who murdered someone; I'm talking about a fourth-degree crime. She was given the opportunity, and she availed herself of that opportunity."
Avigliano said Mayor Rivera, who approved hiring his daughter even though she did not earn a high school degree, was not interviewed during his office's investigation, adding that his investigators focused mostly on paper trails.
"Conspiracy by definition is two or more people acting together to violate the law or circumvent the law," Avigliano said.
"Here, who are you going to have testify in a case of that nature? The mayor? The mayor's daughter?"
The Herald News first reported in March that Officer Rivera lacked a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate -- which all recruits must have before joining the force -- when she was hired in August 2004.
According to a copy of Rivera's December 2003 Law Enforcement Series Application -- which was released in August to The Herald News under court order -- Rivera checked the box saying she had either a diploma or GED certificate.
She did not get her GED certificate until May 2005 -- nearly one year after she had been appointed by her father to the Police Department.
Keith Furlong, Mayor Rivera's spokesman, declined comment. Alexandra Rivera did not return a message left at her house in Passaic.
Alexandra Rivera's attorney, Adolph Galluccio, who also represented Mayor Rivera in a 2004 simple-assault case, said the end result was satisfactory for all sides.
"I'm happy we dealt with a prosecutor who wasn't a headhunter," Galluccio said Tuesday. "It could have gone to a grand jury and gotten ugly down the road. We think this is a fair solution."
Avigliano said he was satisfied that since his investigation started, the Passaic Police Department has tightened its background checks for police applicants. He did not comment on how investigators with the Passaic Internal Affairs Division, responsible for those checks, failed to request a copy of Rivera's education certificate.
A call to Passaic Police Chief Daniel Paton was returned by Detective Andrew White, the department spokesman.
"The department wishes her the best of luck in any future endeavors that she pursues," White said.
www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Njk4ODIzMSZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=
Passaic County Prosecutor James Avigliano said Tuesday that Officer Alexandra Rivera, 21, submitted her resignation on Saturday, citing personal reasons, though he later added that she stepped down rather than face charges for falsifying a state application, a fourth-degree crime.
"If you look back on the history that we have had with police officers being charged with a crime, we have always given the police officer a chance to resign, and if they resign, that would be the end of the case," Avigliano said. "I'm not talking about a cop who murdered someone; I'm talking about a fourth-degree crime. She was given the opportunity, and she availed herself of that opportunity."
Avigliano said Mayor Rivera, who approved hiring his daughter even though she did not earn a high school degree, was not interviewed during his office's investigation, adding that his investigators focused mostly on paper trails.
"Conspiracy by definition is two or more people acting together to violate the law or circumvent the law," Avigliano said.
"Here, who are you going to have testify in a case of that nature? The mayor? The mayor's daughter?"
The Herald News first reported in March that Officer Rivera lacked a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate -- which all recruits must have before joining the force -- when she was hired in August 2004.
According to a copy of Rivera's December 2003 Law Enforcement Series Application -- which was released in August to The Herald News under court order -- Rivera checked the box saying she had either a diploma or GED certificate.
She did not get her GED certificate until May 2005 -- nearly one year after she had been appointed by her father to the Police Department.
Keith Furlong, Mayor Rivera's spokesman, declined comment. Alexandra Rivera did not return a message left at her house in Passaic.
Alexandra Rivera's attorney, Adolph Galluccio, who also represented Mayor Rivera in a 2004 simple-assault case, said the end result was satisfactory for all sides.
"I'm happy we dealt with a prosecutor who wasn't a headhunter," Galluccio said Tuesday. "It could have gone to a grand jury and gotten ugly down the road. We think this is a fair solution."
Avigliano said he was satisfied that since his investigation started, the Passaic Police Department has tightened its background checks for police applicants. He did not comment on how investigators with the Passaic Internal Affairs Division, responsible for those checks, failed to request a copy of Rivera's education certificate.
A call to Passaic Police Chief Daniel Paton was returned by Detective Andrew White, the department spokesman.
"The department wishes her the best of luck in any future endeavors that she pursues," White said.
www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Njk4ODIzMSZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=
