Police Department Gets New Undercover Vehicle

Northport Village Police Chief Bill Ricca, standing at podium, speaks Friday at an event signifying the donation of an undercover police vehicle to the department. Standing with Ricca, from left, are: Northport Village PD Lt. Michael Cook; Kevin Gallagher, director of field operations for the northeast region of NICB; Gerard LaRocco, of MetLife; Northport Village Deputy Mayor Thomas Kehoe; Northport Village Mayor Damon McMullen; and John Sargent, MetLife national director of investigations. (Long Islander News photos/Joseph Marasciullo)

By Joseph Marasciullo
info@longislandergroup.com

The Northport Police Department received a donation of an undercover police vehicle last Thursday, courtesy of the National Insurance Crime Bureau and MetLife Home and Auto Insurance Company.

Northport Police Chief Bill Ricca spoke at a small event, during which the car was handed over by a joint group of representatives from both the NICB and MetLife Insurance, whom he thanked for their awareness of “the financial struggles that smaller municipalities encounter.”

“Their donation of this vehicle adds to public safety without adding any negative impact to our budget,” Ricca said.

The chief added, “As a group, the elected officials and all department heads in Northport Village have a goal of keeping the tax levy low while providing the best services available.”

The donated car was previously stolen from a MetLife insurance customer who took a payout to replace the car, which was later recovered by the authorities.

Details of the donated vehicle were kept under wraps as, officials said, it will be used in an undercover capacity.

MetLife, which took possession of the vehicle, then worked with NICB to coordinate the donation of the vehicle.

Officials kept quiet on details of the vehicle as it’s planned to be used in an undercover capacity. They did say that it is “a late model vehicle with low mileage and in excellent condition.”

Ricca also added that over the past two years Northport Police Department has worked to decrease the overall crime rate in the village by 11 percent, but certain crime, such as fraud and car thefts, don’t follow the trend. He’s hopeful the new donation will help crack down on such thefts.

We hope to “put a lot of bad guys in jail because of it,” he said.