Monday Night's 26 Arrests on Point Beach Boardwalk Followed Busy Weekend of 83 Arrests

Monday night is the new Saturday night.

At least that's the way it seems to Point Pleasant Beach residents who live near the boardwalk and to police who are finding they're just as busy on Monday nights as on weekend nights.

On Monday night, police made 26 arrests, including state statute violations such as disorderly conduct, assault, resisting arrest and obstruction, said Lt. Robert Dikun.

In addition, there also were local ordinance violations, which included "misbehaving, urinating in public and drinking in public," he said in an email.

Dikun, who has been communicating through emails with a group of concerned residents, wrote on Tuesday morning that the number of Monday night arrests could have been higher.

"It could have been 46 if all of our officers weren’t already engaged," he wrote, in response to a resident's question about manpower usage. (Dikun gave Patch permission to quote comments from his group emails.)

He also said the department has fewer special officers than last year.

"We are trying to fill voids by having them work more hours and redistributing manpower," he said in the group email.

And the weekend is still the weekend.

"The weekend was very busy with 83 total arrests," Dikun said in an email to Patch. "Calls for service were also very high."

The council will meet at 6:30 tonight to discuss a possible emergency appropriation for more special police officers.

However, Dikun has said that because it is already mid-July, there is not enough time to train special police officers and get them on the street before summer ends.

"It is an impossibility to recruit, test, hire and train officers within this time frame," said Dikun in an email to the residents' group.

Dikun wrote in the email that special officers need to be trained between 80 and 770 hours at the Ocean County Police Academy, depending on whether they are Class I or Class II officers, and then have to undergo 120 hours of additional, local department training.

So it appears there is not enough opportunity or time to recruit and train new officers. However, that will be one of the subjects of tonight's meeting.

That will be followed by a 7 p.m. meeting with local boardwalk and business owners to discuss possible solutions to the problems of disorderly conduct and other crime on and near the boardwalk that police say has been the worst wave of summer crime in the past 17 years.

If that meeting is attended by only three members of the governing body, who will likely be Mayor Vincent Barrella and Councilmen Sean Hennessy and Michael Corbally, it will not be open to the public.

In New Jersey, local governing bodies only need to advertise and open meetings to the public if a majority of the governing body members are present.

Point Beach, for example, has seven members of its governing body, including the mayor and council. So it must advertise and open meetings attended by four or more members.

As for how manpower is assigned and distributed, Dikun said in the group email, "We have made numerous shift changes several times throughout the summer to meet demands. Adjustments are made on a weekly basis.

"Some of them included altering schedules on Sundays and Mondays. Some of them included specific locations to address changing trends.

"We are already doing much more with even less," Dikun wrote.

Regarding criticisms about how the police should spend less time on parking enforcement and more time on more serious offenses that occur late at night and early in the morning, Dikun wrote in his group email:

"Most, but not all, of the parking enforcement is done by Parking Enforcement Officers. They have no arrest powers and are limited to enforcing parking. There is more emphasis on the times where there is more unruly behavior. By way of example, on Saturdays, 90% of our seasonal officers are working.

"Unlike most other municipal departments, or the private sector, we have to staff 178 hours each week. Unfortunately, more and more of those 178 hours are filled with disorderly behavior."

In response to a resident's call for "random, weekend DWI checks," Dikun wrote, "We conduct specifically assigned DWI random patrols every Friday and Saturday evening during the summer. On holiday weekends, we also conduct them on Sunday evenings. We also conduct DWI roadblocks in conjunction with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office."

On Tuesday, Detective Patrick Petruzziello released information regarding police activity during the past two weeks, not including the 26 arrests on Monday night and also not including "minor arrests in which the subjects were cited and released from the scene (misbehaving, urinating in public, drinking in public, etc.)."

The weekend arrests include two simple assault arrests, five minor drug possession charges, three cases of obstruction, 16 incidents of disorderly conduct, five charges of resisting arrests, three drunken driving, one criminal mischief and one hindering apprehension.

On Sunday, the following arrests were made:

7:44 PM – Jillann Maccarone, 27, of Manalapan, was arrested on Ocean Avenue by Officer Joseph Gippetti for simple assault.

 6:07 PM – Hilary L. Jabs, 19, of New York, NY, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Michael Guarino for possession of marijuana under 50 grams.

 12:06 AM – Morgan W. Little, 25, of Bloomfield, was arrested on Central Avenue by Officer Valerie Blauvelt for obstructing.

 3:38 AM – Brittany-Jo Boffa, 21, of Nutley, was arrested on Ocean Avenue by Officer Scott Nase for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

 3:31 AM – Justine E. Boffa, 29, of Staten Island, NY, was arrested on Ocean Avenue by Officer Scott Nase for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

 12:32 AM – Nicholas M. Ripp, 24, of Colonia, was arrested on the Boardwalk by Officer Ryan Talty for disorderly conduct and obstructing.

 12:39 AM – Louis M. Ripp, 27, of Colonia, was arrested on the Boardwalk by Officer Ryan Talty for disorderly conduct.

 1:42 AM – Gregory R. Reardon, 22, of Old Bridge, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Kyle Grace for disorderly conduct.

 1:37 AM – Kimberly J. Fiorenzi, 47, of Lodi, was arrested on Ocean Avenue by Officer Chris Anderson for disorderly conduct.

 1:42 AM – Michael J. Savi, 30, of Union Beach, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Kyle Grace for disorderly conduct.

On Saturday the following arrests were made:

2:20 AM – William R. Brown, 23, of Staten Island, NY, was arrested on Parkway by Sgt. Joseph Michigan for driving while intoxicated.

 1:47 AM – Michael Stewart, 26, of Old Bridge, was arrested on Parkway Avenue by Officer Justin Nunno for disorderly conduct.

 Friday 11:32 PM – Daniel B. Halbach, 26, of Wayne, was arrested on Broadway by Officer Chris Anderson for disorderly conduct.

 On 7/14/11 at 11:06 PM – Raemarie Fuentes, 41, of South Plainfield, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Richard Kilmer for disorderly conduct and obstructing.

 On 7/14/11 at 10:57 PM – Justin T. Nowicki, 18, of Parlin, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Richard Kilmer for disorderly conduct, hindering apprehension and resisting arrest.

 On 7/14/11 at 9:31 PM – Dean M. Schreefer, 20, of Point Pleasant, was arrested on Maryland Avenue by Officer Ryan Talty for possession of marijuana under 50 grams, resisting arrest and underage consumption of alcohol.

 On 7/14/11 at 12:33 PM – William J. Napoli, 54, of Newark was arrested on the Boardwalk by Officer Erick Pardo for disorderly conduct.

 On 7/14/11 at 3:33 PM – Alexander Lopez, 40, of Hialeah, Fla., was arrested on Ocean Avenue by Officer Ryan Talty for possession of marijuana under 50 grams.

 On 7/14/11 at 12:58 AM – Emil A. Boller 2nd, 50, of Wharton was arrested on New York Avenue by Officer Frank Finn for simple assault.

 On 7/11/11 at 11:16 PM – Thomas J. Toolan, 27, of South Plainfield was arrested on Central Avenue by Officer David Bowden for disorderly conduct.

 On 7/11/11 at 9:59 PM – Richard A. Rocco, 46 of Staten Island, NY, was arrested on Ocean Avenue by Officer Joseph Gippetti for driving while intoxicated.

 On 7/11/11 at 3:49 PM – Carolyn A. Rush, 47, of Parsippany, was arrested on Route 35 South by Officer Robert Kowalewski for disorderly conduct.

 On 7/10/11 at 10:16 PM – Jessica L. Archer, 24, of Millstone, was arrested on Yale Avenue by Officer Frank Finn for driving while intoxicated.

On 7/10/11 at 8:01 PM – Michael D. Marciano, 30, of Robbinsville, was arrested on the Boardwalk by Officer Erick Pardo for defiant trespassing.

 On 7/10/11 at 6:52 PM – Abraham Payvandi, 30, of Elizabeth, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Matthew Hill for disorderly conduct.

 On 7/10/11 at 12:02 AM – Mikel Berisaj, 34, of Bergenfield, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Nicholas Barber for possession of a controlled dangerous substance.

 On 7//9/11 at 11:19 PM – Nicholas T. McGhee, 32, of Asbury Park, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Tara Slater for possession of marijuana under 50 grams.

 On 7/9/11 at 8:23 PM – Kyle C. Gesztesi, 40, of Howells, NY, was arrested on the Boardwalk by Officer Matt Nickerson for disorderly conduct.

 On 7/9/11 at 8:29 PM – Spencer J. Corbett, 25, of Palmyra, was arrested Broadway by Officer Paschal Drew for criminal mischief.

 On 7/6/11 at 10:33 PM – Gail M. Swayze, 45, of Lakewood, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Officer Joseph Giacobbe for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

 On 7/6/11 at 9:37 PM – Daniel J. Polifronio, 21, of Patterson, was arrested on Arnold Avenue by Sgt. Joseph Michigan for obstructing.

Residents are reminded by the Point Beach police department that they can call the Police Department Tips Hotline, to report any suspicious activity, at 732-892-0500 ext. 199. Residents are also reminded that they may remain anonymous.