Boro honors police for busting burglars Ten local law enforcers recognized for thwarting burglaries BY SUE MORGAN Staff Writer WEST LONG BRANCH - Thanks to the intrepid endeavors by some of the borough's finest, would-be burglars have failed to completely pull off several break-ins to local homes and vehicles. For nabbing suspects on four separate yet noteworthy occasions between July and earlier this month, those law enforcers had their moment in the spotlight when they were publicly recognized by their superiors at the Sept. 20 Borough Council meeting. As Police Chief Arthur Cosentino and Capt. Lawrence Mihlon stood in front of the council dais and proud family members and friends looked on, 10 police officers, including a detective, two sergeants, and a corporal, came forward to pick up their award certificates in a brief but formal ceremony. Sgt. James Gomez, Patrolmen Nick Ferrugiaro and Michael Paolantonio and Detective William Lynch all received the department's Excellent Arrest Commendation for apprehending suspects in three different incidents. According to a police department press release, Gomez arrested and charged two Oakhurst men for burglarizing a vehicle parked on Arlene Drive on July 2. Gomez took the suspects in based on tips he received earlier from a borough resident and from an off-duty Point Pleasant Beach special officer, Mihlon said. Ferrugiaro and Paolantonio arrested and charged a West Long Branch man with burglary, possession of burglary tools, and criminal mischief on Aug. 20 after they responded to a report of someone breaking into a vehicle on Summers Avenue, according to the police press release. Lynch, who had been investigating a series of residential break-ins over a period of time, arrested a West Long Branch woman on Sept. 8 after learning that she had broken into a Linden Avenue home and had stolen jewelry, the department press release states. Lynch, Gomez, Paolantonio and seven other department members also received Unit Citation Medals for capturing two men while they were burglarizing a Victor Avenue home. The other seven medal recipients are Sgt. Brian Kramer, Cpl. Archie C. Symonds, Patrolmen Scott Rockhill, Kyle Kampf, Matthew Guido and Jeff Hanlon, and Patrolwoman Marlowe Botti. Lynch, with assistance from Kramer, is credited with developing information that led to creation of the special task force that aims to catch burglary suspects in the act, Mihlon said. "Their performance and exemplary duty result in an extraordinary outcome," Mihlon told those in attendance as the ceremony concluded. West Long Branch gets more than its money's worth with its police officers, Mayor Janet Tucci noted. "Everyone always wonders what they get for their tax dollars," Tucci said. "We're lucky to have such an excellent police force working for us morning, noon and night." Later on in the meeting, Councilman Thomas DeBruin, the borough's police commissioner, reported that Lynch was the subject of accolades in a recent letter received from Chief of Detectives Michael Pasterchick of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Referring to Pasterchick's letter, DeBruin explained that Lynch had aided the Prosecutor's Office by providing evidence that led to last month's 429-count indictment of Clement Bilski Jr. of Ocean Township on numerous charges of aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child. "With [Lynch's] evidence, we were able to identify 42 victims," DeBruin read from Pasterchick's letter. A local handyman who once resided in Long Branch's Elberon section, Bilski was arrested in April after the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force linked him to a computer that had been sharing child pornography, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Referring to Pasterchick's letter, DeBruin explained that Lynch had aided the Prosecutor's Office by providing evidence that led to last month's 429-count indictment of Clement Bilski Jr. of Ocean Township on numerous charges of aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child. "With [Lynch's] evidence, we were able to identify 42 victims," DeBruin read from Pasterchick's letter. A local handyman who once resided in Long Branch's Elberon section, Bilski was arrested in April after the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force linked him to a computer that had been sharing child pornography, according to the Prosecutor's Office.