Forget the Sopranos — In New Jersey, the Cops are Making Out Like Bandits

Bayonne, New Jersey is a city of about 65,000 people where the median household income is roughly $55,000 a year and the crime rate is much less than half the national average. Outgoing Bayonne Police Chief Ralph Scianni has just retired following a largely uneventful 34-year career.

Scianni took over as Chief in 2012, earning a salary of $234,000 a year. His retirement package — which includes unused sick, vacation, and personal time, as well as “terminal pay” for his decades of “service” — amounts to $444,450.40, to be paid out in three annual installments.

As in most cities, Bayonne’s “public safety” sector is an exceptionally well-compensated Nomenklatura. Former Chief Robert Kubert, whom Scianni replaced, was given a $319,000 retirement payout. He has since become the city’s public safety director, a glorified sinecure that will eventually yield another pension. Robert Oches, the retiring chief in nearby Middletown, was given a $249,333 going-away present.

Not unexpectedly, Scianni’s son has followed in his father’s jack-booted footsteps, rather than seeking to build a career in the productive sector.

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2:14 pm on July 25, 2014