Lt. Andriani Officially Suspended Without Pay

Lt. Angelo Andriani, who served on the Hoboken SWAT Team and has been suspended with pay for the past two years, has officially been suspended without pay, effective today, Hoboken's Corporate Counsel Michael Kates confirmed. 

Thomas Portelli, who served as the judge during the hearing on this matter on Feb. 11, sent a memo on Friday announcing that, "After consideration of the hearing notes and memoranda, I find that suspension without pay pending full hearing is not unwarranted; however, the disciplinary hearing ought to proceed with haste to minimize the adverse impact upon salary."

On Jan. 18, Andriani was arrested in the Tampa Bay Airport after causing a disturbance and illegally posing as a police officer. Although he had to hand in his gun and his badge when he was suspended, it turned out he kept some old badges, Kates said.

"This type of behavior can not and will not be tolerated and we are taking swift and decisive measures to remedy the actions of this individual," Mayor Dawn Zimmer said shortly after the incident at the Tampa Bay Airport.

The Hoboken SWAT Team was suspended two years ago when Andriani was involved in the so-called "Hooters Scandal." Several Hoboken SWAT officers, during a trip to the South were photographed with Hooters waitresses who were holding their guns. 

After the incident, Andriani was suspended with pay, receiving his full salary. Although Zimmer said earlier this month that Andriani had been suspended without pay, he has been receiving payments up to now. 

While the two-year old case is still making its way through the courts, the Tampa Bay incident was enough to call for a suspension without pay, according to Corporate Counsel Kates. The two-year-old case will still have to be heard in Hudson County Superior Court, Kates said. The two cases are separate, Kates said also.  

A letter was sent to Andriani on Jan. 28, notifying him of his suspension without pay. Andriani disputed the decision (which is within his rights).   

"He took adventage of the rights that are his," said Kates.

During this process, another issue arose, Kates said. The home address the city had for Andriani was in Verona, N.J. But it has become clear that Andriani sold that house and has moved out of state. (Presumably Florida, Kates said, but this has not been confirmed). 

Andriani's paychecks were deposited directly into his bank account, Kates said. "I don't know anything about his address," he added. 

Kates said he drafted a letter to Andriani's attorney to demand to know what his current address is. At the time of his suspension, Andriani told the court that his address should be kept private because if people in the police department found out where he lived, his life would be in danger.