Jerry Speziale
Encyclopedia
Jerry Speziale is an American law enforcement
officer who was previously the Sheriff
of Passaic County, New Jersey
. Speziale is currently the Deputy Superintendent of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.During his law enforcement career he worked undercover in the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, assigned to a special group targeting the Cali Drug Cartel
in Colombia
, South America
.Speziale met Paul Lir Alexander
, a high level informant that taught him the intricacies of the South American drug trade. Alexander introduced Speziale into the underworld of the cartel.Speziale, Alexander and the members of his group, "Group 93" were able to infiltrate the infamous Cali Drug Cartel. In July 1992, he was responsible for capturing and arresting the largest Cali drug cartel leader ever prosecuted under New York State law.Speziale captured the cartel boss in the Hilton Hotel
in Geneva
, Switzerland
and extradited him back with the assistance of the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutors Office and United States Marshall Service. In the end, Speziale was ultimately betrayed by Alexander.
in 1978. In 2003, he graduated from the University of Louisville
’s Southern Police Institute, 37th Command Officers National Academy. In 2006, he graduated from Harvard University
’s Kennedy School of Government for state and local government officials. In 2007, he graduated from the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development School. In 2008, he graduated, cum laude, from Caldwell College
with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. He also received a M.A.S. Graduate Degree in Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University
in 2010. Speziale currently continues as an Adjunct Professor for Fairleigh Dickinson teaching leadership and criminal justice. Additionally, Speziale received an Honorary P.H.D. in Leadership from Yeshua University in Anaheim, California
.
and raised in the suburban town of Wayne, New Jersey
to Gerardo Speziale, a barber, and Barbara Speziale, a paralegal for a municipal court judge. In 1985, Speziale married his childhood sweetheart, Maggie Reinhardt. Speziale is the father of Francesca, Jerry and Paige.
as a patrol officer in the south Bronx
. He was shot and wounded in 1986. In 1987, Speziale was assigned as an undercover officer to the NYPD’s Special Anti Crack Unit, a new unit designed to combat the scourge of crack in New York City
in the late 1980s. In 1989, Speziale was promoted to Detective and assigned as a an undercover agent with United States Drug Enforcement Administration, where his career led him around the world conducting overseas drug smuggling operations and raids with the DEA. Speziale rose through the detective ranks and in 1997 retired from the NYPD at the rank of Detective 1st Grade. Speziale is recognized as one of the nations leading experts on cell phone and wiretapping technology and lectures at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Speziale went on to be elected the 8th Sheriff of Passaic County, New Jersey
after winning an election on November 2, 2001, against Acting Sheriff Ronald Fava a former Passaic County Prosecutor. Speziale, a Democrat
, was the first democratic to be elected Sheriff in Passaic County in fifty years.
In 2010, Speziale was appointed as the Deputy Police Superintendent of the NY - NJ Port Authority Police Department a law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey
, the duties of which are to protect the public, travelers and tenants at all facilities owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
, and to enforce state and city laws at all the facilities. The Port Authority Police Department is owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state agency running the (4) bridges, (2) tunnels, (5) airports, world trade center, (2) of the world’s largest bus terminals, PATH
rapid - rail transit system and seaport in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority Police Department is the 24th largest police force in the United States
.
titled Without A Badge: Undercover in the World's Deadliest Criminal Organization. The book detailed the activities and methods of how he and an undercover informant
, Paul Lir Alexander brought down some of the biggest drug lord
s, including Alexander himself. Alexander was enraged that his dirty laundry was now being published. Paul Alexander actually sued Speziale under the pretense that the book violated his privacy
. From the lawsuit:
In the end the courts ruled that Speziale’s book did not violate Alexander’s privacy, and the case was dismissed. Towards the end of his sentence, he came under investigation in March 2005 on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Sheriff Jerry Speziale of Passaic County, New Jersey. Speziale and Federal Agents from the DEA raided his partner’s Florida
home. No charges were filed and Alexander was deported to Brazil
and transported by US Marshals in September 2005. Alexander was confined to jail in Minas Gerais
, Brazil for drug dealing charges and was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 25 years. While in the federal correctional institution in Jessup, Georgia, the Brazilian Federal Police
claim that Alexander directed major drug dealing operations between 1997-1999 while he was a Federal prison inmate. They allege that some 5 tons of cocaine was seized as well as 24 aircraft. In July 2009, Paul Lir Alexander escaped from custody in Brazil after walking away from a prison work detail and his whereabouts remain unknown. Alexander is an international fugitive. In 2010, Speziale acted alongside Richard Gere and Don Cheadle in a big-budget cop drama, "Brooklyn's Finest," directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day," "Shooter") and starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke, chronicling the struggles of officers patrolling a dangerous section of Brooklyn, similar to the area Speziale worked in his early days as an NYPD officer in east New York. Speziale received credits in the film for acting as Captain Sidney Geraci, Gere's Captain and also received film credits as the film's "Police Cosultant."
David Permut of Permut Presentations and Christie Hsiao's of Serenity Entertainment have picked up the rights to "Without a Badge." Speziale’s story tells of a New York cop who went undercover into the world of international drug trafficking. The screenplay centers on Speziale's work as part of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, Group 93, which he was a part of and was established in 1990 to combat the dangerous Colombian drug cartels. Speziale took the identity of "Geraldo Bartone" and, together with his informant was successful in apprehending some of the world's most dangerous criminals.
programs for senior citizens and the youth. The organization provided college scholarships, turkeys for the needy on Thanksgiving
, and thousands of toys on Christmas
for families in need. In 2010, after Speziale left for the Port Authority, the members of the foundation board changed the name to be generic and created the “Sheriff’s Outreach Foundation.”
Law enforcement
Law enforcement broadly refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society...
officer who was previously the Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
. Speziale is currently the Deputy Superintendent of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.During his law enforcement career he worked undercover in the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, assigned to a special group targeting the Cali Drug Cartel
Cali Cartel
The Cali Cartel was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. The Cali Cartel was founded by the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, Gilberto and Miguel, as well as associate José Santacruz Londoño...
in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.Speziale met Paul Lir Alexander
Paul Lir Alexander
Paul Lir Alexander A.K.A. El Parito Loco, Paulo Ferriera Rothstein was a Brazilian drug smuggler who shipped cocaine to the United States while simultaneously helping the DEA bust other smugglers.-History:...
, a high level informant that taught him the intricacies of the South American drug trade. Alexander introduced Speziale into the underworld of the cartel.Speziale, Alexander and the members of his group, "Group 93" were able to infiltrate the infamous Cali Drug Cartel. In July 1992, he was responsible for capturing and arresting the largest Cali drug cartel leader ever prosecuted under New York State law.Speziale captured the cartel boss in the Hilton Hotel
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and extradited him back with the assistance of the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutors Office and United States Marshall Service. In the end, Speziale was ultimately betrayed by Alexander.
Education
Speziale graduated from Wayne Hills High SchoolWayne Hills High School
Wayne Hills High School is a comprehensive community public high school, in Wayne, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, operating as one of the two high schools that are part of the Wayne Public Schools...
in 1978. In 2003, he graduated from the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
’s Southern Police Institute, 37th Command Officers National Academy. In 2006, he graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
’s Kennedy School of Government for state and local government officials. In 2007, he graduated from the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development School. In 2008, he graduated, cum laude, from Caldwell College
Caldwell College
Caldwell College is a Catholic liberal arts college in Caldwell, New Jersey, United States.Founded in 1939 by the Sisters of St. Dominic, the college is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, chartered by the State of New Jersey and registered with the Regents of the...
with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. He also received a M.A.S. Graduate Degree in Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
in 2010. Speziale currently continues as an Adjunct Professor for Fairleigh Dickinson teaching leadership and criminal justice. Additionally, Speziale received an Honorary P.H.D. in Leadership from Yeshua University in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
.
Personal
Speziale was born in Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
and raised in the suburban town of Wayne, New Jersey
Wayne, New Jersey
Wayne is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, located less than from midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 54,069....
to Gerardo Speziale, a barber, and Barbara Speziale, a paralegal for a municipal court judge. In 1985, Speziale married his childhood sweetheart, Maggie Reinhardt. Speziale is the father of Francesca, Jerry and Paige.
Law enforcement career
Speziale began his police career at the New York City Police DepartmentNew York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
as a patrol officer in the south Bronx
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
. He was shot and wounded in 1986. In 1987, Speziale was assigned as an undercover officer to the NYPD’s Special Anti Crack Unit, a new unit designed to combat the scourge of crack in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the late 1980s. In 1989, Speziale was promoted to Detective and assigned as a an undercover agent with United States Drug Enforcement Administration, where his career led him around the world conducting overseas drug smuggling operations and raids with the DEA. Speziale rose through the detective ranks and in 1997 retired from the NYPD at the rank of Detective 1st Grade. Speziale is recognized as one of the nations leading experts on cell phone and wiretapping technology and lectures at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Speziale went on to be elected the 8th Sheriff of Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
after winning an election on November 2, 2001, against Acting Sheriff Ronald Fava a former Passaic County Prosecutor. Speziale, a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, was the first democratic to be elected Sheriff in Passaic County in fifty years.
In 2010, Speziale was appointed as the Deputy Police Superintendent of the NY - NJ Port Authority Police Department a law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the duties of which are to protect the public, travelers and tenants at all facilities owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state port district, established in 1921 through an interstate compact, that runs most of the regional transportation infrastructure, including the bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the Port of New York and New Jersey...
, and to enforce state and city laws at all the facilities. The Port Authority Police Department is owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state agency running the (4) bridges, (2) tunnels, (5) airports, world trade center, (2) of the world’s largest bus terminals, PATH
Path
Path, pathway or PATH may refer to:-Path:* Course , the intended path of a vehicle over the surface of the Earth* Trail, hiking trail, footpath, or bridle path...
rapid - rail transit system and seaport in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority Police Department is the 24th largest police force in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Without A Badge
In 2003, Jerry Speziale authored a book with Mark SealMark Seal
Mark Seal is an American journalist and author. Seal worked as a journalist in Texas before becoming a freelance magazine writer in 1984, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair since 2003, and has written and co-written about 15 books....
titled Without A Badge: Undercover in the World's Deadliest Criminal Organization. The book detailed the activities and methods of how he and an undercover informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
, Paul Lir Alexander brought down some of the biggest drug lord
Drug lord
A drug lord, drug baron or kingpin is the term used to describe a person who controls a sizable network of persons involved in the illegal drugs trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they might never be directly in possession of something illegal, but are insulated from...
s, including Alexander himself. Alexander was enraged that his dirty laundry was now being published. Paul Alexander actually sued Speziale under the pretense that the book violated his privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
. From the lawsuit:
In the end the courts ruled that Speziale’s book did not violate Alexander’s privacy, and the case was dismissed. Towards the end of his sentence, he came under investigation in March 2005 on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Sheriff Jerry Speziale of Passaic County, New Jersey. Speziale and Federal Agents from the DEA raided his partner’s Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
home. No charges were filed and Alexander was deported to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and transported by US Marshals in September 2005. Alexander was confined to jail in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, Brazil for drug dealing charges and was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 25 years. While in the federal correctional institution in Jessup, Georgia, the Brazilian Federal Police
Brazilian Federal Police
The Polícia Federal is the federal police force of Brazil subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, whose main assignments are the investigations of crimes against the Federal Government or its organs and companies, the combat of international drug trafficking and terrorism, and immigration and...
claim that Alexander directed major drug dealing operations between 1997-1999 while he was a Federal prison inmate. They allege that some 5 tons of cocaine was seized as well as 24 aircraft. In July 2009, Paul Lir Alexander escaped from custody in Brazil after walking away from a prison work detail and his whereabouts remain unknown. Alexander is an international fugitive. In 2010, Speziale acted alongside Richard Gere and Don Cheadle in a big-budget cop drama, "Brooklyn's Finest," directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day," "Shooter") and starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke, chronicling the struggles of officers patrolling a dangerous section of Brooklyn, similar to the area Speziale worked in his early days as an NYPD officer in east New York. Speziale received credits in the film for acting as Captain Sidney Geraci, Gere's Captain and also received film credits as the film's "Police Cosultant."
David Permut of Permut Presentations and Christie Hsiao's of Serenity Entertainment have picked up the rights to "Without a Badge." Speziale’s story tells of a New York cop who went undercover into the world of international drug trafficking. The screenplay centers on Speziale's work as part of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, Group 93, which he was a part of and was established in 1990 to combat the dangerous Colombian drug cartels. Speziale took the identity of "Geraldo Bartone" and, together with his informant was successful in apprehending some of the world's most dangerous criminals.
Community Involvement
Speziale created the Jerry Speziale Community Outreach foundation that raised thousands of dollars annually to support the community and crime preventionCrime prevention
Crime prevention is the attempt to reduce victimization and to deter crime and criminals. It is applied specifically to efforts made by governments to reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice.-Studies:...
programs for senior citizens and the youth. The organization provided college scholarships, turkeys for the needy on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, and thousands of toys on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
for families in need. In 2010, after Speziale left for the Port Authority, the members of the foundation board changed the name to be generic and created the “Sheriff’s Outreach Foundation.”