The Saugerties Town Board has hired retired State Police Lt. Col. Robert Nuzzo as the new chief of the Saugerties Police Department (SPD) effective Monday, January 1, at a starting salary of $135,000 per year.
The unanimous decision was made during a town board meeting held on Wednesday, December 13, with council members expressing an eagerness to move the SPD forward.
“It’s been a very difficult several months for the board, for the department, for the community,” said councilman Zach Horton. “Not that I’d like to speak for the other board members here, but I think I can confidently say that it’s not only my goal and commitment, but the commitment of every other member up here to bring integrity back to this department, to restore stability within the department.”
Longtime chief Joseph Sinagra retired in September in the fallout after a the release of a July 7 report by New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEMIO) which covered multiple complaints against officer Dion Johnson, including allegations of harassment and sexual assault. Town board members pointed to the report and the department’s response as a primary motivation in placing Sinagra on administrative leave over the summer, but the now former chief said in an interview with Hudson Valley One earlier this month that he hadn’t done anything wrong and pointed to other factors.
“It was a smokescreen,” Sinagra said. “They just didn’t want me there any longer.”
“Stability” was also mentioned by council members as the reason for hiring former chief Lou Barbaria as interim chief during the search process for a permanent replacement for Sinagra. With the hiring of Nuzzo, Barbaria’s brief return to Saugerties will come to a close at the end of this year.
“We’re very excited that Mr. Nuzzo is going to come here to Saugerties,” said town supervisor Fred Costello. “He has a long established law enforcement relationship with many of the surrounding agencies and many members of our department already. His resume is so broad.”
Nuzzo served with the State Police between May 1987 and December 2019, and in addition to organizing the traffic plan for the U.S. Open in Bethpage, his work brought him close to Saugerties in the same role during Woodstock ’94 and the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival.
Nuzzo was commander with the State Police’s Troop K, covering Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and Columbia counties; served as assistant deputy superintendent for the State Police Planning and Research Section; and assistant deputy superintendent overseeing large-scale incidents and special operations. Since his retirement from the State Police, Nuzzo spent two years as security director for HealthAlliance Hospital’s Kingston campus, and presently serves as acting chairman of the Ulster County Board of Ethics.
“He’s served everywhere throughout the state,” Costello said. “I think he’s going to be a wonderful addition and provide some needed leadership in the transition of Chief Barbaria’s leaving at the end of the year.”
Horton said that even with Nuzzo’s apparent credentials, the other five applicants were also seriously considered.
“All of the candidates that interviewed for this position were extremely qualified,” Horton said. “I think this was a very difficult decision for the board to make along with our partners at the village level.”
Costello agreed.
“The candidates were all extraordinary in their own ways,” he said. “It’s a testament to Mr. Nuzzo’s credentials as well. “Everybody had a really amazing vision for policing, especially about certain changes that policing has experienced in the last few years. This particular individual represents the best characteristics to move us forward from where we’re now.”
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