HOBOKEN AND BEYOND — Hoboken Police Lt. Angelo Andriani became locally infamous two years ago for having participated in two humanitarian trips to Louisiana in which members of the police SWAT team were photographed in debauched and compromising positions. According to the city, those alleged offenses aren’t the transgressions that landed him unemployed. More recently, in January, Andriani allegedly flashed an apparently outdated police badge in a Tampa airport.
Last week, Thomas Portelli, a hearing officer for the city’s newest administrative charges against Andriani, recommended firing the suspended officer after hearing the case.
This week, the city did just that, said Corporation Counsel Michael Kates.
On Monday, the city sent termination papers to Andriani’s attorney, since the city has no known address for the former officer, Kates said.
Andriani was detained by the Tampa International Airport Police Department on Monday, Jan. 18 after he was allegedly involved in a “passenger causing a disturbance” incident.
He was already suspended with pay following various administrative charges for possible misconduct. Mayor Dawn Zimmer removed Andriani from the payroll following, but unrelated to, the January incident.
Andriani was facing termination in a drawn-out administrative hearing stemming from the prior incidents with the now-disbanded Hoboken Police SWAT team. The hearings have been going on for two years.
Kates said the city will continue the initial hearing process, and will likely get word of that hearing officer’s decision in the near future.
The Tampa case was less complicated with less witnesses than the SWAT case, which is why it took much less time to complete, but suspending Andriani’s pay in January also helped speed up the process, Kates said.
Andriani can appeal the decision to the state Office of Administrative Law, Kates said. — TJC