February 6, 2004
Trenton,
NJ — Mercer County’s top narcotics investigator was sworn in as chief of
county detectives this afternoon in the ceremonial courtroom of the Mercer
County Courthouse.
Family,
friends and colleagues gathered to witness Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr.
administer the oath of office to 47-year-old Hamilton resident Al Paglione.
As chief, Paglione will lead a staff of 60 detectives committed to law
enforcement and criminal prosecution in Mercer County.
“Al
is a natural leader and a mentor to officers throughout Mercer County and New
Jersey,” Bocchini said. “He is
a smart, savvy cop who is greatly respected by the law enforcement community and
I’m proud to work with him.”
Paglione
brings a wealth of law enforcement experience to Mercer County.
Prior to being hired by the county Department of Corrections in 1980, the
26-year law enforcement veteran was drafted by three Major League Baseball teams
as a pitcher and played for four years with the Chicago Cubs.
Paglione
left the Department of Corrections in 1986 to join the county Sheriff’s
Department. In 1988, he was
promoted to the Detective Bureau assigned to the Warrant Section.
After a one-year assignment to the Mercer County Narcotic Task Force,
Paglione was hired by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office in 1990 and
assigned to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).
In
September 1994, Paglione was promoted to sergeant and assigned to the Grand Jury
Unit then the Sexual Assault Unit. He
was promoted to lieutenant in May 1998 and led the SIU until he was promoted to
captain in August 2003. As captain
of operations, Paglione’s duties included overseeing the Trial, Grand Jury,
Special Investigations, Fugitive and Internal Affairs units as well as the
Mercer County Gang Task Force.
During
his distinguished career with the prosecutor’s office, Paglione has been
directly involved in more than 2,500 criminal investigations and has initiated
hundreds of narcotic investigations resulting in the arrest of more than 600
mid- to upper-level drug distributors.
He
has attended more than 30 schools and seminars dealing with every facet of
narcotics enforcement, trends and investigative techniques, arson, sexual
assault, gangs and firearms, and lectured at various community and civic
organizations, colleges, police academies and training seminars concerning
narcotics.
Paglione
is an instructor at the Top Gun Narcotics Enforcement School of the New Jersey
Division of Criminal Justice, Statewide Narcotics Task Force, as well as a
certified narcotic K-9 handler, firearms instructor and arson investigator.
A
member of many organizations, including the Narcotic Commanders Association and
the New Jersey Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association, Paglione has received
numerous letters of commendation from federal, state and local law enforcement
agencies and is a Mercer County Employee of the Year award recipient.
He
is a graduate of St. Anthony’s High School and Valencia Community College in
Orlando, Florida, where he earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice.