Belleville Retains Town Manager, Welcomes Provisional Police Chief

Belleville, NJ – Belleville has welcomed some new faces to its top administrative positions over the past weeks.

During a Belleville Township Council meeting last month, council members voted to retain Mauro Tucci as permanent township manager.

Tucci succeeded interim manager Kevin Esposito, who resigned in January amid conflict of interest accusations stemming from his dual role as tax assessor.

• See related article: Belleville Town Manager Resigns Amid 'Dual Office' Controversy
• See related article: Belleville: No Conflict Of Interest For Town Manager, Tax Assessor

Tucci was chosen to fill the interim position in January and will get a salary increase from $139,500 to $150,000, NorthJersey.com reported.

POLICE CHIEF

Concurrently, Belleville also bid farewell to longtime police chief Joseph Rotonda, who retired on June 30 after 16 years of service.

Deputy Chief Mark Minichini, a Belleville native, took over as provisional chief, NorthJersey.com reported.

“A graduate of the Essex County Police Academy, Minichini joined the Belleville police force in 1986 after a year in Irvington,” NorthJersey.com stated. “He was promoted to detective in 1993, and then to sergeant in 1999. He became a lieutenant in 2000, where he was also put in charge of the juvenile bureau. He was then elevated to captain in 2005, where he supervised the detective bureau, and then rose to the rank of deputy chief in 2009.”

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