'Boots-On-The-Ground, Hard-Working Guy:' New Police Chief Welcomed In Brick

BRICK, NJ -- Brick Township welcomed its new chief of police Tuesday night with a rousing ovation and a promise from the chief to continue ”providing you with the best service possible.”

James Riccio was formally and unanimously approved as the new chief of police Tuesday night by the Brick Township Council, then sworn in to officially take over the department from the recently retired Rick Bergquist.

“We have the best police department in the state and I have no doubt Chief Riccio will continue to lead this department forward,” Mayor John Ducey said in remarks before Riccio was sworn in. “He was without question the best for the job, hands down” out of the 10 officers interviewed.

“I was nervous about picking the right person. Those are large shoes to fill,” Ducey said, referring to Bergquist, who had been chief for nine years and saw the department through significant changes. “Thank you for making the choice easy.”

“He is a boots-on-the-ground, hard-working kind of guy,” said Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero, who sits on the township’s public safety committee. “I can’t think of anyone better for the job.”

Riccio, who has been deputy chief since May 2011, has a wealth of experience. Ducey said Riccio had worked every shift in the department and in a variety of aspects, from internal affairs and administrative services to the patrol division.

Riccio, who has 19 medals, eight chief’s certificates including officer of the year, is the most highly decorated officer in the department, with his awards including the Thomas McNelis Award and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Douglas C. King Award, Ducey said.

Riccio’s experiences, however, aren’t limited to the borders of Brick Township. In his nearly 30 years on the Brick Township Police Force, Riccio also was assigned to the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force and later served as unit commander of the township’s Drug Enforcement Unit. And Riccio spent time on a special assignment with the prosecutor’s office and later the FBI, working on official corruption cases that led to a massive number of arrests in what became known as Operation Bid Rig, which resulted in 44 arrests of public officials throughout the state in 2009, Ducey said.

During Superstorm Sandy, Riccio was the incident commander, responsible for coordination of personnel and storm-related operations before, during and after the storm, Ducey said.

Riccio, who now commands a department of 126 officers as well as serving as the township’s emergency management coordinator, is paid $167,707.

Riccio, who was joined at the ceremony by his wife, Joy, and children Nicole, Joseph, Melissa and Amber, as well as his parents who came up from Florida, spoke briefly and said becoming chief was the realization of a dream.

“I knew when I started my career 30 years ago that I wanted to be standing here someday,” he said. “I worked my entire career in hopes of this day.”

Directing his comments to the residents of Brick, Riccio pledged he “and the members of m department will carry on the tradition of providing you with the best possible service.”

He also thanked the officers and staff of the police department, as well as his predecessors, Bergquist, who retired Dec. 1, and former Chief Ronald Dougard, for making the department what it is today.

“Your dedication and your professionalism has paid off,” he said. ”It’s all of you who’ve made this department the best.”