Bergenfield Police Able to 'Salvage' Young Career of Laid-Off Fair Lawn Officer

Robert Mader, who served just one year in the Fair Lawn Police Department before he was laid off last month, became the latest former borough officer to find a new home when he was sworn into the Bergenfield Police Department on Tuesday night.

Patrolmen Robert Iozzia, Alan Annazone, Christopher Sullivan and Mader were all laid off by the borough on Sept. 1. Sullivan was the first to land back on his feet, joining the Bergen County Police Department on Oct. 13. Iozzia and Annazone are still looking for work, but David Boone, president of Fair Lawn Policemen's Benevolent Association Local No. 67, said he is speaking to a number of police departments in the area on their behalf.

Mader, 29, joined the United States Air Force at age 22 and, like Sullivan and Iozzia, is a veteran of the Iraq War.

"Being re-hired is the best feeling in the world, but I also think about the other guys who still haven't gotten hired, they're always in my thoughts as well," Mader said.

Serving in Iraq, Mader said, "was an experience that you get that you can't get anywhere else."

Mader, who was raised in Fair Lawn, said he wasn't expecting such a short stay at the borough's police department.

"You don't expect to get hired and then pretty much a year later you get laid off," Mader said.

Bergenfield Police Chief Michael F. Monaghan said Mader was "highly recommended" by Fair Lawn, and was glad Bergenfield could give the officer a new opportunity.

"It's a positive result that replenishes our manpower, and we're able to salvage the career of a young officer," Monaghan said.