Lawyer Apologizes To Hoboken Cops For 'Gestapo' Comment (UPDATED)

HOBOKEN, NJ — EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated with a statement from Anthony Bocchi.

Metaphors can be powerful weapons, especially those that invoke the Nazi regime.

While presenting oral arguments on a bitter land use case Monday involving a proposed repair and maintenance facility in Hoboken, a lawyer with Cullen and Dykman LLP who was representing NY Waterway compared the local police department to the “Gestapo,” the secret police force of Nazi-era Germany.

The attorney was referring to police enforcement of a city stop work order issued for the site, which has seen pushback from some local residents who want it used for open space. NY Waterway has claimed the proposed facility would enhance transportation, public security and property values on the Hudson River waterfront.

• See related article: Court Rules Against NY Waterway On Hoboken Lawsuit

The president of the local police union and Mayor Ravi Bhalla immediately blasted the comparison in a joint statement.

“It’s abhorrent that New York Waterway’s high-paid attorney would equate the Hoboken Police Department as the ‘Gestapo,’ said Lt. John Petrosino, president of the Hoboken Police Superior Officers Association.

“Any comparison between the hardworking men and women of the Hoboken Police Department and the Nazi regime is offensive and insulting,” Petrosino said. “We demand an immediate and unequivocal apology from New York Waterway.”

New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Colligan also demanded an apology from NY Waterway following Monday’s “Gestapo” comment.

“It should go without saying that the statement made by NY Waterway comparing the fine men and women of the Hoboken Police Department to the vile secret state police of Nazi Germany is well beyond any acceptable societal boundaries,” Colligan said.

“Frankly, it is hard to fathom how anyone could believe smearing the dedicated community servants of the HPD for simply doing their jobs with a historically despicable reference like this can go unanswered,” Cooligan added. “All across our country, members of the law enforcement community continue to find their very well-being endangered and disgusting characterizations like the one made in court by NY Waterway can only help exacerbate the problem. Anything less than a public apology for this inexcusable comment today is completely unacceptable.”

Bhalla said the comparison was “sickening,” and called on NY Waterway founder and New Jersey Hall of Fame member Arthur Imperatore to make amends.

“This inflammatory language has no place in a court of law or anywhere else in society, and Mr. Imperatore owes the Hoboken Police Department and our city an apology,” Bhalla said.

Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante said he only learned of the alleged comment Monday afternoon, but if true, it’s “unprofessional and unethical.”

It’s also a comment made by someone who greatly needs an education on Nazi Germany and the secret police that was utilized against political adversaries, Ferrante told Patch.

“There are always negative comments made against police departments and police officers, and one needs to be thick-skinned in this profession, but when an attorney uses the negative police rhetoric in this fashion, it is done with absolute ignorance and disrespect for every man and woman that wears the uniform of the Hoboken Police Department,” Ferrante said.

Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro, who represents Hoboken, said the comparison was "absolutely unacceptable."

"Every day the Hoboken Police Department helps our residents, and this type of language is wrong, offensive, unprofessional and helps no one," Chaparro tweeted. "Apologize now."

A NY Waterway spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations.

On Tuesday evening, Anthony Bocchi, the lawyer who made the comment in court, said he was sorry for his remark.

"I apologize to the Hoboken Police Department and all other law enforcement agencies and officers that were offended by my use of an inappropriate expression during the heat of an hour-long oral argument yesterday in the Hudson County Superior Court," Bocchi said. "Upon reflection, I should not have used the expression. I sincerely apologize for this, as I have the utmost respect for all law enforcement officers."

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Hoboken Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com