Son Of Bergen Executive Charged With Impersonating Cop

VERO BEACH, FL — James Tedesco IV, the son of Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco, is charged with impersonating a police officer and marijuana possession after an arrest in Vero Beach, Florida, on Monday.

According to an arrest report from the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, Tedesco was driving down I-95 in a black SUV with a New York license plate while red and blue lights flashed on the passenger's side. He was going 95mph, the report said.

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When an officer pulled him over, Tedesco said he had just left Mims, Florida, and was traveling to Miami, Florida, to work a fire, explaining that he was currently employed by the Miami Fire Department, which is untrue, he later admitted.

Tedesco then asked the officer if there is "anything you can do," the report said. "I am a firefighter who worked on 9/11."

The arresting officer then called the Station 9 Fire Department in New York, according to the arrest report, discovering that Tedesco was employed there, but not in 2001. He began in 2003 and medically retired in 2018.

After the phone call ended, Tedesco was read his Miranda Rights and a search of his vehicle began.

While officers searched the car, they found a New York police jacket, a DEA hat, two rifle cases both loaded with AR-15s, loaded rifle magazines, more than 1,100 rounds of ammunition, a New York Police Department issued bag, a gas mask, 38 grams of marijuana in baggies and brass knuckles, the report said.

Tedesco eventually admitted that he wasn't going to a fire, but that he was fishing in Mims, Florida, and was heading to Fort Pierce, Florida to "gather some stuff from a friend's house" before continuing on to Miami for more fishing.

Tedesco was taken in for booking, but posted a $26,000 bond and was released on Tuesday afternoon.