In a harrowing incident that shook the community to its core, Sergeant Peter Voto and Officer Gary Tedesco lost their lives in August of 1963 during a distressing confrontation at the Angel Lounge on Route 46 in Lodi, New Jersey.
On that fateful summer day, Sergeant Peter Voto entered the Angel Lounge in response to a disturbance call, while Officer Gary Tedesco, a probationary officer without a firearm, remained in their patrol car. Unbeknownst to them, the bar housed Thomas Trantino and Frank Falco, both in their mid-20s and former convicts, indulging in intoxication and causing a disturbance that had prompted multiple calls from concerned neighbors.
What transpired next was a brutal and senseless act of violence. Upon the officers' arrival to restore order, the suspects mercilessly attacked them, disarming Sergeant Voto in the process. The officers endured savage blows, including pistol-whipping, before falling victim to fatal gunshots. The assailants callously left their victims for dead within the confines of the bar.
Patty Tedesco, the Sister of Officer Gary Tedesco, tells the story and includes the impact on her, the family and community in this episode of the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast. Link to listen to the episode in it's entirety at the bottom of this article.
The two suspects responsible for this gruesome crime were in the midst of celebrating a recent robbery they had committed in Brooklyn, New York. Their festivities were characterized by heavy drinking and drug use, which generated such a raucous atmosphere that neighbors had no choice but to summon the police.
Following the tragic incident, one of the suspects met his end at the hands of detectives from the New York City Police Department in a Manhattan hotel room. The second suspect faced a murder conviction and an initial death sentence. However, in 2001, the New Jersey State Supreme Court ordered his release after he had served 37 years in prison, citing the unconstitutionality of the death penalty, which had been abolished in 1972.
Thomas Trantino, one of the culprits, eventually surrendered to authorities and was initially sentenced to death. Subsequently, New Jersey abolished the death penalty, commuting his sentence to life imprisonment. Trantino's tumultuous upbringing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was marred by truancy, drug addiction, and juvenile detention, factors that would later come to define his life.
During his trial in February 1964, the prosecutor argued that Trantino had subjected Sgt. Voto to a horrific ordeal, forcing him to undress before shooting both officers when Officer Tedesco entered the bar. Trantino's defense countered that Falco had committed the murders, asserting that Trantino, plagued by addiction and with a prior robbery conviction, was too intoxicated to have carried out the heinous act.
Patty Tedesco, the Sister of Officer Gary Tedesco, tells the story and includes the impact on her, the family and community in this episode of the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast. Link to listen to the episode in it's entirety at the bottom of this article.
Despite multiple parole attempts by Trantino, he encountered steadfast opposition from law enforcement agencies, victim families, and politicians. Nevertheless, in 1999, against the vigorous protests of the law enforcement community, Trantino secured parole and was released to a halfway house in Camden, New Jersey.
In 1972, his sentence had been commuted to a single life term, rendering him eligible for parole in 1977. Under the Parole Act of 1979, the parole board could require restitution as a condition of parole. This condition led to a significant protest in 1980, with 500 police officers joining the families of the slain officers to demand Trantino's continued incarceration, asserting that compensation could never suffice for the loss of the two police officers.
On February 11, 2002, Thomas Trantino was released from a Camden, NJ halfway house.
The horrific events of that night have been documented in the book "Night Of The Devil," ensuring that this dark chapter in New Jersey's history will not be forgotten.
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