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Two of them, Antonio Guinta, 26, and Frank Ballante, 19, both of Norwood, have been with the Moonachie First Aid & Rescue Squad a little over a year, said Franklin Smith, the squad’s captain.
The third defendant, Anthony Olsen, 47, of Laurence Harbor was an observer who’d recently been with a squad in South Jersey, Smith said.
It turns out he also had a criminal record, authorities said they discovered.
The Nov. 29th thefts from the Norwood EMS building on Broadway “had nothing to do with any other members [in Moonachie] at all,” Smith said. “The radios never made it to this squad.”
The captain, in fact, was among those who urged members to be on the lookout for the stolen radios. He also posted alerts in group chats.
“We hoped we could help catch the guys who stole them,” he said.
Smith said he was stunned when he discovered who was responsible. He immediately called Moonachie Police Chief Richard Behrens and Norwood police, he said.
“We went to the police right away to make sure the right thing was done,” Smith said. “We did all we could to assist.”
Guinta and Ballante fully cooperated with Detective Sgt. John Amatucci and Detective Perry Duelfer, he said.
The accused members were immediately suspended and then removed, Smith added.
The radios apparently were tossed into a river after they were turned off remotely and the suspects realized that they’d been identified, Norwood Police Chief Jeff Krapels said.
Total value of the loss, he said: $10,000.
Police charged the trio with burglary and theft. Guinta and Ballante also were charged with conspiracy. Ballante was also charged with giving police a false report.
All three were released pending hearings, Krapels said. Meanwhile, his detectives were trying to pinpoint a motive.
“This is so unfortunate for this squad,” Smith said. “These members don’t deserve the negative publicity these guys are going to bring.
“It would be a shame if it harmed all the good that our members do.”
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