 Wayne
County sheriff plans
to retire at end of ’09
By Tracey Curry - editor@cgazette.com
Wayne County, N.Y. - After more than four decades of police work in
Wayne County, Sheriff Richard Pisciotti has decided to hang up his holster. He
told the Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety Committee this morning that he
plans to retire at the end of 2009.
"I’ll have 41 1/2 years of service in law enforcement in the county and
served seven terms as sheriff," Pisciotti said in a telephone interview
this afternoon. "I feel it’s probably time for some fresh thinking and
new ideas."
Pisciotti, 61, of Palmyra, said his decision is based, in part, on angst over
continued financial constraints. Over the years he has gone to battle with the
Board of Supervisors over his annual budget allocations, several times arguing
his department needed more deputies and resources to fight what he has claimed
was growing crime rate.
In 2008, the supervisors denied the sheriff’s request for an added $500,000
for more manpower.
"I just think it’s time for me to leave," he said. "I have
tried to serve the community to the best of my ability and can only do that with
the blessings of monetary backing."
He told the safety committee his last day will be Dec. 31, at the end of his
term. Word of his pending departure spread quickly in government circles;
Pisciotti said he had hoped to keep his plans under wraps until he had a chance
to tell fellow Republicans at a Jan. 13 meeting.
Marion Supervisor Jody Bender, who heads the committee, said she could not
comment on the matter since it was discussed in an executive session that was
closed to the public. It’s unclear how his position will be filled.
Pisciotti attended police academy in Rochester and took courses at the Federal
Bureau of Investigation’s headquarters in Quantico, Va. He got his start as an
officer with the Lyons Police Department in 1968 and, a year later, took a
position as a road patrol deputy with the sheriff’s department. He worked his
way up the ranks to become a crime scene investigator, sergeant and lieutenant.
He took the helm as sheriff in 1982.
Pisciotti is the longest serving sheriff in Wayne County’s history.
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