This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Union County Police Honored for Squashing a Car Theft Ring

Five officers are honored for police work

The Union County board of chosen freeholders recognized five county police officers at the Ralph Froelich Public Safety Building in Westfield on Wednesday for uncovering an international luxury car stolen vehicle syndicate. 

Officers said that the sting was made possible, in part, through their deployment of the LoJack auto theft alert system, which assisted them in locating the suspects.

"This was not an insignificant event -- this was huge," said Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska. Lojack made the day for law enforcement and ruined the day for the criminal." 

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In a ceremony on Wednesday morning, representatives of the LoJack Corporation handed out awards to the officers who participated in the capture and one arrest. They were joined by board of chosen freeholders members Linda Carter and Bette Jane Kowalski.

"We appreciate the great work that you did from going out and doing the job that was routine and going further combining the technology and your skills," Kowalski said.

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The sequence of events that allowed Union County police to locate the stolen vehicle and make an arrest was somewhat of a picture book example of the LoJack system combined with well-executed police work.

In the early morning hours of May 9, Union County Police officer Ken Matz responded to a routine stolen vehicle alert from the LoJack tracking system in his cruiser.

After a car with a LoJack receiver is reported as stolen, police receive an FM frequency alert on a LoJack monitor in their cruiser when the car is in their vicinity. The monitor indicates proximity to the stolen vehicle based on signal strength.

Matz followed the signal until it ended at a storage yard in Rahway. Understanding that he had located the stolen car, he also ran the vehicle identification number of another car parked on the premises through his on-board computer. That car had been reported stolen.

Assisted by other patrol officers, officer Matz secured the area until daylight hours and the arrival of Union County Police Lieutenant Robert McGuire and Detective Nicholas Incannella. They also identified several more stolen cars on the premises including motorcycles and two late-model luxury vehicles that had been carjacked in Newark previously.

The officers retreived seven cars that were headed for the black market in Europe and Africa, with a value of $150,000.

The LoJack supported case is an example of the increasing levels of technology deployed in law enforcement.

"You still need the skills and talents of a trained police officer to recognize and take advantage of technology," Chief Vaniska said. "We are at a high degree of technology assisting us now. This one event is an example of that."  

Receiving recognition awards were officer Matz, officer Giovanni Arila, and Seargent Joseph Nordstrom. Also recognized from the county Police Investigation Division were Lieutenant McGuire and Detective Incannella.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.