NORWOOD DRUG CASE WILL BE DROPPED

NORWOOD -- Friday will mark the one-year anniversary of Mark
Bocchino's marijuana arrest. For the Bocchino family, it will be a
day of celebration.

An appeals court has upheld a decision to suppress all evidence in a
marijuana case against Bocchino, a former candidate for Borough
Council, and his wife, Melba, a registered nurse.

Prosecutors say they will drop the charges against the Bocchinos.

"We are taking our kids out to dinner," Mark Bocchino said. "We are
very happy. We thank God that justice prevailed."

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office had appealed Superior Court
Judge Bruce Gaeta's decision in July that the Norwood police acted
improperly in their search and alleged seizure of 17 grams of
marijuana from the couple's bedroom at their Livingston Street home
last March.

The judge found that Norwood Patrolman Thomas Eilinger had
misrepresented the facts when he applied for a warrant to search the
Bocchino home.

In a sworn statement on the application for the warrant, Eilinger
said he smelled a strong odor of raw, unburned marijuana in the home.
But a narcotics officer, who was with the police who later entered
the home, testified that she smelled only burnt -- not raw --
marijuana.

Norwood Police Chief Frank D'Ercole said he was disappointed by the
ruling and that he stands behind his officer. "They [the court]
brought in other factors that should not have been brought in," he
said. "They got hung up on raw marijuana vs. burnt marijuana. So what
can I say? It's hard for me to be believe that Officer Eilinger lied."

Bocchino, 38, a plumbing and heating contractor, said he was
devastated by the arrest and the ensuing notoriety, which he believes
cost him election to the council.

"My friends know who I am, but other people in town lost a lot of
respect for me because of this," Bocchino said. "It's going to take a
long time for me to heal. I eventually cleared my name, but I lost
the election."

At the time of the arrest, he was running in a special council
election against Democrat Thomas Brizzolara. Bocchino, who would have
been the only Republican on the all-Democrat council, lost the May
election by a vote of 604-486.

Even before the marijuana arrest, the election had been
controversial. The special election had been called by a judge who
disqualified the vote of a councilman's elderly father in the
November 1999 election because his son, Democratic Councilman Frank
Gruccio, had assisted him with his ballot. That single vote cost
Bocchino the election to Brizzolara. The judge voided the ballot
because it is illegal for a candidate to help anyone cast their vote.

The legal trouble for the Bocchinos began on the morning of March 9,
when Eilinger responded to a 911 call from the Bocchino home, which
turned out to be an accidental call by one of the couple's three
children.

Eilinger reported to his commander that while he was in the home, he
detected a strong odor of marijuana. The Narcotics Task Force was
alerted, and Eilinger prepared an affidavit requesting a search
warrant.

The Bergen County Narcotics Task Force entered the house and arrested
the Bocchinos, charging each with one count of possession of
marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia.

From the beginning, Bocchino and his supporters and friends contended
that D'Ercole ordered the arrest to lend support to the Democratic
candidate and help his brother, Democratic Mayor Gus D'Ercole.

Frank D'Ercole maintained that his officers acted appropriately,
asserting that he has always been tough on drugs. "Our department
also arrested my cousin's son and my nephew for drugs," he said. "We
have zero tolerance for drugs in Norwood. This arrest had nothing to
do with politics."

Eilinger could not be reached Monday. But Bocchino and his supporters
say the ruling proves the arrest had everything to do with politics.

"I'm thrilled to death that the court upheld what was correct," said
former Republican Councilman Allen Rapaport. "The Police Department
should never be used for political ends."