By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, February 15, 1991
The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B01
Francisco Torres double-parked his white 1989 Porsche in front of a Hackensack house Wednesday, put a “Doctor On Call” sign on the dash, and, briefcase in hand, walked into a police narcotics sting.
The arrest of the 30-year-old Jersey City man and an accomplice culminated an investigation that yielded 2 1/2 pounds of cocaine and the arrests of three other men Tuesday night, city Police Chief William Iurato said Thursday.
Tuesday’s arrests came in “a volatile situation that was defused with no gunplay” when an officer disarmed a suspect who appeared ready to fire a machine gun, Iurato said.
Detective Sgt. Arthur Mento, who backed up narcotics officers posing as weapons and drug dealers, credited Detective Sgt. Michael Mordaga with saving his and other officers lives when he disarmed the suspect, who had trained the gun on Mento.
Police had decided to act as “middlemen” after they got wind of an operation in which people were trading guns for cash or cocaine, said Iurato, who gave the following account:
The first leg of the investigation was the purchase of the machine gun in the parking lot of a diner on Essex Street at about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Mordaga and Officer Al Guitierrez were at the open door of a truck negotiating the $2,300 asking price for the gun with Eduardo Gomez, 26, of Union City, and Jairo Gondolo, 32, of Weehawken.
The third suspect, Abel Maldonaldo, 29, of Paterson, who was standing watch, saw other undercover officers approaching and yelled, “It’s a rip. “
“They thought they were being ripped off,” Iurato said. “They didn’t realize we were police officers until after the arrest. “
Gondolo picked up the machine gun, which was at his feet in the back seat, and raised it.
Mordaga jumped into the truck, and jammed his thumb in the trigger housing of the machine gun, slightly injuring his thumb as he disarmed Gondolo.
“We were in a situation where we couldn’t shoot,” Mento said. “If Sgt. Mordaga had not done what he did, we would have been seriously hurt. “
The gun was loaded with 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition. A .45-caliber handgun was also seized.
Tuesday’s arrests led police to Torres and Domingo Acosta, 29, of Union City, who were to provide 2 1/2 pounds of cocaine at a price of $30,000, a figure less than the street value, Iurato said. Torres and Acosta agreed to reduce the price if the undercover officers would buy 5 pounds of cocaine a week.
Iurato declined to say how police connected the suspects in Tuesday’s arrests with Torres and Acosta.
Torres and Acosta, who were arrested without incident, were charged with possession of and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and possession of a semi-automatic handgun. Torres was freed on $25,000 bail and Acosta was released on $50,000 bail.
Gondolo, charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, weapons charges, and resisting arrest, was released on $50,000 bail.
Gomez was being held in the Bergen County Jail on $50,000 bail on weapons charges and a charge of resisting arrest. Maldonaldo was held on $26,000 bail on the same charges.
Police confiscated the Porsche and the 1988 Toyota truck.
Keywords: DRUG; JERSEY CITY; WEAPON; HACKENSACK; POLICE
ID: 17333159 | Copyright © 1991, The Record (New Jersey)
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