Hogan commends police for prosecution of international criminal
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
The Downingtown Police Department was honored Wednesday night by Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan for its investigation of Jack Mayer, an international racketeer.
DOWNINGTOWN – The Chester County District Attorney’s office commended the Downingtown Police department for its tracking, investigating, and prosecution of Jack Mayer, an international racketeer, at Wednesday’s borough council meeting.
District Attorney Tom Hogan presented the department with a plaque for catching the international fugitive, comparing Downingtown’s efforts with that of the FBI or CIA. Hogan said that the FBI had actually been building a case against Mayer for years but was unable to bring him to justice. Hogan said that after Mayer tried to scam a Downingtown resident the police department went to “extraordinary lengths” to investigate and “put [the FBI and CIA] to shame.”
“It’s just a case of when everybody wants to do the right thing and works hard,” said Police Chief James McGowan III.
Hogan said that Mayer’s 15-30 year sentence sends a message that criminals will not get away with picking on residents of Chester County.
“We will not allow people to pick on elderly victims here,” he said.
In other borough news, Council approved the hiring of a full time fire chief on Wednesday night. It will be a volunteer position. The item also allowed the appointment of a battalion fire chief to handle operations when the fire chief cannot.
Council President Anthony Gazzerro appointed Public Works Director Jack Law as acting fire chief until a permanent chief is found.
Once again, Bishop Shanahan served as the main topic for much of Wednesday’s citizens to be heard.
Later this month, Shanahan will seek approval to add lights and a sound system to the football stadium. But some of the schools neighbors oppose the idea, saying that Shanahan has not kept agreements it has already made with the borough.
Resident complaints included football traffic, baseball field usage, and noise. Residents said that upon the school’s initial construction, representatives from Archdiocese of Philadelphia agreed to redirect traffic after game days so that attendees would not drive through residential areas and notify neighbors when the baseball field would be used for any events. Residents have also said that football games are already too loud, and adding a permanent sound system would only add to the problem.
“I don’t understand why they keep getting all they want even though they can’t keep up agreements they already have,” said one resident.
One person also said that he has tried complaining to the school but never receives any meaningful feedback.
