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: http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1MzEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY3MDgwNzgmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz

: N. Bergen muckraker shuts down controversial Web site    

: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 

: By PETER J. SAMPSON
: STAFF WRITER 

:   

: NORTH BERGEN - Fans of a controversial Web site that dishes dirt on North Bergen's Finest got a surprise this week.

: After nearly eight years of muckraking and getting under the skin of township officials, ex-cop and Webmaster Tom Rowan gave up NorthBergenPD.com, his Web site, for good.

:   
: With the retirement last month of his nemesis, Police Chief Angelo Busacco, Rowan said it's time that he move on, too. Rowan and dozens of anonymous contributors to his message boards frequently targeted Busacco and his allies for criticism and ridicule.

: "Once the chief left ... and the morale turned around, like, 180 degrees, I decided it was time to pack up and walk away," said Rowan, who repairs communications equipment for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

: "There's new blood in there now and hopefully the department will make a change for the better," he said. 

: Asked what he accomplished with his Web site, Rowan replied, "Deep down, knowing I [angered] Busacco every Monday morning when he came to work, brings a smile to my face for the rest of my life."

: Rowan started his "Tales of Misconduct" site in 1997 after waging an unsuccessful battle to regain his job. He was acquitted of robbery and misconduct in an undercover sting that sent his partner to prison for mugging a Hispanic state trooper. But Rowan was still dismissed for being off post in an earlier incident.

: Over the years, the township tried unsuccessfully to force Rowan to shut down the site, which offered a staple of insider tips, rumors, black humor and reports of scandals and corruption.

: Last year, the township sued him, alleging he was confusing and misleading the public by using a Web site domain name that gave Web surfers the false impression his site is affiliated with the township.

: Rowan dismissed such contentions, arguing his home page clearly showed its name as North Bergen Public Domain and the content could hardly be mistaken for official.

: The suit also alleged that his live Web casts of North Bergen police radio transmissions interfere with law enforcement and "facilitate the commission of crimes and terroristic acts."

: Rowan said another reason for giving up the site was his fear of being forced to reveal his sources.

: "I was trying to avoid the deposition because they were requesting the names of all the active members of the department who have ever given me information," Rowan said.

: "When it comes to being deposed, I guess they can ask anything and I wasn't willing to give that up and I didn't want to see myself have to appear before a judge to be compelled to do so."

: He said the township would have retaliated against the officers if their identities were revealed - a charge officials denied.

: Rowan transferred ownership of his Web site's domain name to a sergeant in the department's information technology office on Monday, formally ending his involvement with the site.

: Clicking on the Web address Tuesday took visitors to a page announcing the Police Department's forthcoming official site: NorthBergenPolice.com. For now, however, it only contained a link to the township's Web site.

: Township Attorney Herbert Klitzner was pleased with the resolution.

: "I think it's a great result. Now, when someone looks up North Bergen police they'll get the real department and a legitimate place," Klitzner said.

: "Anybody can have a Web site and put anything they want on it to the limits of First Amendment freedom, but what upset us was the North Bergen designation. So for all practical purposes, this is the end of it."

: Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco said he didn't pay much heed to the ranting and raving on the site, but he too is glad the domain name will finally belong to the township so "it won't cause any confusion to anyone who stumbles upon it."

: E-mail: sampson@northjersey.com

: 
: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14712206&BRD=1291&PAG=461&dept_id=523589&rfi=6

: 
:  Local News 

:   
: Controversial website now a piece of history
:  
:  
:  
:  
:  
: By: Jim Hague, Reporter staff writer 06/19/2005 
:  
:  
:  
:  
:  
:  Email to a friend     Voice your opinion     Printer-friendly 

:  
: For nearly eight years, it was a topic of daily conversation around the township of North Bergen and definitely among the members of the township's Police Department. 

: Everyone wanted to know what kind of dirt they could find on the website called NorthBergenPD.com, which was conceived and updated regularly by former township police officer Tom Rowan. 

: It began with Rowan, who was terminated as a police officer after a highly controversial incident in 1995, telling "Tales of Misconduct" about the North Bergen police department. It grew to the point where thousands of people regularly visited the site for insider information, rumors, gossip, scandal and scurrilous comments. 


: But now, after a contentious legal battle, Rowan has given up the fight. He's pulled the plug on his website - this time for good - handing over the domain rights of NorthBergenPD.com to the North Bergen police department. He made the move to discontinue the website Monday afternoon. 

: Advertisement
:  
: Rowan says that his reasoning behind ending his website management was that his fiercest foe, former Police Chief Angelo Busacco, has retired, handing over the reins of the department to new Chief William Galvin.

: "From what my friends tell me, Bill Galvin has already turned the entire department around 180 degrees since he took over," said Rowan, who now works in the communications department for the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey. "Everything I hear is positive. He's turned the morale of the entire department around. Once I saw that and that the other guy is gone, then I knew it was time for me to walk away." 

: Busacco retired in May, but has since been named the township's civilian public safety director. 

: 
: Lawsuit 

: Last year, the township filed a lawsuit against Rowan, saying that Rowan was giving a false impression with that NorthBergenPD.com domain name, while also creating a possible security problem by broadcasting live police radio transmissions. This was after several attempts by township officials to have the website shut down, albeit to no avail. 

: "The lawsuit against me is done and I have no further issues with the town," Rowan said. "The domain name is theirs. The live broadcast is gone. I have no concerns in the legal matters against the township of North Bergen. It's theirs. They own everything." 

: However, according to township attorney Herb Klitzner, Rowan really didn't have a legal leg to stand on.

: "He lost," Klitzner said. "He was in default. He refused to make discovery and in the process of getting the case settled, he had to turn over the domain name. He's already done that. Now, when people on the web go to NorthBergenPd.com, they're going to get the real police department. I can't begin to speculate what his motives were for shutting down the site, but he had lost his case." 

: Rowan said that he can't even begin to count how many hours he spent working on the site, which reached a high of more than 500,000 hits in October of 2004. 

: "I wouldn't even have a clue," Rowan said. "I spent two months short of eight years on that site. That's a lot of time involved. I think I opened a lot of eyes and ruffled a lot of feathers." 

: Rowan first discontinued the site for a few weeks when the case was being litigated earlier this year, then brought it back. But this time, it's officially history. 


: Gone for good 

: "I talked to a few people recently who said that they were going to be disappointed that the site was gone," Rowan said. "They said that it kept the entire police department in check, even public officials. People knew not to do anything wrong, because they just might end up on the website. Looking back at it, I think I was able to pull Busacco's pants down and let the world see exactly what he was all about." 

: Busacco has said on the record that Rowan is nothing more than "a bad cop and now he's a janitor." 

: Needless to say, that's a blood feud. 

: Rowan started a clock last year that was ticking down to Busacco's 65th birthday and the day of his mandatory retirement, which has now come and gone. 

: "He's gone now, so it doesn't matter," Rowan said. "Personally, I think Billy Galvin is a decent guy. I have 100 percent faith that he will do the right things and take the department to where it should have been over the last 20 years." 

: Rowan added, "I'm moving on with my life. I have better things to do. I am washing my hands of all of that crap. There's a sense of relief." 



:  
: ©The Hudson Reporter 2005  
:  


: 
: : The anti-Sacco Web Site
: : www.northbergenpd.com
: : has disappeared.

: : The URL now redirects to
: : http://northbergenpolice.com/northbergenpolice/index.htm
: : which claims to be an official North Bergen Police Department Web Site.

: : Does anyone know why the Site that virulently criticized North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco disappeared?  And how is it now that it forwards to what claims to be an official North Bergen Police Web Site?

: : Here's the registrant of northbergenpolice.com
: : registrant-firstname:            Peter
: : registrant-lastname:             Fasilis
: : registrant-street1:              4233 Kennedy Boulevard
: : registrant-pcode:                07047
: : registrant-state:                NJ
: : registrant-city:                 North Bergen
: : registrant-ccode:                US
: : registrant-phone:                +20.13922100
: : registrant-email:                pfasilis@yahoo.com


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