Several sources in Nazareth tell me that Chief Thomas Trachta has had his last cupcake. Late last week, he reportedly returned his uniforms and cleaned out his office. I personally experienced his vindictive behavior when he tried to have me arrested for blogs critical of him. I also experienced it when he as police chief started looking for my car so he could write up parking tickets for parking 13" away from the curb (he apparently measured it) and other such bullshit. But that's nothing compared to what he did to the Sticker Gang. In a thin-skinned reaction to tiny "FT" stickers that decorated the borough, he had the trio arrested, chained and led on a perp walk in front of a fawning press. All charges were eventually dismissed, and a judge told him he needs "to suck it up, cupcake!"
The infamous Sticker Gang was awarded $39,000 in a settlement announced last week. Nazareth also agreed to adopt three major policy changes concerning the first amendment, pretrial publicity and staged perp walks.
Commissioner Randy Miller tells me he has heard the same rumors, but does not know whether they are true. He indicated that Trachta still has a police cruiser in his possession and that the door to his office is locked. I filed a right-to-know with Miller, but will have to file one with Nazareth.
Miller also told me that Trachta was scheduled to be off this week.
Trachta has sued Nazareth himself. There is no indication that the case is settled on the record, but on February 6, Borough Council authorized negotiation of a settlement in at least one unstated matter. What I'm hearing is he was paid $70,000 to walk away, which should have happened years ago.
Does this mean Nazareth has turned a corner?
Not at all. In January, disgraced ex-Mayor Carl Strye was placed on the Nazareth Day Commission. He's back at Vigilance Hose, too, and still sits on the Ambulance Board. He reportedly is running a stealth campaign for Borough Council.
Updated 11:00 am
11 comments:
Trachta is a tough New York cop whose style didn't translate well to the tiny hamlet of Naz where miscreants and rogue bloggers are lionized for their mischeif.
Hope he has a pleasant retirement free of torment from the dregs of society.
God Bless Chief Trachta. He is martyr for decency.
Adios "cup cake" boy. Thanks for a whole lot of nothing but drama and litigation issues. You deserve no severance check.
The place will never change! I hate to be the liability insurer for the borough. And the beat goes on in Nazareth.
Is tger specific guidance on perp walks?
Try a cup of coffee before you post. If "tger" is "There," then yes, a policy change was adopted. Nazareth police can no longer call the media, wait for them to assemble, and then conduct a perp parade of criminal defendants charged with low level offenses in chains as they take the longest route they can find from police station to magistrate.
Chief cupcake cost the Borough 100's of thousands of dollars and he so proud of it. He was the worst chief in Nazareth and probably Pennsylvania, history by far. Now him and Schlieg are close friends. Couldn't beat him, so he joined him. It was him alone who set up the sticker gang and now the Borough pays again. He simply needs to go. Go back to New York, oh that's right, you were thrown out of there also.
Will he run for Mayor? The sticker goofs would hate that.
Freddie lahovski for chief!
The goonies should be on notice, Trachta trailer or not their misdeeds will not go unpunished.
Chief Trachta deserves better than the Borough and so did Lahovski and Schleig is so corrupt it is sad and the truth will come out, The Borough itself needs to be shut down and taken over by the state police.
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