EWING, N.J.-- Gov. Jon Corzine yesterday officially opened a new state police operations center that will help security agencies across the region work together on threats ranging from terrorism to natural disasters.
Set up in the middle of a new building already nicknamed "The Rock," the center is a kind of "war room" that reminded a few old-timers in attendance of the main set in a Cold-War spoof of a movie called "Dr. Strangelove."
But there was a human element that far out shined all the glitz and the gadgetry.
Even though most of New Jersey's heavy-hitters were on hand, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, Attorney General Stuart Rabner, Homeland Security Director Richard Canas, N.J. State Police Supt. Col. Rick Fuentes, the only man who had his portrait published in the program was Philip Lamonaco.
In a private ceremony before yesterday's official opening of "The Rock," the soon-to-be 65,000 square foot facility was dedicated to Trooper II Lamonaco (Badge Number 2663), "who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the citizens of New Jersey on Dec. 21, 1981," the program stated.
The trooper, married and the father of three young children, was shot to death on Route 80 by two members of a radical group.
Part of the inscription carved in a stone memorial honoring Lamonaco in front of the building reads:
"The investigation, prosecution and conviction of the individuals responsible for his murder was grounded in interagency collaboration and information- sharing, the core mission of this center."
"You only do great things if you have great people," said Gov. Corzine. "And our state police and the people involved in Homeland Security really do a tremendous job in protecting us."
"And I want to emphasize that people make facilities like this extraordinary," he said. "And that's why this building is dedicated to the memory of an individual who gave his life to make sure that we are all secure."
Trooper Lamonaco was 32 when he was killed, and the governor mentioned Lamonaco's wife of six-years, Donna, and their daughters, Sarah, who was 10 months old then, and Laura. "And their son Michael, who is a five-year-veteran of the State Police, who will work in this building," Corzine said.
Soaking it all in, with pride, was Philip Lamonaco's family.
Donna Lamonaco has never remarried in the 25 years since the day her husband was killed by two members of the United Freedom Front.
"Twenty-five years ago, he was killed by our own homegrown terrorists," she said. This occurred during a stop he made on Route 80.
He was shot numerous times, she said, "and then as he lay face down, they went to retrieve the gun, and shot him two more times in the back of the head."
The suspects languished on the FBI Most-Wanted list and weren't located for 3.5 years when a massive cooperative effort by many agencies finally located them, she said.
She said if "The Rock" had been in place in 1981, the suspects might have been found much sooner.
"This is now a major link to helping our law-enforcement agencies around the state to facilitate the education that they have into the capability of finding, detecting and capturing."
Col. Fuentes gave just a taste of how "The Rock" will be used.
About 100 computer work stations face a wall that is alive with streaming video from a helicopter, satellite photos, charts, and so on. Various agencies will gather here during a crisis.
In this example, a helicopter circled a school where a suspect had ditched a stolen car and fled. Local hospitals that might be needed were brought on-screen. You've seen it in fiction on James Bond, or on NCIS, or the various other modern detective TV shows.
Corzine called it "a role model for the country."
"This is a proud day, an important day, a vital step forward for the State of New Jersey," he said.
Attorney General Rabner recalled how, "In the hours after the attack on the World Trade Center, we gathered in a long barren room in the headquarters of the FBI in Newark, unfolding tables, installing phone lines. .... How far we have come," he marveled.
"This center will know more about crime, and how if affects New Jersey," said Homeland Security boss Richard Canas, "than any other place on the planet."
Fuentes remembered Tropical Storm Floyd, the Jersey floods, Katrina, 9-11.
"Tragedy can come from many directions," he said. "That requires "The Rock" to become a collaborative entity."
Indicating the school crisis on the wall behind him, he said, "Doing these a dozen times a day around the state, that's our bottom line.
"Once we turn the lights on in this building, we can never turn them off again."
Copyright 2007 by The Trentonian.
Republished with permission of The Trentonian.
