Print | E-mail HALEDON — A former Haledon special police officer, already in jail on charges of robbing a 7-Eleven in Wayne, was charged Monday with robbing a convenience store at the Citgo gas station on Haledon Avenue, police said. Valerio Rodano, 25, who lives in Wayne, told a store clerk that he had a gun in his sweat shirt pocket when he robbed the store at the Citgo on the evening of Nov. 12, George Guzman Jr., a borough police officer, said in a statement. Rodano fled on foot after the store clerk handed over $430, Guzman said. Earlier that same morning, police said, Rodano committed an armed robbery of a 7-Eleven on Valley Road in Wayne. Police have said they recovered a handgun at his home during an investigation of that crime.
A Haledon police officer, Detective Lt. Chris LeMay, recognized Rodano while watching a video surveillance from the gas station robbery, Guzman said. The suspect was then picked out of a photo lineup by a store clerk, he said. Rodano confessed to robbing the gas station during an interview conducted by borough police at the Passaic County Jail, Guzman said. Deputy Chief Kevin Gottheiner praised his patrol officers and detectives for solving the case, saying they had done “an exceptional job.”
Rodano resigned from his job as a part-time Class II special police officer with the Haledon police in 2009, Guzman said. Class II officers are allowed to carry guns while on the job. He was charged with first-degree robbery and his bail was set at $250,000, Guzman said