By Alexander MacInnes
Herald News (Passaic County, NJ)
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All Rights Reserved
PATERSON, N.J. — A probationary city firefighter was arrested for possession of what appeared to be cocaine and possession with intent to distribute.
Vincent Autieri, 25, of 9 Madison Ave., was arrested there on a warrant at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Paterson Police Department spokesman Lt. Anthony Traina. Autieri was cited for intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school.
Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres, who is also the acting fire director, said Autieri, who graduated from the fire academy this summer and was still a firefighter-in-training, has been suspended without pay. Torres added that Autieri was found with small, plastic bags, electronic scales and razors — instruments used for the distribution of cocaine. If convicted, Torres said, Autieri will be fired from a position that paid him around $20,000.