09/28/2026
๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐: ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐
-๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ป๐ท๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ
๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐จ (๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ)
๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง: A former Garfield police sergeant awaiting trial on witness tampering charges fired paintballs from his car at parked and passing vehicles in five different towns, one of which struck a Fair Lawn schoolteacher in the head, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella confirmed this morning.
That's not all: Records show Anthony M. Pizzi, 30, was also charged with co***ne possession a few months ago in Pompton Lakes.
Pizzi, who lives in Pompton Lakes, faces 28 counts in all following paintball shootings in Fair Lawn, Garfield, Hasbrouck Heights, Lodi and Wallington from Sept. 18th through Sept. 24th, Musella told Independent Online News.
The charges include one count of aggravated assault by attempting to cause serious bodily injury and nine counts each of:
โข possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose;
โข unlawful weapons possession;
โข criminal mischief.
Pizzi remained held in Bergen Countyโs jail today (Mon., Sept. 28th) following his arrest Friday.
Independent Online News broke the story exclusively yesterday. Musella officially confirmed the details this morning.
Pizzi had been free pending trial on charges of directing a fellow Garfield officer to lie to department internal affairs investigators during an unspecified probe.
The since-terminated seven-year veteran had โcontacted a Garfield police officer and instructed that officer to provide false information to internal affairs investigators in an effort to tamper with the facts and outcome of the investigation,โ Musella previously said following Pizziโs May 28th arrest and immediate release.
Court records show that Pizzi was subsequently arrested on drug possession charges by a Pompton Lakes police detective on June 20th, a little over three weeks after the witness tampering arrest.
He was released on a summons to appear in court, records show.
The paintball incidents began in Hasbrouck Heights a week and a half ago, according to Musella.
In each case, he said, Pizzi fired at parked or passing vehicles.
On Sept. 18th and again the following day, โvehicles belonging to two different individuals were struck by paintballs in Hasbrouck Heights,โ the prosecutor said.
Then came an incident last Tuesday (Sept. 22nd) when a paintball struck a Fair Lawn schoolteacher's car on her way home from work, spattering her in the head through the driverโs side window, Musella said.
๐ฆ๐๐: ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น
( https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BiygVFxmm/ )
A day later (Wed., Sept. 23rd), โadditional vehicles were struck by paintballs in both Hasbrouck Heights and Lodi,โ the prosecutor told Independent Online News.
Pizzi came right back on Thursday, firing paintball projectiles at vehicles in Garfield, Hasbrouck Heights and Wallington, he said.
โIn each of the different incidents, police officers from the respective police departments initiated investigations and identified a possible suspect vehicle,โ Musella said.
The prosecutor said his detectives โwere notified of the incidents and joined the investigation into this emerging pattern.โ
Individual interviews with the victims, reviews of surveillance video and a comparison of notes pointed the joint investigation toward Pizzi, Musella said.
His detectives arrested the disgraced former lawman on Route 46 in South Hackensack on Friday -- assisted by police from the township and Fair Lawn -- the prosecutor said before issuing a release to the rest of the media today.
Musella thanked detectives and officers from the individual municipalities while praising their coordination with his own investigators under BCPO Chief of Detectives Jeff Angermeyer.
