EBPD fills sergeant, lieutenant vacancies

Newly promoted East Brunswick Police Sgt. Kevin Zebro (l-r), Sgt. Martin O’Neill, Lt. Jane Matarangolo, Sgt. Michael Plaskon and Sgt. Michael Knoll were sworn in to their new positions during a July 2 ceremony at police headquarters. EAST BRUNSWICK — Five township police officers were promoted and sworn in to their new positions during a July 2 ceremony at police headquarters.

The positions had been vacant due to recent retirements, Director of Public Safety Barry W. Roberson said in announcing the promotions.

Jane Matarangolo, a 30-year veteran of the department, was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant. She was assigned to the Patrol Division upon her graduation from the New Jersey State Police Academy in Sea Girt in 1980. She was transferred to the Investigative Division in 1990 and assigned to the Juvenile Division as a detective. She was promoted to sergeant in 2001 and served as patrol squad supervisor.

Matarangolo is a graduate of Trenton State College with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and has attended numerous in-service schools. She is currently the department’s liaison to the Domestic Violence Crisis Response Team. She has also served as liaison to the Middlesex County Juvenile Conference Committee, the Middlesex County Juvenile Officers Association, the Middlesex County Fire Watch Committee and the East Brunswick Youth Services Commission. She is a past member of the Middlesex County College Criminal Justice Advisory Board, the New Jersey State Committee for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics and Project Children. She is an avid participant in the Police Unity Bicycle Tour and was chosen to represent New Jersey in the Special Olympic World Games in Canada.

Matarangolo will be assigned to the Patrol Section as a squad commander.

Detective Martin O’Neill was promoted to the rank of sergeant after 16 years with the department. He graduated from the Somerset County Police Academy in 1994 and was assigned to the Patrol Division. In 2001 he was transferred to the Anti-Crime Unit and went back to the Patrol Division in 2002. In 2006 he was transferred to the Investigative Division as a detective.

O’Neill is a graduate of Montclair State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. His studies have included the FBI Advanced Criminal Investigation course, the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Investigation course and the New Jersey State Police Homicide Conference. O’Neill has been a field training officer and is on the East Brunswick Crisis Negotiation Team. He will be assigned as a shift supervisor in the Patrol Section.

Kevin Zebro was promoted from detective to sergeant after 16 years with the department. He was assigned to the Patrol Section upon his graduation from the Somerset County Police Academy in 1994. In 2002 he was transferred to the Investigative Division as a detective. Zebro worked both as a detective and a narcotics detective until 2005. In 2006 he was reassigned to the New Jersey State Police Digital Technologies Investigative Unit and Cyber Crimes Unit. In 2007 Zebro returned to the department and formed the High Tech Crimes Unit, where he currently works.

Zebro received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Kean University. He has attended numerous investigative schools, especially in the area of computer forensics and arson investigation. He completed a yearlong certification process to become a certified forensic computer examiner. He also became a member of the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is responsible for investigating cases of child exploitation via the Internet. He is an emergency medical technician and a certified CPR instructor. He currently serves on the East Brunswick S.W.A.T. team and previously served on the scuba team.

Zebro will be assigned to the Investigative Division in charge of the High Tech Crimes Unit and the department’s new inhouse computer system

Michael Plaskon was promoted from patrolman to sergeant. A 16-year veteran of the department, he was assigned to the Patrol Section upon his graduation from the Somerset County Police Academy in 1994. Plaskon has served in the Detective Bureau’s Anti-Crime Unit and Narcotics Unit, in addition to patrol assignments. Plaskon is a graduate of the Reid School of Interview and Interrogation and is a field training officer. He is a member of the S.W.A.T. Team and an ASP instructor. He will be assigned to the Patrol Section as a shift supervisor.

Michael Knoll was promoted from patrolman to sergeant. A 16-year veteran of the department, he was assigned to the Patrol Section upon his graduation from the Somerset County Police Academy in 1994. In 2001 he was transferred to the Investigative Division, where he was assigned to the Project 18 Community Policing Unit and performed the duties of a community policing and crime prevention officer. He served in the Administrative Division from 2005 until 2009.

Knoll graduated from Rutgers University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice. He is a departmental firearms and defensive tactics instructor. He served for 10 years on the department’s scuba team. He will be assigned to the Administration Section as a supervisor.

Recent retirements from the department have included Lt. Gerald Ravaioli and Sgts. Robert Kearstan and George Kaltenbach. Three new officers, Reginald Wright, Kye Jun and Thomas Appell, were recently sworn in to serve in the Patrol Section.