SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Bernardsville residents Dr. Caesar DePaço and Deanna Padovani-DePaço donated $72,500 to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
In a ceremony at their headquarters on Nov. 24, Somerset County Sheriff Darrin J. Russo thanked the DePaços for their very generous donation.
This donation will allow the K-9 Unit to expand by adding two additional narcotic detection dogs, along with all the costs associated for the dog’s training and their K-9 vehicles.
Sheriff’s Officer Michael Kromar & K9 Casanova along with Correction’s Officer Danier Sof
fer & K9 Caesar are currently attending the Bergen County K-9 Academy and will be graduating later this year.
“There are a lot of people who support law enforcement in many ways. Caesar and Deanna have gone above and beyond in their support of Police K-9 Units across the state. Their generous donation today has been very instrumental in providing much-needed services within the community while maintaining fiscal responsibility,” said Sheriff Russo as he presented the DePaços with Honorary Sheriff credentials along with framed Sheriff’s Office uniform in a shadowbox.
“On Behalf of all members of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Caesar and Deanna Padovani-DePaço for their very substantial and generous donation. One of the donated K-9’s named ‘Caesar’ will be the very first K-9 assigned to the Somerset County Jail and will become an essential part of our overall security and preventative safety efforts, said Warden Paul Kaminsky of the Somerset County Jail.
K-9 Unit Sergeant Shannon Snook mentioned “the generosity by the DePaço family to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit is overwhelming” as the K-9 Unit will grow from 3 officers/4 dogs to now 5 officers/6 dogs covering disciplines in Narcotic Scent Detection, Explosive Scent Detection, Human Scent Detection, Arson Scent Detection along with Patrol capabilities.
When thanking Russo for all he has done in keeping the residents of Somerset County safe, DePaço surprised everyone in attendance by promising a donation of two additional Police K-9’s to the Sheriff’s Office at a later date.
2021 Caesar DePaço