Former FBI field director from Sea Cliff takes charge of Suffolk P.D.

Posted

Geraldine Hart, a 21-year veteran of the FBI, still remembers her first time in Quantico, Va. She visited the bureau’s training facility with her fifth-grade class on a trip to Washington. Her eyes widened at the sight of the microscopes in the forensics lab; her heart raced at the bangs and booms that echoed from the firearms testing room; and she watched, transfixed, as agents carried out a ballistics analysis.

“Seeing it all under one roof, how a crime scene gets processed from start to finish, really piqued my interest in law enforcement,” Hart said.

The 13-year Sea Cliff resident was recently sworn in as commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department, the first woman ever appointed to the office in its 58-year history. She moved to the village from Rockville Centre with her husband to raise their two children. Her neighbors, she said, have shown nothing but support and excitement for her.

“We’re very proud that a citizen of Sea Cliff has been named to this important and prestigious position,” said Mayor Edward Lieberman.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone selected Hart, 50, as one of 100 candidates for the job in February. The County Legislature unanimously confirmed Bellone’s appointment on April 24.

Hart was raised in a police family in Northport: Her father was a New York City police officer who retired as a sergeant. Her fascination with the FBI led her to a two decade-long career working high-profile organized-crime cases. After five months of training in Quantico, she was sent to the FBI’s New York office to work in white-collar crime. In the early 1990s, she worked with the SCPD’s homicide squad to solve the 1989 murders of Robert Kubecka and Donald Barstow, which brought her back to Northport. Working with the squad, she identified a fugitive in the cold case, Anthony Salvatore Casso, and helped convict him, bringing closure for the victims’ families.

As a case agent on an organized-crime squad in Queens focused on the Lucchese family, Hart had a hand in the convictions of two NYPD detectives who had committed homicides on behalf of the family.

In 2014, she was promoted to field director of the FBI’s Long Island office, where the emphasis was on counterintelligence, counterterrorism and public corruption. The office’s gang task force, with its concentration on MS-13, was a major notch in Hart’s belt when Bellone was considering her for commissioner.

Working in a field dominated by men has never been an issue for her, she said. “In the FBI, I was never really cognizant of it as much,” she said. “I primarily supervised men my entire career, so when this came about, I don’t think I appreciated the significance of it.”

“She has really taken this whole experience in a very humble way,” said Judy Diede, Hart’s longtime neighbor. “She’s dedicated her career to public service, and it’s an incredible thing to watch and see how she’s evolved over the years.”

Being the face of a large police department is uncharted territory for Hart, who says her career with the FBI was “not very public,” for obvious reasons. “This is a completely different situation,” she said.

Meeting Suffolk residents has been her favorite part of the job thus far. “I really enjoy the interaction with the community,” she said. In doing so, she is able to prioritize what is important to people. “Having those meetings, and letting residents know this is a teamwork situation, is important for me,” she said.

Being a mother, Hart said, is also an informative aspect of her work. “Collaboration and multitasking are two things that mothers do every day,” she said. “They’re a great attribute to bring to a leadership role.”

Diede added that Hart’s selfless nature is also an advantage. “If I needed anything, I know I could call her and she would drop what she was doing to help me or my family,” Diede said. “She’s a very true person.”

Hart said she believes any ceiling-shattering feat is accomplishable with perseverance. “It’s particularly appropriate in law enforcement, and you see that every day with the work the officers and the detectives do,” she said. “They never give up. That whole notion carries over into your career.”

She continued, “It’s important for young women, or anybody really, to see that if you have a dream and you work hard at it, there’s nothing that’s going to stop you.”