Fresh recruits

Police Commissioner Charles Gennario, right, swore in new officers, from left, Michael Farrell, Stefanie Balos, Jerremy Diaz, Nicholas Bamonte and Kyle Coppola as the village’s Board of Trustees looked on.

Courtesy Village of Rockville Centre

The Board of Trustees congratulated the newly sworn-in officers at the meeting on March 2. Pictured here, from left, are Trustee Michael Sepe, Officer Michael Farrell, Trustee Edward Oppenheimer, Officer Stefanie Balos, Mayor Francis X. Murray, Officer Jerremy Diaz, Officer Nicholas Bamonte, Trustee Emilio Grillo, Officer Kyle Coppola, Police Commissioner Charles Gennario and Deputy Mayor Nancy Howard.

Courtesy Village of Rockville Centre

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Five new police officers joined the ranks of the Rockville Centre Police Department this week after being sworn in at a Board of Trustees meeting on Monday.

“As I begin my third decade as a police officer in the village, I want to tell you that I am really excited tonight to introduce the future of the Police Department and the youth of the Police Department,” said Commissioner Charles Gennario. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to hire people this young. Usually by the time they get to us, they’re a little older. So it’s really good to see people that are going to be around for another three decades.”

The new officers are:

Michael Farrell

Farrell, 31, was born in Plainview and raised in Suffolk County, graduating from Patchogue-Medford High School. He attended St. John’s University and Stony Brook University. He comes from the New York City Police Department, where he worked for 10 years. He was an officer in Flushing, Queens, and then a sergeant in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. His parents, Janet and Rory, as well as his brother, Dan, and fiancée, Jackie Pevera, attended his swearing-in.

Stefanie Balos

“Stefanie comes to us from a very young age,” Gennario said. “Stefanie pretty much just finished college. She did work as a sales rep for Vitamin Water.” Balos, 24, was born at Mercy Medical Center and grew up in Wantagh. She attended MacArthur High School, where she played soccer and lacrosse. Then she attended Nassau Community College, where she received a soccer scholarship, and Queens College, where she earned a degree in psychology. She is currently enrolled in the Nassau County Police Academy, and expects to graduate in August. Her parents, Marion and Tim, and her brother, Michael, came to her swearing-in.