BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Division of Public Safety dedicated a memorial on Friday, Oct. 21, for two Bloomfield police officers who died while on active duty, though more than a century apart.
Located in front of police headquarters on Municipal Plaza, the upright monument is inscribed with the names of Detective William Francis Mertz, who died Dec. 18, 1915, and Detective James Robert Peri, who died Oct. 22, 2021.
Speaking at the dedication, Bloomfield Director of Public Safety Sam DeMaio thanked God that only two Bloomfield officers had died while on active duty over this time period. He said Mertz, along with an East Orange police officer, was shot and killed. Recalling Peri, DeMaio said “Jimmy” worked the streets but lost his battle with COVID-19. Like Mertz’s name, which has been remembered for so long, so too will Peri’s be remembered 100 years from now, DeMaio said, even by people who are not members of the department, his name etched in stone and hearts. In attendance at the ceremony was Peri’s widow, Michele, and his children, Quinci and Logan.
The benediction was given by the Rev. Anthony S. Ventola, of the Agape Worship Center in Bloomfield.
According to the Dec. 24, 1915, edition of The Independent Press, Mertz and East Orange Police Officer Robert Shannon were shot and killed in Cedar Grove by Antonio Federici, who lived on Berkeley Place in Bloomfield. Also shot and wounded by Federici were Glen Ridge Patrol Officer William Higgins and East Orange Detective David Wendell. The cause of the tragedy, according to the report, was a love triangle between Federici; Nora Dupuy, of East Orange; and Charles Burr, of Newark, who was shot and wounded by Federici in East Orange on Sept. 10, 1915, initiating a manhunt.
According to the newspaper, the incident occurred at a house near the Passaic County border, but the address was unspecified. Police questioned how many shooters were involved because shots coming from the house were described as a fusillade. Due to print illegibility and style of reporting, Federici’s apprehension was unclear, but on Dec. 22, 1915, he was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder.
According to The Independent Press, Federici, 58, was a constable, an elected position with limited policing authority, and well-regarded in Essex County political circles. He was employed for a time in the Newark law office of Irving Temple, where he met Dupuy, a secretary.
Photos by Daniel Jackovino
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