300 cars shown at fundraiser for cops' kin

June 5, 2011
By TANIA LOPEZ

Hundreds of cars old and new were on display Sunday at a show held by the Police Surgeons Benevolent Association to benefit the families of slain Nassau officers Michael J. Califano and Geoffrey Breitkopf.

The event was co-sponsored by the Centurion Cruisers, a car club comprising 120 members who are active or retired police officers.

More than 300 show cars were on display in the parking lot of St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, including a highway patrol car dedicated to Califano and a Bureau of Special Operations vehicle dedicated to Breitkopf.

The event was organized to raise funds for the families of the officers killed in the line of duty earlier this year.

John LaSala, 50, a member of the Nassau police Bureau of Special Operations, said the goal was "to try to make sure the family is taken care of in the future."

He said the close-knit unit has been holding up since losing Breitkopf. "Everybody continues to do their job. We're not happy with what happened. We're not happy with the explanation. This is a brother to us," he said.

Breitkopf, 40, of Selden, was killed March 12 when a Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officer mistakenly shot him in Massapequa Park. He was approaching a crime scene with his team minutes after a knife-wielding suspect was killed by Nassau officers. The shooting remains under investigation.

Califano, 44, of Wantagh and a member of the Nassau police Highway Patrol, died Feb. 4 when a truck driver, who authorities say was dozing, struck his patrol car. Califano was conducting a vehicle stop on the Long Island Expressway in Old Westbury at the time.

Truck driver John Kaley, 25, of Connecticut, is free on bail after pleading not guilty to criminally negligent homicide in connection with Califano's death.

"It's been a bad year," said Califano's father, Mike Califano Sr., 70, at the event. He said his son would have turned 45 this coming Friday. Robert Delsignore, 50, a Highway Patrol officer, brought his green 1953 MG to the show. Delsignore worked with Califano and he also knew Breitkopf.

"This is something that is absolutely horrible," he said of this year's on-duty fatalities. "We hope we don't ever have to go through it again."

By By TANIA LOPEZ
Posted Monday, June 6, 2011

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