NEW WILMINGTON, PA. Ex-Pa. trooper named new chief of police

The new chief is a former FBI agent.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- For Carmen D. Piccirillo, becoming New Wilmington's police chief will be something of a homecoming.
The 52-year-old Lakeville, Minn., man was hired this week by borough council to fill the position being left vacant by Chief Richard Hanna's retirement. Hanna has been chief since August 1981.
Hanna will remain on the job until Piccirillo starts work sometime in the next few months.
Piccirillo, a former Pennsylvania State Police trooper and FBI agent, must get his certification as a police officer in Pennsylvania renewed. Borough officials are unsure how long that will take.
Council set his annual salary at $42,500. He was one of three candidates for the position, said Sharon Edmiston, borough administrator.
Past jobs
The new police chief lived in New Wilmington during the 1970s when he worked as a Pennsylvania State Police trooper in the New Castle barracks. He left in 1979 to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and most recently has been operating his own private investigation firm in Minnesota.
"We are really excited about coming back to this community and to the area. We see it as a great place to live, and sometimes you don't appreciate what you have until you don't have it anymore," he said.
Piccirillo, his wife, Lynell, a nurse who graduated from the Jameson Hospital nursing program, and son, Adam, a recent college graduate, will be moving to New Wilmington.
Piccirillo said he's happy that the area hasn't grown too much in the last 20 years, unlike his community in Minnesota, which has grown from a population of 17,000 to more than 60,000 people in the last 10 years.
"We left New Wilmington in 1979, and I don't think its changed much. I see that as a positive. It's a very stable community, and I consider that an asset," he said.
Piccirillo said he plans to put his experience in crime prevention and safety education to use as police chief.
"I hope to bring the advantage of maturity and having been around the block numerous times and hopefully share it with some of the younger officers," he said.
The department has three full-time patrolmen and two part-time officers.