Announcement stokes election in Round Lake

Opponents of Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes' village board slate question the timing of announcements about a special police department certification because they surfaced so close to the April 7 election.

Police news releases about the kudos from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. came within the last 10 days, followed by a campaign mailer sent this week by Gentes' Round Lake United Party slate touting the honor.

"The police are certified! ... This what you want from your mayor and your police!" states what's headlined as the Mayor Gentes Police Report.

Director of Police Administration Michael Recupito initially announced the certification March 23, followed by a similar release by Police Chief Cliffton R. Metaxa on March 30. But the good police news has drawn skepticism from some members of the opposing United for Change slate. Trustee Donald Newby and mayoral challenger James Dietz question whether the announcements were meant to bolster Gentes and his slate by coming so close to Tuesday's election.

Metaxa said the Virginia-based nonprofit organization found his department complies with 381 internationally accepted standards for police department operations. He said the effort was more than three years in the making, and he didn't have any control over the timing of the news because Round Lake received the accreditation at the company's March 21 convention in Raleigh, N.C.

"This is definitely not something the mayor put me up to," Metaxa said Thursday.

Dietz said he can't blame the police for bragging about the certification. However, he found it curious the announcements came late in the political campaigns.

"Based on what he's done in the past," Dietz said of Gentes, "it wouldn't surprise me if these (police) news releases are politically motivated."

Gentes said he's proud to promote on his campaign literature the certification and the fact the village's crime rate, as computed per 100,000 residents, has dropped 55 percent during his tenure as mayor since 2001. That the certification announcement came during the campaign was a coincidence, he said.

"Even I don't have the ability to schedule a national convention for my political benefit," Gentes said.