Tony's father was Mexican & Indigenous Native American tracing back to Arizona, then California.
Tony's mother is Scottish & Irish tracing to Buchannan & Crawford �tartans (Scottish) and McWharter Fa... View MoreTony's father was Mexican & Indigenous Native American tracing back to Arizona, then California.
Tony's mother is Scottish & Irish tracing to Buchannan & Crawford �tartans (Scottish) and McWharter Family (Ireland).
Tony was baptized Catholic, then later raised in the East Whittier Baptist Community.
Ancestry DNA
Indigenous �America ���������������19%
Spain ����������������������������������������13%
Basque ��������������������������������������3%
Northwestern Europe �������������52%
Ireland & Scotland ��������������������7%
(others 2% or less)
Military History
When Tony was 17, his mother permitted him to enlist in the United States Army as an Airborne Military Police Paratrooper. He proudly served at the height of the invasion of Panama where he was deployed twice. Active duty took him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for 3 years and Germany for 2 years. After completion of his military contract, he worked as a plumber apprentice until he attended the police academy.�
Professional Career
After many years of patrolling the streets, Tony earned his way into the Narcotics Unit. He led the city in arrests with the lowest complaint to arrest ratio (>1% complaints to arrests), while the Consent Decree was in place. Tony was a Municipal Police Officer Education Training Center (MPOETC) certified academy instructor and Field Training Instructor. �In the final years of his law enforcement career he volunteered to work downtown to restore a positive business climate, public safety, and enjoyable visitor experience while addressing the needs of the homeless and citizens with mental illness in the business and cultural districts. Tony gained the respect of the Cultural Trust and Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership as he met with the leaders to assist them with issues. As a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officer, he was able to recognize at-risk individuals and used necessary diversion resources as outlined in the data-driven Sequential Intercept Model (SIM). �
Giving Back
Tony promotes non-violent encounters between citizens and law enforcement by facilitating Verbal De-Escalation Training for the Allegheny County CIT program. �He was certified as a trainer through CIT International's Allegheny County CIT Coordinator.
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Since retirement, Tony volunteered for: �Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), quarterly wellness fairs, assistant coaching youth baseball in Brighton Heights and also helped with youth basketball. Tony and his wife volunteered many hours to a local Cub Scouts Den. Tony participates in his local union where he is an active member in good standing. �Since March, 2020 Tony has been delivering meals to senior in Pittsburgh. �Also, at the height of the lockdown, he bought and delivered groceries to out of work families, senior high rises, street homeless, and homeless in shelters.
Tony completed the rigorous process of obtaining the distinction of Private Detective in Allegheny County in 2018. Over 2017-2018, Tony absorbed the majority of household responsibilities while his wife completed her Doctorate in Management and Organizational Leadership, attended polygraph certification school, and subsequently established her own polygraph business.
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Tony is an animal lover and advocate. He volunteered at the East Liberty animal shelter walking dogs which were classified as aggressive to save them from being euthanized. Some of these dogs were rescued from dog fighting rings by Tony in the course of his police work. Tony enjoys hunting, fishing, and is extremely environmentally conscious.�
Membership
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Tony is a member of the following organizations: Allegheny Country Rifle Club, The Greater Pittsburgh Police Emerald Society, Veteran Police Association, Local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and�Locking Arms�Men�s Fellowship.
