The Jersey Journal
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A former Jersey City police sergeant arrested in Maine recently on charges he had nearly 11/2 pounds of cocaine was dragged from his car Sunday, stabbed and robbed of $5,000 in the Heights, officials said.
Michael Cervino, 33, of Hague Street, said he was arriving home at 3:45 p.m. when he was dragged out of his Lexus by two men, one of whom pointed a revolver at him, reports said.
“Apparently trouble seems to find Mr. Cervino, as both defendant and victim,” Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday.
Cervino said as the men approached him he pushed the gun aside and ran down an alley to his backyard, where he broke a window with his hands and tried to jump through it unsuccessfully, reports said.
He then ran back up the alley to his car, where he was tackled by the men.
One of the men stabbed him in his right hand, saying “I got him,” reports said.
Cervino said he screamed “Call 911!” and when a neighbor came out of his home, his attackers fled, reports said. Cervino got into his car and drove to Christ Hospital, reports said. During the scuffle the men took $5,000, Cervino told police.
The officers who met Cervino at the hospital said he “appeared nervous, edgy and disheveled. The victim also appeared to have a hard time maintaining focus on our conversation and would ‘jump around’ from topic to topic,” reports said. Cervino was treated and picked up by his parents, reports said.
In May, Cervino was arrested in Maine and charged with aggravated trafficking, an offense carrying a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison, officials said.
Cervino was arrested in April in Jersey City, almost a week after a 39-year-old Bayonne man signed a complaint against him on a robbery charge related to a drug transaction that never went through, reports said.
DeFazio said an update on the status of this case was not available yesterday due to the holiday.
In September 2005, Cervino was suspended from the Police Department without pay pending a disciplinary proceeding and he was relieved of his weapon, said Police Chief Tom Comey, who would not give further details.
In December 2005, he was allowed to go on an unpaid leave of absence, officials said, adding that in September 2006 he was granted a pension based on a medical disability, official said.
Cervino identified one of his attackers and said he thought he knew the other one, but based on police reports it does not appear that anyone has been charged.
A phone call to Cervino was not returned.
Copyright 2007 Jersey Journal