By Douglass Crouse
Herald News
WAYNE- A retired special police officer was in stable condition Tuesday after being robbed and shot in the abdomen outside a bingo hall, police said.
Gordon Levine, 65, was carrying proceeds from the night’s game at the Boys and Girls Club on Garside Avenue Monday just before 10 p.m., when a robber approached him, Detective Capt. Paul Ireland said.
The gunman told Levine to hand over the cash, which he did. But the Wayne resident hesitated when the assailant demanded the keys to Levine’s new Acura, Ireland said.
That’s when the gunman fired. Moments later, Levine dialed 911 from his cell phone, as the attacker fled on foot. Authorities searched the area overnight but were unable to find the gunman.
Police said Levine’s belt may have saved him from a worse fate.
“He was lucky that the bullet hit his belt buckle, because that probably absorbed some of its energy,” Ireland said.
Levine underwent surgery Monday night at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson and was expected to make a full recovery, Ireland said.
In a brief interview from his bed, Levine said he retired last year after 30 years in Wayne as a Type 2 special officer, meaning he was a specially trained citizen-cop allowed to carry a firearm, and also worked full-time as an engineer for AT&T. He said he was too tired to speak further.
Each Monday night for the past 20 years, the Boys and Girls Club of Wayne has rented building space to the Women’s American ORT for its weekly bingo games, said Joseph Lynch, chief professional officer for the Boys and Girls Club.
Levine, whose wife is a member of the group, helps out with the event and deposits each night’s proceeds — something the robber may have known, police said.
“It appears that this person was waiting for him,” Ireland said. “We don’t know if somebody had clued him in that the money would be going out at that time or if (Levine) was just the last person out at that time.”
The suspect was described as dark-skinned, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and wearing a dark knit cap, a three-quarter length white jacket, dark pants and sneakers. He fled on foot toward Laauwe Avenue.
Following the shooting, authorities mounted a search that included a state police helicopter and three dogs from the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department. The amount of money taken was undetermined as of Tuesday evening, Ireland said.
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