Piffsfield Police Chief runs regional SWAT team

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A regional swat team is available to more than half the towns in Berkshire County in the event of a high-risk incident, such as a hostage situation, according to Chief Anthony Riello of the Pittsfield Police Department. Riello was instrumental in bringing together many of the county's police departments to form the Berkshire County Regional Strategic Response Team in November 2000. A mutual aid agreement was established amongst the participating cities and towns. It specifies that the team will respond to incidents in those communities when needed, he said. A $300,000 grant was secured for the growth of the team on December 18, 2000. U.S. Rep. John W. Olver (D-1st District) was instrumental in obtaining the grant for the team, Riello said. The grant money, which is administered through Riello's office and is good for three years, is to be spent on equipment and training and to support the team, including the cost of call-outs for incidents and paying team members, Riello said. Two vehicles were purchased for the team with the grant money. One is a "very useful, versatile" armored swat truck called The Bear, which cost $175,000 and is garaged in Pittsfield, he said. The other, the team's first response vehicle, is a Ford Expedition with special equipment and a weapons locker. The team has been called out "half a dozen to a dozen times," Riello said. It is used in high-risk drug raids, he said. The team is comprised of 22 members, 14 of whom are Pittsfield officers. Seven county police departments have officers on the team, including North Adams, Williamstown, Sheffield, Lee and Great Barrington, Riello said. Pittsfield Police Capt. Cosmo Spezzaferro runs the team, Riello said. Second in command for the team is Lt. Bruce Hugabone. The team trains for four hours usually every other week, Riello said. Role play exercises are one part of their training. An example of a role play they practice is a situation where there is an active shooter or shooters in a school, he said. The team was modeled after a regional team in eastern Massachusetts, he said. Other situations that would involve the team include natural disasters, search-and-rescue operations, mob action, civil disturbances, unusual occurrences and any other situation threatening the peace of the jurisdiction, according to a press release from Olver's office. Prior to regional team forming, the Pittsfield Police Department had its own 14-member swat team, which was absorbed into the regional team and is that team's "nucleus," Riello said. The vehicle that the city purchased was manufactured by Lenco Industries Inc., which has been manufacturing armored vehicles in Pittsfield since 1981. The vehicle is an armored swat truck, a bullet-resistant special response vehicle used in especially hazardous or dangerous police situations, said Len Light, vice president of Lenco. Describing the truck as a "defensive piece of equipment," he said it has the dual purpose of transporting the police into the situation and rescuing those who need to be rescued, he said. In a hostage situation, the swat truck, which is resistant to high-powered assault rifles, would allow the police to get close to the scene, Light said. It is a user-friendly vehicle, which can fit 30 people in the back and has on board stretcher compartments, he said.
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North Adams Man Facing Drug Charges Is Charged Again

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A city man has been charged with drug violations after a search warrant turned up drugs and trafficking materials Friday at a Houghton Street apartment.
 
Ronald Schneider, 49, of North Adams, was arraigned Monday in Northern Berkshire District Court with trafficking fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute Class B substance (subsequent offense), and conspiracy to violate drug laws. 
 
According to police, members of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force and local police executed the search warrant at 255 Houghton St. in connection with an ongoing narcotics investigation.
 
As a result of the operation, investigators seized approximately 134.1 grams of fentanyl (when packaged for sale would have yielded approximately 6,705 bags) with a street value of between $26,820 and $33,525. They also found 12.3 grams of cocaine/crack cocaine worth $738 to $1,230, $945 in cash and digital scales and other material for drug packaging. 
 
Schneider was currently out on bail for an open case out of Berkshire Superior Court from an August 2024 arrest in North Adams in which he was charged with trafficking cocaine (18-36 grams) and conspiracy to violate drug laws.
 
Schneider's bail for his Superior Court case was revoked Monday and a cash bail of $75,000 was set for his new case.
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