image description — Mayor Peter Marchetti goes to shake the hand of Police Chief Marc Maddalena, who's appointment to the post was approved by City Council on Tuesday.

Pittsfield City Council Confirms Police Chief, Honors Brewery Owner

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:36PM / Saturday, March 14, 2026Print Story | Email Story

Mayor Marchetti congratulates Sarah Real of Hot Plate Brewery on being named to Inc. Magazine's 500 Female Founders of 2026.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council has confirmed Marc Maddalena as chief of the Police Department.

On Tuesday, the council approved a communication from Mayor Peter Marchetti notifying them of Maddalena's appointment. Marchetti announced this during a press conference last week, describing Maddalena as a valued member of the department, well-respected by his colleagues, and a dedicated public servant.

The new chief has been a member of the force since 1998.

"I want to thank you for the trust and immense responsibility you placed in me. Tonight, I'm truly honored to stand before you as your new chief and extremely grateful for all the support that I've received since the announcement came out," Maddalena said.

Maddalena replaces Police Chief Thomas Dawley, who retired last year after 24 years with the Pittsfield force and as chief for the last few. Captain Marc Strout led the department in the interim.

He formerly served as a patrol officer, sergeant, and lieutenant, and has completed more than 240 hours as a fully accredited traffic accident reconstructionist.

"To the citizens of Pittsfield, my philosophy is simple: Policing is a partnership. We cannot be successful without your trust, and that trust is earned one interaction at a time," Maddalena said.

"No matter what we're responding to, we will treat every individual with respect and professionalism, because we aren't just policing this community, but we're all a part of it."

He thanked the people who made it possible to work on the force for the last 28 years and moving forward: his family, because "I may wear the badge, but I know you carry the weight of this profession right alongside me," and the men and women of the department, who he said are the "backbone of this community."

He said his primary role as chief is to ensure staff have the leadership, resources, and support that they need to do the job safely and effectively, and that he will lead by example and with integrity.

Marchetti also recognized Sarah Real, owner of Hot Plate Brewing Co., for being named one of Inc. Magazine's 2026 Female Founders 500. The annual list was announced earlier that morning and recognizes "outstanding" female leaders, including those running public, private, and nonprofit companies, with an eye on impact.

"It isn't every day that you get the opportunity to recognize a business owner who was put on the Female Founder 500 List, and so I'd like to take the opportunity to do that," the mayor said.

Real was recognized for increasing the craft brewery's revenue by 24 percent, "in part by targeting overlooked populations, such as female-identified beer drinkers," according to Inc.com.

In 2021, the City Council approved a $140,000 allocation of the city's economic development funds to help the brewery open, supporting the purchase of equipment. Marchetti said the partnership with Hot Plate is one of many between small local businesses and the city.

Hot Plate opened in 2023 and is owned by Real and Mike Dell'Aquila. Last year, the brewery was ranked No. 3 in USA Today's list of "Best New Brewery," and was listed on Punch Magazine's "The Who's Who of Beer Cool in 2025" list.

Real was also appointed to Gov. Maura Healey's Small Business Commission last year.

The brewery owners wrote on Facebook that they are so proud because the recognition "goes beyond the identity politics of being one of very few BIWOC-owned breweries and our origin story of starting to homebrew on a hot plate in 2017."

Real had almost 20 years of experience as a consumer insights expert before the brewery, and serves on the board of directors for the Massachusetts Brewers Guild and the Pink Boots Society.

"The women entrepreneurs honored represent 500 organizations across the U.S. and the world, from public and private companies to nonprofits. Under their leadership, their businesses collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date," Downtown Pittsfield Inc. wrote in a Facebook post.

Tags: police chief, recognition event,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Greylock Youth SummerFest

Come join in on the wealth building fun! August 3-8. Click for event details. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

View Full Story