June 28, 2007

PROFILE
Officer finishes booze assignment
Retirement is next on Officer Garry Mancini’s to-do list.
By BARBARA GIASONE STAFF WRITER

Fullerton police Cpl. Garry Mancini is fast approaching the retirement ranks – July 19, to be exact – when he can review his nearly 31 years of law enforcement.

Granted, Mancini was influenced by the local police who would monitor Roller Village where he worked while attending Fullerton Union High School.

But it was really his Uncle Tony Celli, an officer with the LAPD 77th Division, who prompted Mancini’s career choice.
First, he completed his education at Fullerton College and Cal State Fullerton, where he earned a bachelor’s degree.

Then, it was on to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to work as a reserve officer.

After joining FPD, Mancini tackled different assignments, perhaps none more satisfying than his final role as the Alcoholic Beverage Control liaison officer for the department.

He was handed what he believes is the only ABC grant in Orange County to educate business people involved with liquor sales, and form a decoy program to check offenders. Funding expires Saturday.

Question: When did you feel the program was working?

Answer: Last April, an 18-year-old police cadet was sent to nine local businesses to try and buy alcohol. Not one of the businesses, which had been guilty of repeat violations in the past year, sold liquor to the underage cadet.

Q: Who did you educate with the ABC funding?

A: We trained all 152 of our sworn officers, eight reserves and 20 officers at Cal State Fullerton. We also worked with liquor store owners, restaurateurs, supermarkets and their employees.

Q: How important was the liaison effort?

A: The program came at a critical time when the city’s downtown, in particular, was becoming inundated with restaurants and bars. Fullerton has gotten this reputation in Los Angeles and in the Inland Empire that it’s the place to bar hop right along with Hollywood and the Spectrum.

Q: What are your plans now? A: I want to spend more time with my family, and continue playing in poker tournaments. I enjoy playing Omaha and Texas Hold ‘Em in casinos in Los Angeles.