Secaucus Hospital Fined $63K From State After Guns Found On Site

SECAUCUS, NJ — As 2022 drew to a close, the Secaucus hospital was fined $63,000 from the state Department of Health because Secaucus Police and the county sheriff uncovered a cache of guns in the hospital's marketing office in July.

Update: All Gun Charges Dropped Against Ex-Secaucus Hospital Marketing Exec. (Aug. 16, 2023)

As of Jan. 6, it is not clear if the hospital has paid the hefty fine to the state.

It was July 18 when police discovered the guns, which they said the hospital's marketing director was keeping in an unlocked closet in his office.

Police were initially called into the hospital that day for a bomb threat, which turned out to be unfounded. Officers with a police dog were searching the building when they stumbled upon the gun trove.

The hospital's marketing director, Reuven Alonalayoff, 46, of Elmwood Park, was charged with possession of an assault firearm and two counts of possession of a high-capacity magazine. Hudson Regional has said he was a "non-employee consultant" and that he no longer works there.

On Nov. 30, the New Jersey Department of Health sent this scathing letter to Hudson Regional Hospital, informing them they would be fined for multiple reasons:

• First, the hospital failed to report the bomb threat to the state Department of Health the day it happened.
• Secondly, Hudson Regional failed to inform the state that the illegal guns were found on site.

Those above are serious incidents that the state Dept. of Health says it must be notified about within three hours of occurring.

Hudson Regional failed to do that, said the state.

The state Department of Health launched its own investigation into Hudson Regional on Aug. 23, after the gun trove was discovered.

Secaucus Police said a "large cache of weaponry" was being kept in the unlocked closet, including 27 rifles/shotguns, 11 handguns, along with ammunition, and a Kriss Vector .45 caliber semi-automatic rifle with a high-capacity magazine (which is considered an assault rifle).

Here is an excerpt from the Dept. of Health's Nov. 30 letter, which reveals new details about how the guns were being kept — unnoticed — on hospital grounds:

"On August 23, 2022, the surveyor inquired with staff regarding the event that occurred on July 18, 2022. Staff stated that at approximately 3:00 p.m., the facility Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff received a telephone call from an unknown caller that there was a bomb in the facility, and the facility contacted the police. The police came on-site and conducted a bomb search of the facility with a K-9 unit. On review, the surveyor determined that there was no notification to the department of the bomb threat, or of the discovery of firearms and ammunition found. A staff member explained that the lieutenant in charge assured the facility that no criminal activity was confirmed at the time regarding the bomb threat, and it was unclear if the firearms incident was "reportable." "

During a search of the fifth floor, the K-9 unit found multiple firearms and ammunition within the closet of a locked office that was utilized by Staff #7 (later identified as marketing director Reuven Alonalayoff). Staff #7 confirmed that the weapons were his and that he personally brought the firearms onto the premises months prior. When Staff #7 brought the firearms into the facility, they were not visible to onlookers or security personnel as they were contained in cases and were covered with plastic. Because of the familiarity security had with Staff #7, security staff did not question #7 about the contents of the cart or ask to see the contents of the cases in the cart. On one occasion when staff #7 was not present, the administrative assistant, Staff #8, keyed the combination code and entered Staff #7's office to use the restroom located inside. At the time, the closet door inside the office was slightly ajar and Staff #8 saw what appeared to be weapons inside the closet. Staff #8 did not disclose to anyone at the Hospital that there were firearms in the closet of that office because she believed it was not any "of her business."

Prior to July 18, 2022, Staff #7 and Staff #8 were the only persons aware of the presence of firearms. During the initial interview with the survey team, the Director of Security indicated that there were no dates, times or obvious means identified by security personnel, camera, video footage, or any other indicators of any weapons being brought into the building and that there were no security breaches identified. Based on observation, interview and record review, the survey team determined that the facility failed to maintain a violence prevention plan and implement policies and procedures to maintain a safe hospital environment.

“The presence of weapons in a hospital is inexcusable beyond comprehension and contradicts our mission of care and our commitment to the safety of our community of staff, patients and the extended community,” Hudson Regional said this past summer at the time of the gun discovery. “While regrettable, this incident has given us occasion to review security protocols and we have taken steps to assure that it will never happen again.”

Secaucus town hospital in the news:

For First Time In History, Secaucus Hospital Given 'A' Grade (Nov. 2022)

Secaucus Hospital Fired Me Once I Ended Affair With CEO, Woman Says (Oct. 2022)

39 Guns Found In Closet At Secaucus Hospital; Employee Charged (August 2022)