Cortlandt Manor Resident New Member Of DEC's Environmental Police

CORTLAND MANOR, NY — New York recently graduated a new batch of environmental conservation police officers, some of whom are from the Hudson Valley, including one from Cortlandt Manor.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 18 new graduates from the 23rd Basic School for Environmental Conservation Police Officers, who will work in communities statewide to protect fish and wildlife and preserve environmental quality across the state.

The ceremony was held at the Empire Expo Center at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse celebrating graduates who completed six months of law enforcement and natural resources training in the classroom and in the field.

Hochul congratulated the new officers who will be patrolling lands and waters statewide.

“It is critical that New York’s natural resources are protected and those that seek to exploit them are held accountable,” she said.

The 18 new graduates join the Department of Environmental Conservation’s ECO force for a total of 305 sworn officers.

The graduates of the DEC’s 23rd Basic School for ECOs are:

• Emilio Zullo, Somers
• Tyler Ableson, Cortlandt Manor
• Nicholas Vandenbos, Warwick
• Joan Korey, Pine Bush
• Michael Broughton, Staten Island
• Benjamin Clinger, Randolph
• Timothy Day, Binghamton
• Laura DeVito, Shirley
• Kyle Farner, Gowanda
• Casey Giarratana, Floral Park
• Christopher Goonan, Syracuse
• Derek Hilton, Hannibal
• Frank Keegan, Troy
• Abigail Kortz, Troy
• Justin McGhee, Hampton Bays
• Justin Rappold, Albany
• Bradley Smith, Plainview
• Brandon Swart, Cazenovia