The Widows’ and Orphans’ Aid Association of the San Francisco Police Department held their monthly meeting for March 2024 on Zoom technology. The meeting date was Tuesday April 9, 2024, at 1100 hours.
Roll Call: President Ryan Walsh, Vice President Leroy Lindo, Secretary Mark McDonough, Jim O’Meara, Maureen Leonard, Rob Forneris, Lou Barberini, and Administrative Assistant Sally Foster were all present at the meeting. Trustee Ray Kane was excused
Approval of the Minutes: Trustee Lou Barberini made a motion to accept last month’s minutes for March 2024. President Ryan Walsh seconded the motion. The motion passed.
Receiving Applications; Suspensions and Reinstatements: There are no new applications or reinstatements this month. The following members, by order of President Ryan Walsh, per WOAA Constitution Article III, Section III are SUSPENDED FROM ALL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEDGES for non-payment of our yearly dues in 2024: ACTIVE Police Officer Members: Lilibeth S. Bautista, Cristine E. Busalacchi, James F. Franks, Michael J Hill Jr., Bryson L. Holbrook, Antonio S. Landi, Amber D. Smith, Sean C. Thompson. RETIRED members: Michelle Alvis, Douglas P. Arnold, Cody R. Barnes, Edward A. Barrientos Jr, Alexander Barron, Michael D. Beaird, Nicholas Bettencourt, Josephine Borges, Jayme Campbell, Kenneth J. Canedo, Donald A. Carlson, Adriano E. Castro, Randy A. Caturay, Marina Chacon, William J. Conley, Luis P. DeJesus, Matthew T. Fambrini, Francis S. Feliciano, George K. Ferraez, Jennifer G. Fiorello, Aaron Fisher, Steve A. Ford, Timothy F. Fowlie, David W. Garcia, Edgar A. Gonzalez, Tracy A. Green, Dennis A. Gustafson, Donald L. Hansen, Steven R. Harris, Sherry E. Hicks, Pamela Hofsass, Gregory A. Huie, Omar U. Iverson, Jason D. Jefferson, Jacklyn M. Jehl, Alan J. Jou, Derrick W. Lee, Alphonso J. Livingston, Caitlin A. Lowe, Jeffrey B. Lubey, Scott L. McBride, Jeffrey M. McHale, Alfredo Melendez, Anthony M. Montoya, Jeremy C. Morgan, James P. Moylan, Brian Neill, Jordan Oryall, Oscar A. Padilla, John Pai Jr., Troy P. Peele, Christos Sinchuk Rallis Andrew E. Sargenti, Lionel N. Sevilla, Michael A. Shavers, Samuel A. Snadow, Anthony Srinivas, Brian G. Stansbury, Mykael S. Thompson, Arlen J. Vanderbuilt, Omar M. Vaquerano-Herrera, Rickey L. Williams, Kenneth Wong, Jarrod Yee, Mark A.` Yesitis. Suspended members are assessed a late fee of $10 for every month that the dues are not paid. A letter will be sent to all suspended members at their most recent listed address. Suspended members will be dropped from our roll if dues and late fees are not paid by September 1, 2024. Dropped members have a 2- year period (from the drop date) to reapply for membership which includes late dues and fees to be paid accompanied by a written report of good health by their physician. A note from Treasurer Dean Taylor: “I would like to take this opportunity to address a serious and ongoing issue with our members. It is of the utmost importance that you as a member, make sure you provide us (the WOAA) with your proper address and verify your designated beneficiary is your current approved designated person to receive your death benefit. Secretary McDonough and I, on a regular basis, are having to interact with Spouses and Children of deceased members whose deceased husband or wife never updated a change on their beneficiary form. On a number of occasions, I have had to write to write a beneficiary check to an ex-Spouse from 15 years ago (or longer) because the member did not change his beneficiary form when his marriage dissolved. Also, every year Secretary McDonough and I chase down from approximately 100-150 members who failed to pay their annual dues. Secretary McDonough spends hundreds of hours and thousands of Widows and Orphans dollars attempting to track down the Unpaid/Suspended Members. We are are not mandated to, nor do we the responsibility to pursue the Unpaid Members. Address and information changes are the responsibility of the member. We experience a high volume of Unpaid/Suspended members to be repeat offenders year after year. Many of the members experience suspension or being dropped from the roll, and reapply for membership by paying back dues and fines, and providing a document of good health. Those members are then reinstated, only to fail to pay dues again in following years. Think for one minute, how your widow or widower would feel upon being notified that someone you are no longer in a relationship with, is to receive the death benefit? It also places us in the unenviable position of communicating with the grieving family, and the old designated beneficiary who is surprised by the news. We have been lucky to have old beneficiaries sign over the check to the grieving family, but more often than not the old listed beneficiary takes the death benefit.”
Communications and Bills: Treasurer Taylor read aloud the monthly bills and beneficiary claims. Trustee Jim O’Meara made a motion to pay the bills and beneficiary claims. Vice President Leroy Lindo seconded the motion. The motion passed
Report of Visting Committee: I attended the memorial service for Thomas J. Vellone The service was well attended and standing room only. The San Francisco Police Color Guard performed impressively. A video tribute of Tom’s life exhibited a full and exciting life with his spouse and family. Many retired members of the Traffic Solo Unit were in attendance as well as other retired Officers who served during Tom’s years of service.
Report of Trustees: The WOAA Board received the sad news of the passing of one of our members:
Thomas J. Vellone, age 79: Thomas J. Vellone was born in San Francisco, California on July 28, 1944. Tom was a San Francisco Deputy Sherriff prior to entering the San Francisco Police Department. Tom switched agencies and entered the San Francisco Police Department and was assigned to Star #28. I first met Tom in the Police Academy. Tom entered the 132nd Recruit Class that was sworn into the Department on November 27, 1978 by Captain James Shannon. Captain Shannon informed the class that Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated and we would be sworn in by the Captain Shannon himself. Although we were sworn, the Department later changed our start date to April 1, 1979, our first day in the Field Training Program. We were trained on Treasure Island by Officers Dirk Beijen, Mike Chan, and Frank Macchi. It wasn’t long before we all knew Tom had been a member of the United States Marine Corps and the San Francisco Sherriff’s Department and was given the immediate respect of all our classmates. Tom had a way of carrying himself as a serious and all-business type of person, and it took some time to get to know him and understand that he was going to be a great Police Officer and one that you could trust in any situation, knowing he would always have your back. Our class had many special people who bonded together to get through the training and became exceptional San Francisco Police Officers, and Tom was among them. Thomas J. Vellone worked the following assignments during his 32-year career: Northern Police Station (April 1, 1979), Mission Police Station (July 3, 1979), Traffic Solo’s (April 20, 1996), and the Tenderloin Police Station (January 9, 2010). Tom retired with a service pension on July 30, 2011. AWARDS: Tom Vellone has been awarded with almost every Department Award. Officers Michael W. Conway and Thomas J. Vellone were awarded with the Silver Medal of Valor for services rendered on Wednesday April 2, 1980 at 1950 hours when they responded to a call of a 222/801 (person with a knife/suicide call) at 3822 19th Street #7. They arrived and were informed that the subject was the grandson of the complainant and had a history of violence and suicide attempts. The subject, although confined in a wheelchair, came after her (complainant) with a knife and threatened to kill himself. The Officers entered the apartment and were immediately confronted by the subject who violently lashed out at them. The Officers attempted to subdue the man but during their attempt and struggle, the subject lashed out again violently cutting Officer Conway’s right leg with a puncture. The Officers continued to struggle with the man and eventually were able to disarm him and place him in custody. Officers Thomas J. Vellone and Christopher H. Cunnie were awarded with a Bronze Medal of Valor for services rendered on Monday May 23, 1982 at 1848 hours. Vellone and Cunnie were working in a plainclothes assignment at the area of 20th and Mission Streets when they heard what sounded like a gunshot. The Officers responded to 3491 20th Street. Vellone and Cunnie made their way through a crowd and observed a gunshot victim lying on the ground and bleeding from a gunshot wound to his leg. The suspect who had been fighting with the victim was now standing over him, and the second suspect, a woman, was standing nearby with a gun in her hand. Vellone and Cunnie ordered her to drop the gun and she refused. Fearing the danger to innocent bystanders now running between them and the armed suspect, the Officers held their fire. The shooting victim then reached up and grabbed the firearm from the suspect’s hand. Both suspects were taken into custody. Because Vellone and Cunnie intervened and averted with what could have been a murder and subsequent serious injury or death to innocent bystanders and themselves, they were awarded with a Bronze Medal of Valor. Sergeant James J. Hughes, and Police Officers Thomas J. Vellone, Thomas R. Argo, Rey P. Ibay, Walter L. Pinosky, Steven Jones, Richard S. Knappick, Michael T. Dempsey, John J. Loftus, and Ivan K. Yee were awarded with a Police Commission Commendation for services rendered on Wednesday September 8, 1982 at 1700 hours. The above-named Sergeant and Officers responded to a broadcast of an armed robbery in progress at 2591 Mission Street. All Officers arrived and apprehended the armed suspect as he exited the store. The suspect was not aware that the Proprietor of the store tripped the silent alarm, nor was he aware of the Officers arrival at the store front. Officers Thomas J. Vellone and Dolores “Dolly” Cazazza were awarded with a Police Commission Commendation for services rendered on Friday April 4, 1986 at 0030 hours. Vellone and Cazazza responded to 2135 Mission Street on a call of a mental patient who was suicidal and had barricaded himself in room #45. Vellone and Cazazza made verbal contact with the subject through the door and understood that the subject was very serious about taking his own life. Vellone and Cazazza heard what they thought was a round being chambered into a rifle. Vellone and Cazazza remained in a safe position and continued to negotiate with the subject for another 35 minutes until the subject agreed to surrender and open the door. With the subject in custody, Vellone and Cazazza located and seized a .22 caliber rifle inside the apartment. The rifle was loaded with the 10 rounds, and a suicide note was left by the subject. Sergeant Joseph Dutto and Police Officer Miguel Cosio, Kevin Dempsey, Luis Espinda, Jim Ludlow, Michael Moran, Eric Quema and Thomas J. Vellone were awarded with a Police Commission Commendation for services rendered on June 1, 1987 through July 31, 1988. A store-front sting operation conducted by the Fencing Detail at 2065 Mission Street. Due to the painstaking and diligent efforts of all the Officers, 306 people entered the store front, and 98% of the subjects were identified. The Officers monitored the homes of the subjects until they were taken into custody. Thomas J. Vellone was awarded with another Police Commission Commendation with Inspectors Robert McMillan and Bob Totah, and Officers James Ludlow, Alexis Goldner, and Michael Favetti for services rendered on September 17, 1990 for the apprehension of a dangerous armed robbery suspect and his girlfriend who were responsible for 12 bank robberies. Both suspects were armed at the time of the arrest. Officer Thomas J. Vellone, with Lieutenant Thomas Donohoe, Inspectors Gary Fox, Mark Mahoney, Calvin Nutting, Laurence Ramlan, Paul Falconer, Jeffrey Levin, Sergeants James Bosch, Richard Bruce, Michael Puccinelli, and Officer Thomas Ludlow were awarded with a Police Commission Commendation (no date on the report). The above listed Officers combined to stop desperate narcotics addicts committed to a life of robbing and drug use. The Organization and planning of this operation and subsequent arrests resulted in confessions to eleven robberies and removing several dangerous felons from the streets of San Francisco. Officer Thomas J. Vellone, with Captain Thomas Petrini, Lieutenants Joaquin Santos, Richard Hesselroth, Croce Casciato, John Ballentine, Sergeants Edgar Callejas, Mark Potter, David Shinn, Larry Barsetti, Dirk Beijen, Inspectors Joseph Kennedy, and William Kidd, and Officers Bernard Sullivan, David Seid, Mel Cardenas, Jay Dowke, Brett Higdon, Victor Tsang, Ed Ellestad, Nicholas Borthne, Phyllis Ford, Michael Travis, Richard Lee, Matt Castagnola, Joseph Buono, Michael Huddleston, Martin Lalor, Darby Reid, Al Tong, John Mambretti, Nelson Lum, Edward Cheung, Dino Zagrafos, Kevin Dempsey, Anthony Johnson, Heinz Hoffman, Donald Peters and Michael Rivera were awarded a Police Commission Commendation for services rendered on June 7, 1991. Lt. Santos received information of a robbery in progress at the Bank of Canton at 743 Washington Street. He was also informed of Officers responding to the Bank on a silent alarm with Specialists and Hostage Negotiators. When all the units were in place an effort was made to extract the suspect from the bank. After consultation with Captain Petrini, it was decided that an entry team would enter the bank through the roof. Two SWAT Officers entered through the roof and located the suspect hiding behind the rafters. The suspect, the suspect’s gun, and the stolen money were taken into custody. Officer Thomas J. Vellone, with Officers Richard Pate and James Ludlow were awarded with a Meritorious Conduct Award for an Outstanding Investigation. There is no date on the record, however, it was prior to Thomas J. Vellone’s Gold Medal of Valor. On Christmas morning at 0930 hours, Officers from Mission Station responded to the corner of 16th and Mission Streets on a report of shots fired. Officer Pate arrived and found a gunshot victim lying on the street dead. Officer Pate immediately called for assistance and then took charge of the Homicide scene. Witnesses stated they had seen a white male with short blond hair leave the scene at the time of the murder and described the vehicle as a lime green Monte Carlo. Plainclothes Officers Vellone and Ludlow also responded and began to piece together the investigation by questioning witnesses and attempting to identify the Officers victim. Officers Vellone and Ludlow passed their information to Officer Pate. From that information, they were able to identify the victim within thirty minutes of the crime as being a local prostitute. Officers Vellone and Ludlow remembered the call of an assault of a female a week earlier wherein the suspect was driving a green Monte Carlo. Vellone and Ludlow gained information from the earlier assault and responded to an address on Joost Street. Officer Pate conducted a computer investigation regarding any previous victim and was able to ascertain the registered owner of the Monte Carlo. Officers Vellone and Ludlow arrived on Joost Street and observed the green Monte Carlo in the driveway and notified the Homicide Lieutenant of their discovery. Based on this information, a search warrant was obtained and the Officers responded to the door and while attempting to execute the warrant, heard a person running to the back of the house. They then heard a gunshot and discovered that the suspect, after killing his girlfriend in a lover’s quarrel responded to the back of the house, ran out the back door, and committed suicide by shooting himself. For their extensive and thorough investigation resulting in the identification and apprehension of a suspect in a known murder, Officers Vellone, Ludlow, and Pate were awarded with the Meritorious Conduct Award. Officers Thomas J. Vellone and Daryl Deen were awarded the Gold Medal of Valor for services rendered as result of a murder on June 18, 1993. Officers Vellone and Deen responded with Daly City Police Officers to arrest a suspect who had shot and killed his estranged girlfriend. As the Officers approached the suspect, the suspect pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired several shots at the Officers, striking one Daly City Officer in the abdomen. The Officers returned fire mortally wounding the suspect. For their actions, Officers Vellone and Deen were awarded the Gold Medal of Valor. Officers Thomas J. Vellone and Phil Lee were awarded with a Meritorious Conduct Award for an outstanding investigation. Vellone and Lee discovered a rash of bank robberies in San Francisco during the months of October and November of 1995. They immediately directed all their investigative efforts in an attempt to identify the perpetrators. Vellone and Lee obtained bank photos of the suspects involved and initiated a tedious search of every Mission District commercial establishment focusing mainly on the frequently used transient Hotels where the suspects might have visited or where someone might be able to provide further information on their whereabouts. Officer Lee received information from an informant that one of the individuals he was searching for was staying at the Sierra Hotel located at 20th and Mission Streets. Officers Vellone and Lee confirmed this information with the Hotel Manager and subsequently detained the suspect who was later booked on four separate bank robbery charges that occurred in the East Bay as well as being charged with additional robbery charges that occurred in San Francisco. Vellone and Lee continued their investigation and obtained a positive identification of another suspect from a photo that Vellone and Lee showed him. The Hotel Manager said the suspect is a man who is a friend of a woman who frequented the area. Vellone and Lee located the woman and confirmed that she was staying with the suspect. Officers Vellone and Lee again set up a uniformed perimeter and responded to the Hotel Room where the suspect was last seen. The suspect opened the door and made a brief attempt to make it back into his room but was quickly taken into custody by Vellone and Lee. This suspect was charged with an outstanding felony warrant for a bank robbery that occurred in San Diego and was currently the primary suspect in six other bank robberies that occurred in San Franisco. The suspect was also the FBI’s primary suspect whom they believed was responsible for another 10-15 bank robberies that have occurred on the west coast from Oregon to Southern California. For their intensive investigations, intuitiveness and dedication to duty, Officers Thomas J. Vellone and Phil Lee were awarded with the Meritorious Conduct Award. Tom was a USMC Veteran of the Vietnam War, and a proud member of the San Francisco Police Department for over 35 years, finishing his career on the Solo Motorcycle Unit. Tom was also a quickdraw competitor, and avid skier, and had a passion for boating and scuba diving. He and his wife Susan traveled across the world pursuing boating and scuba diving. Tom is survived by his wife Susan of 29 years, his two children Carolyn Vargas, and Thomas Vellone, and his grandchildren Justin, Rachelle, and Ashley.
Report of Special Committee: No report this month.
New Business: No report this month.
Good of the Order: No report this month.
Adjournment: WOAA President Ryan Walsh led our Board in a moment of silence for our recent and all members who have passed away. President Walsh adjourned the meeting and scheduled our next meeting for Thursday May 16, 2024. The meeting will be held at the Italian American Club on Stockton Street, prior to an honorary dinner for last year’s WOAA President Lou Barberini.
To All Members: All members, if they wish to change their beneficiary, can access a new form on our sfwidowsandorphans.org website. Click on Resources and follow the link. Print the form and complete all requested information. Requested information would be telephone numbers, addresses, and emails of the member and their beneficiary. When the unfortunate life-ending moments occur, we need accurate information to locate the beneficiary. Each month we thank the following people who continually assist us to bring you the best customer service: Retired San Francisco Police Department (S.F.P.D.) Captain and the Defense Administrator for the San Francisco Police Officers Association (SFPOA), Paul Chignell; Retired S.F.P.D. Lieutenant and the host of the Gold Country Reaper Email; Rene LaPrevotte; Retired S.F.P.D. Sergeant and the long tenured editor of the SFPOA Journal, Ray Shine; Maggie Wang of the S.F.P.D. Personnel Office, and Kristine Singh of the Police Commission Office.
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