Update: Ex-Cop Out on Bail After Weekend Arrest

A former Harrison police officer launched into an obscenity-laced tirade when bouncers wouldn't let him into a Port Chester bar early Saturday morning, according to details released Monday about the incident.

Ralph Tancredi, 45, wasn't happy when bouncers at Marty's Bar on Adee Street refused to let him into the establishment a few minutes before 4 a.m. They told Tancredi the bar was at maximum occupancy, and Tancredi "gave them a hard time, using profanity" and causing a scene while a friend tried to usher him away from the door, Port Chester Lt. James Ladeairous said.

Bar employees called Port Chester police to deal with the unruly would-be patron, and when Port Chester officers arrived, Tancredi earned himself a pair of felony charges by passing himself off as an active police officer. He presented a police identification card, perhaps expecting blue-on-blue courtesy, but refused to calm down.

"He just kept pushing the issue," Ladeairous said.

Officers arrested Tancredi for disorderly conduct, and when they brought him back to headquarters and searched him, they found oxycontin and other pills. They also compared Tancredi's ID card to the official-issue identification carried by Harrison police. Tancredi's card was "a different one that he probably had made somewhere else" and wasn't issued by any law enforcement agency, Ladeairous said.

Tancredi, 45, had spent the weekend in Westchester County Jail following his arrest in Port Chester Saturday. He appeared in court Monday handcuffed and wearing a blue T-shirt and black slacks.

Before bail was set Tancredi introduced to the court his mother, son, wife and ex-wife in an attempt to convince Judge Joseph Vita he would not be a flight risk.

Lawyers for Tancredi originally asked Judge Vita for a release without bail, which was denied.

"He is a lifetime resident of Harrison," said Gary Kropkowski, of the Legal Aid Society. "There is also no record of failure to appear."

Kropkowski said after the hearing that it is too early to comment on the case at this time.

Tancredi is no stranger to headlines in Harrison. He served as Harrison PBA president while an active officer and has been the plaintiff in four lawsuits against the town since his dismissal. All of the lawsuits were eventually dismissed.  

The former officer has also faced legal trouble in the past. He was accused of attacking his then-ex-girlfriend, Sofia Saenz, on June 15, 2007. The couple were later married and charges in that case were eventually dismissed without cooperation of the victim. Saenz would later file a lawsuit against the town for allegedly forcing her to sign an order of protection.

He posted $1,000 bail and his case was adjourned until Aug. 23.