By 1927 he was President of the NJSACOP. A year later Chief Siccardi and the Bergen County Police Department
made police history when he established the“ Aerial Police,” the first of its kind in the United States. This interest in airplanes and flight brought him into contact with some of the most interesting and colorful figures of his day. He became a close personal friend of renowned aviator Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, and was publicly thanked by the famous pilot for guarding the famous“ Spirit of St. Louis” when it spent two weeks at Teterboro airport just weeks after Lindbergh completed his acclaimed first solo transatlantic flight in history. Chief Siccardi was one of 4 passengers that Lindbergh took up with him during a test flight of a new Fokker Universal monoplane. Chief Siccardi would later play a significant role in the search for the kidnapper of Col. Lindbergh’ s baby son in 1932. The interest in Fokker airplanes also brought him into contact with another aviator and national hero, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd. Chief Siccardi earned a spot on the society pages in 1930 when it was learned that he and his wife had been the only witnesses at the secret wedding of Admiral Byrd’ s comrade and aide Bernt Balchen.
The Bergen County PD became the first agency in the state to use a two-way radio communication system. The department used station WPFK for its signal, and rarely a month went by that the NJSACOP meeting minutes did not include an offer from Chief Siccardi to his colleagues to make free use at any time of this unique asset.
Not content with his duties as Bergen County Police Chief and as perhaps the most active member of the State Chiefs Association, in 1931 he was a founding member and the first president of the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association. At the same time, he served( as he would for many years) as the NJSACOP Legislative Committee chairman, and was the Association’ s presence in Trenton, conferring with the attorney general, the State Police superintendent, legislators and the governor on all matters related to law enforcement. Of course, he kept a special eye out for bills that directly impacted his colleagues.
After a very busy term as NJSACOP President, Chief Siccardi remained as active as ever within the Association. His name is everywhere in the minutes, serving as chairman of most( and at times all) of the most important committees, securing the membership of a wide variety of chiefs, addressing a multitude of topics, and oft times being appointed by the president as“ a committee of one.” If a chief was in need of assistance, he was almost sure to help lead the effort to assist in resolving the problem.
In the early years of the 1930s his talents were recognized beyond the borders of New Jersey, and we were required to share him with the rest of the country. A special emergency commission on crime was named in 1933 to confer with the U. S. Attorney General to address“ kidnapping and racketeering.” This was at the height of the“ gangster era.” J. Edgar Hoover, chief of what was then known as the Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation was named to the 14-member commission, as were chiefs of the St. Louis, Washington, DC, Detroit, San Francisco and Richmond police departments. Chief Siccardi was appointed as well.
At the urging of his NJSACOP colleagues, Chief Siccardi successfully ran for office with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, serving as president in 1934-1935. Not surprisingly, he threw himself into his role with the IACP with the same energy and drive that he brought to the New Jersey Chiefs. As IACP President, he took on perhaps his greatest challenge: interesting Hollywood in eliminating from films anything glorifying criminals“ or lead weaklings to a life of crime.” An article in the Los Angeles Times quoted Chief Siccardi as saying instead‘ of glorifying
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