Richard Loccke, a labor lawyer who played a key behind-the-scenes role in shaping law enforcement policy at the municipal, county and state levels, died Monday at his home in Rutherford. He was 79.
Loccke and his small firm, Hackensack, once represented nearly every police union in North Jersey, winning favorable contracts and big pay raises for police while often drawing the weary ire of city officials who saw their budgets stretched.
Loccke, tall with a baritone voice, was seen by clients and opponents alike as a powerful presence at the negotiating table. David Jones, the former president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association who worked closely with Loccke, once compared him to boxer Mike Tyson. Loccke told NorthJersey.com in a 2005 profile that he wouldn’t characterize his negotiating style as overly aggressive.
“I’ve never intimidated anyone,” he said, laughing. “I’ve never exploited anyone.”
The grandson of Sicilian immigrants, Loccke grew up in Rutherford and remained there almost all his life. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1970 and then from Seton Hall Law School. After a short period at an insurance company, Loccke started working in employment law together with his partner Manuel Correia.
One of Loccke’s biggest coups came in 1977 when he negotiated a contract for the then-Bergen County Police Department that guaranteed officers’ pay would always remain within 5% of the highest-paid local police force in the county. In 2003, 80% of the 82-member force earned more than $100,000, not including overtime.
Local police unions began using Loccke and his firm almost exclusively for contract negotiations, allowing him to play off one city from another. When police in one city received a generous pay raise, Loccke argued before arbitrators that police in a neighboring city deserved the same, causing a ripple effect throughout the region.
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When municipal officials argued that they could not afford generous pay increases, Loccke often brought newspaper clippings to a negotiating session over expensive public works projects, whether it was a new playground or a road project. If the city could afford those expensive items, it could certainly afford pay increases for the police, he would argue.
Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, a budget hawk who often negotiated with Loccke, said the lawyer used the state’s binding arbitration laws to his advantage to secure the best deals. “He’s a tough opponent,” Lonegan said in 2005. “That’s his job. It’s to do his best for his bargaining unit, and I respect him for that.”
Loccke is survived by his partner, Ann Twomey, his son, Richard Edward Loccke and wife Susan of Ridgewood, his daughter, Christina Loccke and husband Tom Johnson of Montclair. He also has seven grandchildren, Olivia, Juliana, Andrew, Mirabelle, Claudette, Spencer and Cora.
Visitation will be held at Calhoun Mania Funeral Home from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday and from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Thursday. A memorial service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Church of St. Mary in Rutherford, followed by burial at the George Washington Cemetery.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Richard Loccke, labor lawyer who represented NJ police, dies
