'His legacy will never be forgotten': Former Palm Beach Police Chief Joe Terlizzese dies

Former Palm Beach Police Chief Joseph L. Terlizzese, who led the department through numerous big-name investigations such as the William Kennedy Smith rape trial, has died, according to a Facebook post from the Palm Beach Police Department.

"Joseph Terlizzese served 37 years in law enforcement before his retirement. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Chief Joseph L. Terlizzese will be missed, but his legacy will never be forgotten," the Facebook post read.

Mr. Terlizzese, who was chief from 1978 to 1998, died Aug. 3, 2022, according to former Chief Michael Reiter.

"Chief Terlizzese was a friend and mentor to me and generations of police officers in Palm Beach," Reiter said in an email. "He modernized and professionalized policing in the town, strongly encouraging police officers to obtain college degrees and to seek continued professional development. The Palm Beach Police Department became one of the first national- and state-accredited law enforcement agencies in South Florida under his leadership.''

Mr. Terlizzese was president of the Palm Beach County Police Chiefs Association and chairman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Organized Crime Committee, Reiter said.

He started Palm Beach Crime Watch ''at a time when meaningful police-community partnerships in the United States were in their infancy,'' according to Reiter.

"The low crime rate and high level of security that the town enjoys today is built upon the foundation that he began four decades ago. I am forever thankful for the opportunities that he gave me, he will be missed, and my heart goes out to Chief Terlizzese’s family," Reiter said.

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Town Manager Kirk Blouin, the former head of public safety for the town, worked under Mr. Terlizzese for about 10 years.

"He ran a tight ship. He was a non-nonsense leader,'' Blouin said.

It was the chief's running of the department that is his legacy, Blouin said, adding that though tough, Mr. Terlizzese was fair and rewarded hard work, and through his leadership, the town's crime rate dropped.

Before Mr. Terlizzese's arrival, the police officers "lacked training and technology and weren't very skilled ... He applied his leadership to a department that needed it," Blouin said.

Mr. Terlizzese, who had lived in Vero Beach for several years, was replaced by Frank Croft as chief. Croft retired in 2001 and was replaced by Reiter.

Mr. Terlizzese was a captain with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department who competed against 105 applicants to become Palm Beach's police chief. The town broke a 50-year tradition by hiring an outsider, according to a Daily News story when he retired.

After joining the Fort Lauderdale Police in 1961, Mr. Terlizzese rose through the ranks, going from motorcycle patrol officer to homicide detective to patrol sergeant in seven years. In 1977, he graduated from Nova Southeastern University with a master's degree in criminal justice administration. That same year, he served as head of the police department's organized crime bureau, helping to smash a $5 million gambling operation.

In the retirement article, Croft credited his predecessor with upgrading the department.

"We suffered from a lot of unprofessional personnel," recalled Croft, who joined the police department two years before Mr. Terlizzese became chief. "There were only a few college-educated police officers at the time. There was also a certain degree of organizational corruption and a lack of professional supervision."

Mr. Terlizzese, who was known as a non-nonsense chief, said his "first three years as chief were the most difficult, mainly because of personnel-related problems."

He shook up the police department, firing one veteran sergeant whom he viewed as a threat to the department's morale. More than a dozen officers left the department by the end of MrTerlizzese's first year as chief.

He also campaigned vigorously for new equipment and a new police station. Following the passage of a bond issue, in 1986, the department moved from its cramped base in Town Hall to a new police headquarters.

Former Mayor Gail Coniglio said she found the chief to be "protective of the town."

"You always got the unvarnished truth from Joe and I appreciated that.''

Under Mr. Terlizzese, Palm Beach's serious crimes rate dropped during the mid-1980s. Police blamed the spread of crack cocaine for thefts that led to an increase in the crime rate in the late 1980s. In the mid-1990s, a rash of burglaries plagued the town, resulting in the formation of the police department's burglary unit.

Probably the biggest cases during his tenure involved the Kennedy family.

On April 25, 1984, David Kennedy died of a drug overdose at The Brazilian Court. Two bellmen were charged with selling and conspiring to sell cocaine to Kennedy, who was the son of Robert F. Kennedy.

In another case that attracted national scrutiny, William Kennedy Smith was charged in March 1991 with raping a woman at the family's Palm Beach estate. Smith, the son of Jean Kennedy Smith, was found not guilty at trial.

He also was chief in 1996 when Geraldine Pucillo was murdered in her home. Kim Duane Cain, an employee with the pest control company that serviced Pucillo's home, was later arrested and convicted of murder.

A memorial service for Mr. Terlizzese will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 17 at Christ Church, 667 20th St., Vero Beach, Reiter said.

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Andrew J. Davis is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at adavis@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

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Palm Beach Police Chiefs

Nicholas P. Caristo, 2019-present

Kirk Blouin, 2009-2018

Michael S. Reiter, 2001-2009

Frank A. Croft, 1998-2001

Joseph L. Terlizzese, 1978-1998

Joseph M. Gaffney, 1975-1978

Fred Mead, 1967-1975

Homer Large, 1959-1967

Eddie Longo, 1946-1959

Joseph Borman Marshal, 1911-1946

* Source: Town of Palm Beach

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Former Palm Beach Police Chief Joseph Terlizzese dies