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Coast Guard member taken into custody in South Carolina

Posted on 28 August 2008 by Peter Stinson | Comments

A petty officer serving in South Carolina, Petty Officer Jeffery Ruggerio, has reportedly been taken into custody by the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. Earlier this summer, Petty Officer Ruggerio was convicted in New Hampshire of three counts of violating a domestic violence restraining order, but he’d remained on active duty pending an investigation into a series of allegations his wife had made.

We received word that deputies from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office took Petty Officer Ruggerio into custody today, without incident, and he is in the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center pending extradition to New Hampshire to serve out his sentence. Further details are unavailable at this time.

Notes the website for the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office,

It is the mission of Georgetown County to provide quality services to the general public in a courteous and efficient manner contributing to the health, safety, and welfare of all.

Our primary duty is to protect the life and property of all citizens in Georgetown County. It is the goal of the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office to reduce both crime and the fear of crime throughout Georgetown County. We seek to fortify the public’s trust from which our authority is derived.

It is clear that the Sheriff Lane Cribb and his deputies take their duty “to reduce the fear of crime” seriously.

Regular readers of AN UNOFFICIAL COAST GUARD BLOG will remember that we reported the troubles Ms. Ruggerio was going through in getting help from the Coast Guard; she felt that no one in the Coast Guard had taken her situation seriously, and she reached out to this new media outlet as well as Thomas Jackson’s Coast Guard Report. We have published 19 posts on this case, many of which have raised the ire of members of the Coast Guard family. We have been praised and condemned and ridiculed for our reporting and our active intervention.

Wrote Ms. Ruggerio this evening,

I am very thankful to the State of NH for allowing justice to be served. I am also very thankful to CGBlog and Coast Guard Report for making me believe in the USCG again. The USCG should be thankful for members such as yourself because you are “the guardian ethos.”

While we here at AN UNOFFICIAL COAST GUARD BLOG appreciate her comments, we know we haven’t done anything extraordinary. Honor; respect; devotion to duty. Nothing more.

Ms. Ruggerio also noted that during her journey to resolve the situation,

We [,our entire family and friends,] all had lost our faith. The USCG needs to … create [and follow] proper procedures, processes, and policies in regards to family members who report domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is real, and it’s not going away. Victims are scared enough to stand [up] to their offender; it is worse when the offenders are shielded by government agencies whose responsibility and oath is to protect and serve.

Ms. Ruggerio will finally be able to sleep at night and not worry about her safety. Her daughter, who turns six tomorrow, starts kindergarten next week; Ms. Ruggerio is convinced “Miracles do happen, and justice does win in the end.”

Category: Domestic Violence, by Peter Stinson | Comments
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  • Peter A. Stinson
    BMC,


    Thank you for this comment.



    The more I think about this entire sad situation, the more convinced I am that we, as a service, failed this member some number of times over the years.



    If you'd like, would you contact me? I'm trying to piece together the timeline, and there are some things alleged by Jeff's brother concerning Jeff's return from active duty that first stint. Something about his being a changed man, and not all for the better. Any discussion or comments would be off the record, as background only, or on the record: your call.



    You can reach me athttp://www.contactify.com/9931a



    Thanks for your consideration.
  • BMC
    I was made aware of the BM1 Jeffery Ruggiero situation 2 days ago. I've spent the last 2 days reading every bit of information I could find and to be honest with you I've been both shocked and depressed. I feel it my responsibility to share with you the Jeff Ruggiero I knew. I served with Jeff at a CG smallboat station from mid 2004 to the day he was released from active duty. I was Jeffs "Chief" (those of you who have spent time in the CG on active duty know what I'm referring to). I spent 21 years in the CG and was a hard nosed Chief who believed that everyone who volunteered to join the CG owed the American public 110% daily. Jeff was my go to guy, when that call for help came in I sent Jeff. He was the guy who could get the job done and return safely with his crew. He was a role model to the younger Coasties and he expected nothing less of them then I expected of him. It was a pleasure to have a guy like Jeff in your crew. I conducted Jeff's reenlistment interview or should I put it, I begged him to reenlist. The command is only as good as their crew and Jeff's ability as a Boatswainsmate and boat coxswain made the command shine. Jeff saw a need to join the civilian sector and travel a different path. He'd call me periodically and I could always tell that he yearned for the CG, the thrill of the rescue, the look in the young sailors eyes when he ran the smallboat in the worst of weather and the pat on the back by his Chief and the reply good job Reggie. Was every day a cake walk with Jeff, absolutely not. It was a balancing act. So what went wrong? I can't answer that question. The guy I've been reading about is not the shipmate that I call my friend. I read the Blog from his brother Dan and I also grew up in a traditional Italian family with old country values. I hope that some day Jeff can make amends with his Family. My father used to say "in the end, the only people that will be there for you are your family". I've only read half of the story so I don't know what to say to Kristen, the monster that I've read about is not the guy I new. I hope that his daughter knows the guy I call my friend Jeff. I hope that Jeff receives the proper medical care for his condition. That he understands the pain and embarrassment that he has caused and that he finds it in his heart to bury the hatchet and move on with his life. I've been told that the embarrassing pictures of him are going to be made available to the public. Hasn't enough pain been felt by all involved, he has 3 children that don't need to live with that embarrassment. His punishment will be three years in prison and what to do with the rest of his life when he gets out. Lets end this barrage of attacks and hatred and move on with life it's too short.
  • K
    These comments are getting childish. The facts have been reported, the state of NH has extradited, Jeffrey is locked up and for the first time in a long time my daughter and I are living life again. We are happy to be safe and appreciative to be alive.




    Hopefully the USCG will improve their P&P's on how they address domestic violence and/or abuse complaints that are reported against their members.



    If they do it will be a positive to too many years of negative in the end.



    Best Wishes for a Safe and Happy Labor Day
  • Anonymous
    "...buck up...."


    Interesting - that's the exact choice of words used in the threatening text message Mr. Simpson received - supposedly from Ruggiero. Oh wait, that individual was in jail at 1:30 this morning - pretty sure internet isn't available there.



    Hum....
  • whatever
    anonymous


    it's great that you make unsupported statements. you want to talk to the talk, well buck up and support it with some facts
  • Anonymous
    Seconded...Also, the bloggers have a way over-inflated opinion of their impact on this case that was being handled long before they got involved and the outcome of which was not influenced by their banter.
  • Anonymous
    I think both husband and wife are crazy - and both have had their 15 minutes of fame. Time to move on.....
  • K
    anonymous


    If you know the other half... Please do tell, I welcome the other side opinion and "thoughts".

    You obviously know so much, so let's hear it.
  • K
    NECN is going live tonight at 9pm regarding NH, USCG and BM1 Ruggiero-Part 2
  • Peter A. Stinson
    Anonymous,


    I might be deluded, but the record will show that the Coast Guard has dropped the ball a number of times; the processes and systems are broke.



    Thanks for reading... and being so honorable to stand up for your, er, anonymous beliefs.
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