It’s a changing of the guard in Bay Ridge.
Deputy Inspector Richard DiBlasio is headed to Kensington after a three-year stint as top cop at the 68th Precinct — and the officer taking his place is the man behind the biggest gun bust in NYPD history.
The Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights police community council announced DiBlasio’s new post as commanding officer at the 70th Precinct on April 11. The outgoing boss said he would miss the neighborhoods he has protected and served beginning in 2011.
“After being blessed with having the honor of leading the 68th precinct for almost three years, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton has given me a new assignment,” DiBlasio said. “Thank you for the support, guidance, and encouragement you have provided to both me and the police officers who put their lives on the line each and every day.”
DiBlasio’s replacement is Captain Raymond Festino, formerly the commander of the Brooklyn-Queens Firearms Investigation Unit. Last year, he oversaw the largest seizure of banned firearms in city history — which raked in some 250 guns and 19 dealers, primarily in Brownsville and Ocean Hill.
