KELLY, staff writer, contributed to this report.Abington Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Wolfe's annual salary as police chief will be about $80,000, Pane said.ĬHRISTOPHER J. The 22-year-old started as a part-time patrol officer about 1 1/2 years ago. Egan will earn about $55,000 annually at first, but the pay will increase over time to the annual base rate of $74,191, township Secretary and Treasurer JoAnn Pane said. Part-time Patrolman Peter Egan will start as a full-time police officer May 21 to replace Wolfe on patrol. Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell said, 'We're confident (Wolfe) will set the same example.' Nudelman called Wolfe a 'solid candidate.' 'I think he did a fantastic job I want to keep that ship straight.' 'I've got big shoes to fill,' Wolfe said. Wolfe recently began shadowing Gerrity to get a handle on the administrative duties of a police chief. Wolfe, 49, started his career with the department as a part-timer in 1999, working over the years as a SWAT operator, a Lackawanna County Drug Task Force member, a firearms instructor, a criminal investigator and the agency's first K-9 handler. 'He's always been a leader all the years I've known him,' Nudelman said.

Nudelman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Northeastern Lodge 63, which covers South Abington Twp., said Gerrity's tenure is among the longest of any police chief in Lackawanna County's history.

While he feels 'good,' the chief said a recent illness convinced him it was time to retire. Longtime Supervisor Giles Stanton, among those who voted for Gerrity's appointment, took part in honoring him nearly 32 years later at Monday's meeting. The township's supervisors appointed him police chief in June 1991. Gerrity began his career as a part-time patrolman in Archbald in 1973, and then took a position in South Abington Twp.

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