No offense intended

BLOOMING GROVE — State police Investigator Paul Cavallaro says he’s got nothing against New Yorkers. In a May appearance, following the Virginia Tech shootings, Cavallaro told the Delaware Valley School Board that crime was “running rampant” in the area and that New Yorkers moving into Pike County were “bringing their problems with them.” The Courier’s account of his appearance prompted critical letters and blog comments on pikecountycourier.com from several expatriate New Yorkers, who denounced his remarks as prejudicial and called for a public apology. There were also comments defending the officer, for taking his stance. For his part, Cavallaro said Monday that he did not mean to offend anyone with his remarks and that singling out New Yorkers for blame would be prejudical. “That fact is, we have more and more people moving into the area and the more people you have, the more crime you’re going to have ... Hey, I’m not going to pick on New Yorkers. I’m from New York,” he said.