Former Vineland Police Chief Mario Brunetta Jr. Dies at 78

Mario R. Brunetta Jr. spent the better part of five decades shaping law enforcement in the city where he was born. The former chief of the Vineland Police Department died in the early hours of March 28, 2026. He was 78.

His career traced a path familiar to a generation of post-war law enforcement leaders: military service first, then a badge. After serving in the United States Air Force, Brunetta joined the Vineland Police Department and worked through its ranks as detective, captain, and acting chief before his formal appointment as chief of police. Along the way, he earned two credentials that defined serious investigative careers of his era: graduation from Polygraph School and completion of the FBI National Academy, the selective Quantico program that draws law enforcement leaders from agencies across the country.

Those credentials carried particular weight in a city that is, by any measure, demanding to police. Vineland spans 68.7 square miles, making it the largest municipality by land area in New Jersey, with roughly 61,000 residents spread across urban, suburban, and rural terrain. The department Chief Steven Triantos leads today fields approximately 160 sworn officers and civilians, organized into Uniform Patrol, Investigations, and Support Services bureaus. The institutional culture Brunetta helped build across his decades in the ranks is embedded in that structure.

Beyond his law enforcement work, Brunetta was recognized by the broader Vineland community. St. Augustine Prep honored him with its Gregor Mendel Award, a distinction typically conferred on individuals whose lives reflect civic and moral leadership. He remained a known figure in Vineland after retirement, and he was an avid sailor, one of the few details of private life that surfaced alongside a biography otherwise defined by public obligation.

Funeral services were handled by the Rone Funeral Service. The community gathered for visitations before a Mass at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, the Church of St. Michael, with interment at St. Mary's Cemetery in Vineland in the final days of March and first days of April. A condolence guestbook remained open online for friends and family in the days following his death.

Brunetta's passing drew local reflections on what his long career meant for Vineland's public safety posture, a city he first patrolled as a detective and ultimately led as its top law enforcement officer.