Police superintendent retires after probe for giving Rush Limbaugh special treatment

Michael Fedorko, 73, is a decorated former Marine.

May 7, 2018, 3:49 PM

The man in charge of police for the New York-area airports and the World Trade Center is retiring less than a month after he came under investigation for giving special treatment to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Michael Fedorko retired as superintendent of the Port Authority Police Department, the agency announced in a statement today. The retirement is effective immediately.

Fedorko, 73, is a decorated former Marine who has been PAPD superintendent since 2009.

“We thank Superintendent Fedorko not only for his service to the Port Authority, but for the dedication of his career to service to our region and country,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole and Executive Director Rick Cotton said in a statement.

They named deputy superintendent Ed Cetnar as Fedorko’s replacement on an acting basis.

Fedorko declined to comment on his decision to retire.

The announcement came after Limbaugh boasted on his radio show that Fedorko met him at Newark Liberty International Airport for a “lights and sirens” ride into Manhattan, where Limbaugh was filling in for Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation's 2018 Semper Fidelis Gala at Cipriani Wall Street.

PHOTO: Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh speaks during a ceremony inducting him into the Hall of Famous Missourians at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., May 14, 2012.
Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh speaks during a ceremony inducting him into the Hall of Famous Missourians at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., May 14, 2012.
Julie Smith/AP, FILE

“So they sent the superintendent of the Port Authority to Newark to meet me for lights and sirens into Manhattan to make sure I got there in time. And we did,” Limbaugh said according to a transcript of his April 13 program.

Fedorko is a vice president of the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.

He served from 1966 to 1972, earning a Purple Heart after being wounded in Vietnam. He was an acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police during the Whitman administration and served as head of the governor’s security unit during the Byrne and Kean administrations.

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