Hero N.J. cop turned NBA ref helps vets with PTSD

Hero N.J. cop turned NBA ref helps vets with post-traumatic stress
WEDNESDAY MAY 23, 2012
BY JEFF ROBERTS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

The shotgun never was out of reach, stashed near the bed on those anxious nights Bob Delaney actually dared to sleep.

A threat had been discovered on a wiretap recording, part of a conversation among mob figures. And the message was all too clear.

Delaney had to die.

“All I was thinking was, ‘They’re coming to get me,’ ” the former New Jersey State Trooper said.

The mob never caught up with the Paterson native, despite his work in the landmark undercover operation Project Alpha, in which he infiltrated the Genovese and Bruno crime families from 1975 to 1977.

But the stress of being so deeply immersed — often with a wire attached to his body — exacted a toll on Delaney.

However, the hero cop turned decorated NBA referee has harnessed that experience in his third career, helping the soldiers and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars cope with the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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