'A Little Bittersweet': Retiring N.J. Sheriff Plays Santa a Final Time

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura played Santa Claus one last time on Tuesday, dashing through the streets of Newark in a caravan of SUVs to deliver toys and clothing to needy children.

For Fontoura, the Christmas toy giveaway is a holiday tradition he started 33 years ago when he became sheriff. And on Tuesday, he called it “my last hurrah,” since he is retiring on Dec. 31.

“This is a little bittersweet,” Fontoura said. “This is the best part of the job, and for these officers it's the best day of the year, seeing all the smiles on the faces.”

Fontoura, 81, is finishing his 11th term as sheriff, getting set to turn the department over to Amiri Jones, who was elected by a landslide in November. Jones, 40, played Santa’s helper, handing out gifts at each stop with Fontoura.

“I am the old sheriff,” Fontoura said after he finished distributing gifts to the children at the first stop, 14th Avenue Elementary School on the West side. “This is the new sheriff,” putting his arm around Jones’ back. “And he’ll be back next year.”

Jones said he’s been working the toy giveaway since he became a sheriff’s officer 15 years ago and plans to continue the tradition.

“He left the blueprint for me and for all of us,” Jones said. Officers distributed more than 3,500 donated toys and 300 coats at 47 locations on Tuesday, the sheriff’s department said.

Fontoura, who also serves as the unpaid head of the Office of Emergency Management, has worked countless blizzards, flash floods and hurricanes. As sheriff, he served on President Bill Clinton’s White House Anti-Crime Strategy Council and was in charge of Essex County’s response to 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fontoura said he loved being sheriff, but its time to move on. “It goes on all night long,” Fontoura said. “Who needs the bomb squad, who needs the K-9 unit. The calls keep coming in. It’s time for a young man to take over.”

The sheriff says he feels fine, and as if to prove it, Fontoura did a nimble cha-cha while the children sang Feliz Navidad at next stop, the La Casa de Don Pedro daycare center on First Street. After handing out gifts, Fontoura paused to reflect on his near 60-year career in law enforcement, first as a Newark cop and since 1990 as sheriff.

Like everyone else, Fontoura has had his highs and lows. “Everything you do for this community that makes them feel safe, that’s a high,” he said. “The lows are when you have to arrest someone or come out in the middle of the night during a hurricane. And of course, the riots broke your heart.”

Fontura was a rookie with the Newark police department during the summer of 1967 when the city exploded in riots that burned city blocks and cost 26 lives. His career has run parallel to Newark’s slow and unsteady recovery.

Born in Portugal, Fontura came to America with his family when he was 12 years old. He grew up in the Ironbound section of Newark.

“I didn’t speak a word of English when I got here,” he said. “My father said to me, ‘you better learn the language, because we’re not going back.‘”

His parents wanted him to learn a trade, but after a stint in the Army, Fontura said a family friend convinced him to the test to become a Newark cop, and a career was born that took him from the streets of Ironbound to the White House and back.

His last day as sheriff is Dec. 31.

“This is a kid who came from a different country,” he said. “This has been a great ride, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

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