The Man West Orange So Often Turns To…But Always Fails to Give Proper Credit

WEST ORANGE, N.J. - Aug. 2, 2016 - PRLog -- When the police chief and the fire chief of West Orange, New Jersey, each independently came up with the idea to hang portraits of their predecessors in police and fire headquarters respectively, they immediately contacted West Orange author/historian John Dandola.

Dandola, who not only continues to live in town but whose family has been here longer than there even was a town, has a long track record as the man who can get things accomplished when it comes to history and artistry. Unfortunately, he also has just as long a track record of being used by and then snubbed by generations of West Orange politicians. It is quite remarkably a case of municipal shortsightedness since Dandola has brought both national and international attention to the town through his West Orange mystery novels.

The sad truth is that Dandola has had continual and well-publicized clashes with local politicians and their subordinates over their plagiarism and copyright infringement of his work. Being very apolitical, he has successfully sued on multiple occasions for that type of theft.

"Imagine how jarring it has been to find my work—words or images—in books and in campaign literature without my permission and without payment. Copyright protection gives me the legal power to approve and set the terms of how and where my work is used. I don't own copyrights because I think I'm a big shot. I own copyrights to protect my creative output. That's what all professionals in the arts do."

So why did Dandola acquiesce to this police and fire project?

"I know both chiefs personally," he explains. "We have longtime ties through family and friends. I've had ancestors and relatives in both departments so I have a very human connection to such a request. For that reason, I presented the custom-framed photos as a gift because I personally felt that what the chiefs wanted to do was something both proper and respectful. I hope and pray outsiders don't make me regret it."

Besides personal ties, Dandola has also documented the foundings of both departments. He authored the West Orange Fire Department Centennial Album and in his mystery novel, Dead in Small Doses, he solved the 1883 cold case that led to the founding of the West Orange Police Department in 1884.

Now, he is not only writing a history about the origins of the WOPD but he is also contemplating doing a history about the municipal pool as it approaches its half-century mark. The latter would be most fitting since he was so closely associated as a lifeguard at that pool and he knows firsthand about the intricacies of its beginnings.

To read the full press release visit http://www.JohnDandola.com/TheManWestOrangeSoOftenTurnsTo...