By JANE SCHMITT

Dan De Federicis is at the top of the Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers Inc.

In his third term as president, he has a big job in a big organization, and he takes tremendous pride in representing its 6,000 active and retired members in 62 counties statewide.

"Trooper safety is No. 1 on our agenda. It has to be," said De Federicis. "For a number of years, I strapped on a gun and bulletproof vest, so I know. The job certainly has changed and evolved, but at its core, it is in some ways the same as it was in 1917 when we first started: You're in a dangerous job serving the public."

He and the PBA's board of directors work to improve working conditions for men and women in the New York State Police, from road troopers to majors. Among the issues they deal with are proper training and equipment; vehicle safety; and field operations, including adequate backup for officers responding to criminal incidents.

"In 2006, the New York State Police was No. 1 nationwide on the list of officers killed (in the line of duty)," De Federicis said. "That is a list we don't ever want to be on, yet we were No. 1. That shows how dangerous the job of state trooper is.

"It's the (police) agency's job - and it's this union's job to prod the agency, to remind the agency that has been negligent in the past - that trooper safety is No. 1," he said. "We cannot protect the public if the agency cannot even protect our own troopers."

Another issue close to his heart? Fair wages and benefits.

"I am happy to say that we just settled a collective-bargaining agreement with the state," De Federicis said. "That is important. Financial issues are important to any union. We have to get our people paid and paid fairly."

Law enforcement has been his life's passion, and it's easy to understand why. Growing up in Cheektowaga, he saw his late father serve the public as the town's chief of police and, later, as a judge in the Chautauqua County town of Arkwright. That had a profound influence on De Federicis, the youngest of five children, and he entered the New York State Police Academy in 1987.

"It felt natural," he said. "I was proud to follow in my father's footsteps."

After graduating, he was assigned to various stations around the state, including the Adirondacks, Orange County and Western New York. In 1992, he was promoted to sergeant, and in 1998 he achieved the rank of zone sergeant.

Years of patrol provided an up-close look into every corner of the Empire State, he said.

"When someone says to me, ‘Oh, I live in a small town south of Syracuse. You never heard of it,' I say, ‘Try me.' I can usually tell them what route goes through the town, the name of the diner and, once in a while, I know their neighbor. Their jaw just drops," De Federicis said. "This is a beautiful state with great people."

Now on leave, he still finds himself a regular on the roads, putting in 50-hour workweeks as he travels county to county to meet with union officials and members. In Albany, meanwhile, you'll find him negotiating with the governor or lobbying legislators.

Said De Federicis: "I joke that my second home is the New York State Thruway."

When he decided to run for the office of PBA president, he became the first candidate to be elected directly from the field of members. He now is in the midst of his third three-year term.

"I think that says a lot about him," said his former supervisor, Hon. David O'Connor, a retired State Police captain who now serves as town justice in Pembroke.

"He took his job seriously. He was always very professional and hardworking, but at the same time, he could tell a joke and you could have some fun with him," O'Connor said. "He was open-minded and would always listen to both sides of (an issue) before he made up his mind."

Fair yet aggressive - those are qualities his constituents want and demand in a union leader, De Federicis said. And he's happy to comply.

"I have been doing this for just under eight years, and you really have to grow in this job," he said. "You have tremendous responsibility for their safety. Whether (troopers) go home to their families, this union has an effect on that.

"There were times when if I could have done something different, I would. But we have been a very assertive and aggressive union. Some people have accused me of being too aggressive, but I take that as a compliment."

He adds: "It's easy to have passion when you are representing heroes who are putting their lives on the line every day."

Two things most people don't know about DeFedericis? He's a fan of rockabilly music, and he holds a law degree from the University at Buffalo, where he was a member of the class of 2000.

Indeed, he's happily applying many of the things he learned in law school to his union dealings.

"It taught me a different way of thinking and analyzing and determining. When I see legal documents in court cases, I can really tear it apart and find out the issue," said DeFedericis, who now lives in Saratoga Springs. "I'm not intimidated.

"Something else: Law school taught me to get to the point. ‘Go for the goal,' " he adds. "You have to learn clearly what (you are) trying to do in any sort of legal situation, and that carried over in my professional and personal lives. You set a goal and you strive to achieve it. Law school helped me to find out what the goal is, find out where I'm trying to go and then get there."

Jane Schmitt is a Williamsville freelance writer.