Police are investigating racially charged stickers that rail against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) while incriminating West Harrison Fire Department Chief Pat Galluzzo.
The stickers, found over the weekend at a Yorktown restaurant and last month at a New York State Thruway rest stop, tell white voters to "wake up." They also suggest Obama would be a "savage negro president." Galluzzo's cell phone number is at the bottom of the stickers.
"I'm a reputable member of the community and recipient of a prank," says Galluzzo, who has filed a police complaint. "These are not my beliefs." Galluzzo plans to change his phone number.
Harrison police are probing the incident, which they consider to be harassment against the 35-year fire department veteran. Officials are also deciding whether the stickers represent a bias crime.
Presidential candidates Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) next face off May 6 in the Indiana and North Carolina contests.