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OPIA Corruption Bureau

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Boonton Police Captain Stole Personnel, IA Files From HQ, Stashed Them At Shore, In Edison: AG Boonton Police Captain Stole Personnel, IA Files From HQ, Stashed Them At Shore, In Edison: AG
Boonton Police Captain Stole Personnel, IA Files From HQ, Stashed Them At Shore, In Edison: AG A town of Boonton police veteran who claimed he’d been harassed because of his role as a union negotiator was captured on surveillance video stealing his own internal affairs records along with computer drives containing department data, state authorities charged. Capt. Stephen Jones, 42, of Toms River, was his department’s officer-in-charge when he removed at least five computer towers, “three of which contained police information, including files on internal affairs matters,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Wednesday, March 8. Jones also stole his own personnel and …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Saddle Brook Police Chief Eyes Reinstatement, Restitution After Judge Stops Funeral Escort Case Saddle Brook Police Chief Eyes Reinstatement, Restitution After Judge Stops Funeral Escort Case
Saddle Brook Police Chief Eyes Reinstatement, Restitution After Judge Stops Funeral Escort Case Suspended Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler is seeking reinstatement, and restitution, following a judge's ruling that he was wrongly being prosecuted for assigning police escorts to processions from his family-owned funeral home. And despite having waited 18 months for vindication, Kugler isn’t angry. “I’ve turned the page,” he told Daily Voice. “I’m moving forward and expect to proudly return to be chief of police once again and serve my community and the general public. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.” State authorities wrongly applied a borough ordinance meant to keep police …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
OBSESSION: NJSP Trooper Headed To Prison For Stalking Female Driver OBSESSION: NJSP Trooper Headed To Prison For Stalking Female Driver
Obsession: Njsp Trooper Headed To Prison For Stalking Female Driver A New Jersey state trooper will be sentenced to a year without parole in state prison and lose his job after admitting that he stalked a female driver while on duty and disabled his dashcam to cover it up. Trooper Michael Patterson, 30, had pulled the victim over twice and then followed her home to hit on her, an indictment returned by a grand jury in Trenton had charged. Patterson took a deal from prosecutors and pleaded guilty Monday in Superior Court in New Brunswick to tampering with public records rather than risk trial, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. In exch…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Saddle Brook Chief Charged With Ordering On-Duty Police Escorts For His Funeral Business Saddle Brook Chief Charged With Ordering On-Duty Police Escorts For His Funeral Business
Saddle Brook Chief Charged With Ordering On-Duty Police Escorts For His Funeral Business State authorities on Monday charged Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler with ordering on-duty police officers to conduct escorts for his funeral business using department vehicles. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has temporarily assumed control over the day-to-day operation of the Saddle Brook Police Department as a result, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced. Kugler, 59, of Saddle Brook, was issued a summons charging him with conspiracy, official misconduct and corruption of public resources, Grewal said. A hearing was yet to be scheduled. He also was suspended wit…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
AG: Mid-State Correctional Officer Pepper Sprayed Inmate, Lied About It AG: Mid-State Correctional Officer Pepper Sprayed Inmate, Lied About It
AG: Mid-State Correctional Officer Pepper Sprayed Inmate, Lied About It A senior correctional officer from the Jersey Shore is accused of pepper spraying an inmate unjustly and then falsifying two reports about the incident, state authorities said. Jovanny Galindo, 32, of Neptune City filed a "special custody" and "use of force" report, saying the inmate was sitting down at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Wrightstown when the incident occurred.  Galindo reported that the inmate ignored an order and threatened him -- prompting Galindo to use the pepper-spray on June 16, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said on Thursday. An investigation f…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
5 From North Jersey Busted In Lucrative Political Bribery Scheme With Morristown Lawyer 5 From North Jersey Busted In Lucrative Political Bribery Scheme With Morristown Lawyer
5 From North Jersey Busted In Lucrative Political Bribery Scheme With Morristown Lawyer Five North Jersey residents were busted in a major political corruption case that has already produced charges against public officials and political candidates from Hudson and Morris counties. Last month, state officials said Elizabeth Valandingham, 47, had prepared and submitted proposals for the law firm where she worked to the township of Bloomfield for legal services between 2012 and 2016, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Valandingham said the company hadn’t made any political contributions. She was lying, Grewal said. Valandingham and an unnamed co-conspirator “recr…

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by Cecilia Levine