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The Edison Police officers were charged with racketeering, bribery, theft, money laundering and witness tampering, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department said on Friday, Oct. 14.
They did not say how much taxpayer money was stolen by the former officers.
Sergeant Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 43, of Edison Township, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 36, of Jackson Township, Patrolman Gregory Makras, 38, of Cranford and Sergeant Brian Rossmeyer, 45, of Bridgewater were charged in the indictment with racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, theft, money laundering, official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct, hindering apprehension, fabricating evidence, falsifying documents, failure to pay income tax, filing fraudulent tax returns, witness tampering, retaliating against a witness and retaliation for past official action.
A lengthy internal affairs investigation determined that from 2016 to 2018 officers were involved in a scheme designed to exploit the Edison Police Department’s extra duty job assignments, by getting paid for extra-duty jobs for which they did not appear.
These officers, who volunteered to take these extra assignments, had full police responsibilities while assigned to the extra-duty jobs. These assignments included directing traffic for utility companies as well as providing security services for local businesses and residential communities.
The investigation further revealed that Mpletsakis stole from the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) by using a PBA debit card to make unauthorized purchases for personal items and used his executive position on the Edison PBA Local 75 to defraud Edison Township and the PBA.
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