PLUMSTED: Mayor addresses rumors of drug offenses by police

by Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
   PLUMSTED — Mayor Ron Dancer is addressing recent “rumors” that township police officers have been charged with drug-related offenses.
   The mayor said Monday that members of the Township Committee, Police Department and Plumsted Township Police Benevolent Association have been approached by residents concerned about rumors of police officers and drug charges. The rumors began two weeks ago, he said, and have been circulating throughout the township.
   The mayor issued a statement through his weekly Town Talk column this week, calling the rumors “totally baseless and fallacious.”
   The township is working to find the source of the rumor, he said, implying it might have been promulgated by someone charged with a crime by the department.
   ”In this line of work with law enforcement, action is taken that brings people to justice,” the mayor said. “It’s unfortunate that some people who are perhaps on the receiving end of that justice feel so inclined to start some sort of rumor like this.”
   Lt. George Titko, the highest ranking officer in the Police Department, confirmed that representatives of the Ocean County prosecutor’s office visited the station Monday, but declined to comment on the reason.
   Michael Mohel, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, would neither deny or confirm an investigation.