EDISON — Five Edison police officers have been charged with being paid for extra-duty jobs for which they were allegedly not present, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey and Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan announced.
The officers, Sgt. Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 38, Patrolman Paul Pappas, 43, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 32, all of Edison, Patrolman Gregory Makras, 33, of Cranford, and Sgt. Brian Rossmeyer, 41, of Bedminister, were each charged on June 1 with two counts of official misconduct in the second degree and one count of theft by unlawful taking in the third degree, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The officers are scheduled to make their initial court appearance in state Superior Court, New Brunswick, on June 21.
During an investigation between Nov. 14, 2016, and May 1, it was determined certain police officers of the Edison Police Department had allegedly been getting paid for extra-duty jobs for which they were not present, Carey said. The side jobs were in addition to the officers’ regular hours, during which a member of the police department is assigned to work for the town, he said.
The officers who volunteer to take the extra assignments have full police responsibilities while performing the extra-duty assignments. The extra-duty assignments include directing traffic for utility companies at work sites and providing security services for local businesses and residential communities, Carey said.
In Edison, there is no centralized system of assignment for the extra-duty jobs. Instead, Carey said, several individuals in the police department have wide discretion as to who gets the assignments.
Payment for the side jobs is billed through the township’s payroll for police services. The fee charged includes an administrative fee and an additional fee for a police vehicle when one is required, Carey said.
“Any police officer who knowingly got paid for an off duty-job they did not do is guilty of malfeasance,” Carey said in a statement. “Edison officials, however, are responsible for allowing a system of fiscal irresponsibility to exist. The assignment of extra-duty jobs being handled by multiple individuals with very little oversight, paired with an inadequate system of accounting, has directly resulted in nepotism and corruption.”
All five police officers identified by the prosecutor were immediately suspended from their jobs without pay, according to municipal officials.
Mpletsakis has been a member of the Edison Police Department for 16 years, Rossmeyer for 11 years, Makras for seven years, and Panagoulakos for four years.
In addition to the charges that were announced on June 1, Pappas, who is a 14-year veteran of the police department, is already facing computer theft/criminal activity and stalking charges from April after he allegedly slashed his former girlfriend’s car tires in New Brunswick while he was on duty in March.
Pappas had allegedly been making unauthorized full disclosure inquiries into the New Jersey Criminal Justice Information System and using information to stalk his ex-girlfriend, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan said, “Once again, this demonstrates the Edison Police Department took appropriate action. We identified an internal concern. We alerted the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office about those concerns and detectives from our Professional Standards Bureau worked closely with the county to investigate these matters. We continue to cooperate with the prosecutor’s office as this investigation proceeds.”
Anyone with information about the incidents may call Capt. Kenneth Schreck of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7453, or Detective Nicholas Chiorello of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-5217.