EDISON — A plea deal for the five Edison police officers who have been charged with being paid for extra-duty jobs when they were allegedly not present, is still on the table up until the grand jury date on Sept. 21, according to Assistant Prosecutor Christine D’Elia.
Four of the five officers made their second appearance alongside their attorneys in state Superior Court, New Brunswick, on Aug. 21.
Sgt. Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 38, of Edison; Sgt. Brian Rossmeyer, 41, of Bedminister; Patrolman Gregory Makras, 33, of Cranford; and Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 32, of Edison, appeared before Judge Michael A. Toto. Patrolman Paul Pappas, 43, of Edison, was not present.
The attorneys for the officers did not speak at the hearing nor did they offer if the officers would take a plea deal in the case.
D’Elia said she spoke to all the defense attorneys and the case has been referred to the grand jury for Sept. 21.
“We are still investigating [the case] and speaking to people,” she said.
D’Elia said as part of the investigation they had a 56-minute interview with Pappas. She said additional charges may be handed to one of the officers charged with the information Pappas provided in the interview.
The assistant prosecutor said with the plea deal offered, the officers would plead to a second degree offense for the charges, spend four years in state prison with a two year parole stipulation. She has said the plea deal also would include the officers forfeiting their employment as police officers and restitution for the money taken in the part-time jobs.
The five officers 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.
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, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew 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.
All five police officers identified by the prosecutor were immediately suspended from their jobs without pay, according to municipal officials.
On June 13, the Edison Township Council approved a resolution authorizing the use of competitive contracting for the management and administration of the Edison Police Division’s off-duty detail management.
Police Chief Thomas Bryan has said he has limited the allowance of extra-duty jobs in the department.
In addition to the charges 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.
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.