EDISON — The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office is in the process of poring over 10,000 pages of bank records and audits and redacting unnecessary information in the case involving five Edison police officers who were indicted in October for “no show jobs.”
“This is a substantial case,” Assistant Prosecutor Christine D’Elia said before Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez, sitting in New Brunswick, on Dec. 6.
D’Elia said once the paperwork is reviewed, it can be turned over to the defense attorneys for discovery.
The five Edison police officers appeared before Jimenez with their attorneys and pleaded not guilty during their first appearance in court after the officers were indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury in October.
Sgt. Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 39, Patrolman Paul Pappas, 44, and Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 32, all of Edison; Patrolman Gregory Makras, 34, of Cranford; and Sgt. Brian Rossmeyer, 41, of Bedminister, were charged in an 11-count indictment with two counts of official misconduct in the second degree; participation in a pattern of official misconduct in the second degree; financial facilitation of criminal activity in the second degree; conspiracy to commit the crime of financial facilitation of criminal activity in the second degree; theft by unlawful taking in the second degree; and theft by deception in the second degree, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
D’Elia said a plea deal is on the table for the officers for one count of official misconduct in the second degree, forfeiting their employment as police officers and restitution for the money taken in the part-time jobs.
Jimenez set a status hearing for Feb. 14, 2019, on the discovery process. He said he will set aside the second Thursday of every month on his calendar just for the case.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey has said although the Edison Police Department has taken important steps to ensure that the extra-duty jobs are now assigned and completed in a legitimate fashion, the investigation is active and continuing.
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, Mpletsakis was charged with promoting organized street crime in the first degree and Makras was charged with hindering prosecution in the third degree, uttering a forged document in the fourth degree, and fabricating physical evidence in the fourth degree, Carey said.
The indictment was handed up in New Brunswick following an investigation by the Edison Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was presented to the grand jury by D’Elia.
The investigation determined between Nov. 14, 2016, and May 7, 2018, the five officers were allegedly getting paid for extra-duty jobs that they were not present for. The extra-duty, or “side jobs,” were in addition to the regular hours which they, as members of the Edison Police Department, were assigned to work.
The officers who volunteered to take these extra assignments had full police responsibilities while assigned to the extra-duty jobs. The assignments included directing traffic for utility companies as well as providing security services for local businesses and residential communities.
In addition to the recent indictments, Pappas was also indicted on charges of official misconduct, computer theft and stalking his ex-girlfriend on Sept. 21.
Mpletsakis has been a member of the Edison Police Department for 16 years, Pappas for 14 years, Panagoulakos for four years, Makras for seven years, and Rossmeyer for 11 years.
The officers have been suspended without pay since their arrests on June 1 and the officers remain suspended without pay, according township officials.