A grand jury has indicted an Edison police officer on charges of official misconduct, computer theft and stalking his ex-girlfriend, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey announced.
Paul Pappas, 44, a 14-year veteran of the Edison Police Department, remains suspended from the department without pay as a result of the criminal charges brought against him. The indictment was handed up following a presentation to the grand jury by Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christine D’Elia on Sept. 21.
According to an investigation conducted by the New Brunswick Police Department and the Edison Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, in conjunction with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, Pappas, while on official duty from May 2016 through March 2018, allegedly made unauthorized full disclosure inquiries into the New Jersey Criminal Justice Information System and used the information to stalk his ex-girlfriend.
The investigation determined that Pappas, while on patrol, allegedly left Edison, traveled to New Brunswick to stalk his ex-girlfriend and slashed a tire on her car, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Pappas was charged with four counts of official misconduct in the second degree, one count of a pattern of official misconduct in the second degree, one count of computer theft/criminal activity in the second degree, and one count of stalking in the fourth degree.
In addition to the official misconduct charges, Pappas and four other police officers face charges of being paid for extra-duty jobs when they were allegedly not present for those jobs. The case was scheduled for grand jury on Sept. 21.
The five officers — Pappas, 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 — 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 prosecutor’s office.
During an investigation between Nov. 14, 2016, and May 1, it was determined certain Edison police officers 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 police officers remain suspended from their jobs without pay.
The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information should call Sgt. Theodore Hamer of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7400, or Detective Nicholas Chiorello of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3848.
