NEW BRUNSWICK – With more than 28,000 pages of bank records, audits, receipts, phone pinging locations to sift through, the case involving five Edison police officers who were indicted in October for “no show jobs” is inching along.
“This is a complex white collar case,” Assistant Prosecutor Christine D’Elia said before Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez, sitting in New Brunswick, on March 14.
D’Elia said the state is still investigating as new information and new witnesses come along.
The five Edison police officers appeared before Jimenez with their attorneys during the status hearing.
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.
Attorney Charles Sciarra, of Sciarra and Catrambone LLC, Clifton, who represents Panagoulakos, said he was concerned about the perpetuity of the state’s investigation. He said it is causing “headaches” with the scheduling of filing motions, which he said may include a motion to sever the indictment, as well as the livelihood of his client.
“My client’s career is on hold without pay,” he said.
Jimenez said he was also concerned about the “perpetuity” of the state’s investigation.
“My responsibility is to move the case forward,” he said, adding he believed there has been a longer investigation post indictment than there was pre-indictment.
Jimenez said motions will be filed, which will take time and will delay the case even further.
D’Elia argued the state had ample – 1,500 documents worth – to indict the officers beyond a reasonable doubt.
“[White collar cases] do not move fast … we did not rush the indictment,” she said, noting the additional discovery is supporting the documents presented during the grand jury case.
Attorney Anthony Iacullo, of Iacullo Martino LLC, Nutley, who represents Makras said he along with the defense attorneys for Mpletsakis, Panagoulakos, Rossmeyer, have discussed coming together to review the 28,000 of documents to speed up the process.
The next status hearing will be held on June 21.
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.
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, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
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.
On March 8, Pappas was charged for violating the domestic violence restraining order placed against him. The matter will be addressed at the next status hearing.
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.
