Police lieutenant stole cocaine and fentanyl from evidence space, New Jersey lawyer standard states

Prices have been submitted versus a New Jersey law enforcement lieutenant with a prosecutor’s office environment who point out officials say allegedly stole illicit medication from an proof room.

Point out lawyer general Matthew J. Platkin and the Workplace of Public Integrity and Accountability introduced the fees towards Kevin T. Matthew, 47, in a information release Tuesday. Matthew is a lieutenant with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Workplace and has been on go away due to the fact Nov. 3. 

Matthew has been charged with two counts of formal misconduct, a count of tampering with community data or details, a rely of structuring economical transactions, two counts of possession of a managed risky substance, and a rely of possession of drug paraphernalia after an investigation by the OPIA’s Corruption Bureau, which probes alleged misconduct by regulation enforcement and other community officials. 

Although a member of the Unique Victims Unit, Matthew allegedly searched police databases for drug scenarios and eradicated narcotics evidence that contained fentanyl and cocaine from the department’s main proof vault with out authorization ahead of afterwards returning the drugs “in ailments substantially different than when he signed the evidence out,” according to the information release. These alleged occurrences took position concerning Oct. 2022 and Nov. 2023, and Matthew was witnessed coming and heading from the department’s workplaces carrying “bags of a measurement adequate to have the narcotics he had signed out,” the state’s attorney typical reported.

Matthew’s alleged carry out could have “impaired the evidentiary chain of custody and the items’ reliability as evidence in criminal prosecutions,” the attorney typical explained. 

“As alleged, the defendant’s perform constitutes a shocking and brazen disregard of the regulation by a superior-position officer who was sworn to uphold the regulation,” Platkin explained. “Serving in regulation enforcement is a situation of public believe in. If officers illegally break that belief, we will maintain them accountable.”

Matthew also allegedly “saved razor blades with cocaine residue in his office,” and structured income deposits at banking institutions in these kinds of a way that he could stay clear of transaction reporting prerequisites. The income deposits had been allegedly manufactured at “various money establishments” on a variety of dates so that he could keep away from a federal prerequisite to report each day funds transactions of much more than $10,000. 

An investigation into Matthew’s perform is ongoing. 

CBS Information has arrived at out to Charles Sciarra, Matthew’s protection counsel, for comment on the fees, but did not quickly listen to back. 

The costs of formal misconduct each and every carry a sentence of five to 10 yrs in jail and a great of up to $150,000, in accordance to the news launch. The fees of tampering with public data or information, structuring monetary transactions and possession of a controlled perilous substance every single carry a sentence of 3 to five yrs in jail and a high-quality of up to $15,000. The remaining demand, of possession of drug paraphernalia, is a “disorderly people offense” which commonly carries a sentence of up to 6 months and a probable $1,000 fantastic.