the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, a lieutenant from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, identified as Kevin T. Matthew, 47, of Cedar Grove, is facing allegations of unauthorized removal of narcotics evidence, which included cocaine and fentanyl, from storage. Subsequently, the drugs were returned, but officials claim they were in “substantially different” conditions, as per the attorney general’s announcement on Tuesday.
The charges against Matthew include official misconduct, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and structuring financial transactions, according to Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
Additionally, the attorney general’s release disclosed that razor blades with cocaine residue were found in Matthew’s office during the investigation.
The inquiry conducted by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability’s Corruption Bureau revealed that Matthew allegedly accessed police databases for drug cases, withdrew narcotics from the main evidence vault of the Prosecutor’s Office in Paramus, and later returned them. Officials emphasize that Matthew lacked the authority to make these transactions, as he is part of the Special Victims Unit, not a narcotics unit, and his job responsibilities do not involve access to narcotics evidence.
The press release also noted that Matthew made a series of cash deposits at various financial institutions, aligning with the timeframe of evidence removal. This pattern suggests an effort to circumvent federal reporting requirements for cash transactions exceeding $10,000 aggregated daily.
Attorney General Platkin characterized the alleged conduct as a “shocking and brazen disregard of the law by a high-ranking officer who was sworn to uphold the law.” Thomas J. Eicher, executive director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the commitment to maintaining public trust in law enforcement and addressing alleged misconduct that undermines community trust in uniformed personnel.
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Sorry this bad apple is a tarnish to the LE community
More heads should role. Other people had to know.