Edison Police Officers Indicted On Charges Of Racketeering, Theft

EDISON, NJ — A Middlesex County Grand Jury returned a 24-count indictment charging four suspended Edison Police officers with racketeering, bribery, theft, money laundering, and witness tampering, among other charges, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan said Friday.

Sgt. Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 43, of Edison, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 36, of Jackson Township, Patrolman Gregory Makras, 38, of Cranford and Sgt. Brian Rossmeyer, 45, of Bridgewater was charged in the indictment with racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, theft, money laundering, official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct, hindering apprehension, fabricating evidence, falsifying documents, failure to pay income tax, filing fraudulent tax returns, witness tampering, retaliating against a witness and retaliation for past official action.

According to an internal affairs investigation, from 2016 to 2018 the officers were involved in a scheme to exploit the Edison Police Department’s extra duty job assignments, by getting paid for extra-duty jobs for which they did not appear, Ciccone said.

The officers, who volunteered to take extra assignments, had full police responsibilities while assigned to the extra duty jobs, Ciccone said. The assignments included directing traffic for utility companies, as well as providing security services for local businesses and residential communities.

The investigation further revealed that Mpletsakis stole from the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) by using a PBA debit card to make unauthorized purchases for personal items and used his executive position on the Edison PBA Local 75 to defraud Edison Township and the PBA, Ciccone said.

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