Lieutenant In Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Removed Drugs Unlawfully: State AG

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A lieutenant with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has been charged with tampering with physical evidence and other offenses after he allegedly removed drugs from evidence storage and "kept razor blades with cocaine residue in his office," said the New Jersey Attorney General's Office Tuesday.

Kevin T. Matthew, 47, of Cedar Grove, in Essex County, has been charged with official misconduct, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and structuring financial transactions, said Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

Lt. Matthew has been on leave from the Prosecutor's Office since Nov. 3, Platkin's office said.

Platkin's office alleged that Matthew "allegedly removed narcotics evidence from storage without lawful authorization, later returned the drugs in conditions substantially different than when he signed the evidence out, kept razor blades with cocaine residue in his office, and structured cash deposits at banks in order to avoid transaction reporting requirements."

Platkin said, “As alleged, the defendant’s conduct constitutes a shocking and brazen disregard of the law by a high-ranking officer who was sworn to uphold the law. Serving in law enforcement is a position of public trust."

According to the investigation, Matthew was a member of the BCPO’s Special Victims Unit, not a narcotics unit.

But the investigation revealed that he searched for drug cases in police databases, then signed out narcotics from the main evidence vault of the BCPO’s office in Paramus, Platkin's office said.

Matthew allegedly signed out items of narcotics evidence between October 2022 and November 2023, even though he lacked any authorized purpose to access narcotics evidence as part of his job duties.

According to the investigation, two razor blades were subsequently found in Matthew’s office at the BCPO, and they tested positive for the presence of cocaine.

Platkin's office said the acts "impaired the evidentiary chain of custody and the items’ reliability as evidence in criminal prosecutions."

The investigation is ongoing.

“The law applies to everyone, including those who wear the badge,” said Thomas J. Eicher, Executive Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “We are committed to strengthening the public’s faith in law enforcement and in the criminal justice system, and to taking action against officers whose alleged conduct damages communities’ trust."

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Assistant Attorney General Mary Catherine Ryan and Deputy Attorney General Amy Sieminski are prosecuting the case for the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, under the supervision of Corruption Bureau Chief Peter Lee, OPIA Deputy Director Anthony Picione, and OPIA Director Eicher, said Platkin's office.