PIG BREAKING THE LAW AGAIN
SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim
EDISON - An Edison police officer accused of running naked from the scene of
an accident after crashing his BMW into the back of a truck on Route 27 has
been charged with assault by auto and hindering his own apprehension.
Three other officers, two supervisors and a patrolman, have been charged
with failing to report the crash, neglect of duty, and other departmental
violations for allegedly hiding the incident from top brass.
Patrolman Ioannis Mpletsakis, 26, who joined the force in 2002, crashed his
2002 BMW into a 1998 International truck on July 20 after swimming at the
Edison home of a friend,
authorities said. A passenger in the truck suffered a knee injury, and the
BMW was demolished.
Mpletsakis told investigators he did not want to get the interior of his
newly purchased car wet and so took off the shorts that he had been swimming
in, authorities said.
Mpletsakis has been suspended without pay, Mayor George Spadoro said in a
statement last night. The other officers remain on duty.
Mpletsakis, a patrol officer who was out on medical leave at the time of the
accident due to injuries suffered in a December car crash, also faces
departmental charges.
He could not be reached.
"As far as we're concerned, he didn't do anything criminal," said Patrolman
Michael Schwarz, president of Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 75.
"This was an accident."
A hearing on the administrative charges against all the officers is
scheduled for Sept. 20.
This is the fourth in a series of embarrassing incidents involving Edison
police or charges of brutality against them in the last eight weeks.
Edison officers have been accused of punching and kicking two volunteers for
the India Day parade during an Aug. 13 arrest. An internal affairs
investigation into possible police misconduct is ongoing.
In late August, two South Plainfield men filed assault charges against two
off-duty Edison officers for the cops' role in an Aug. 25 bar brawl at JB's
Tavern.
In August, Edison Patrolman David Salardino was charged with displaying his
naked body from a hotel window in Ocean City, Md., but the charges have
since been dismissed.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office charged Mpletsakis with the two
disorderly persons offenses. If convicted, he faces up to six months in jail
on each of the charges.
The assignment judge in Middlesex County, Superior Court Judge Robert
Longhi, will likely transfer the case from Edison Municipal Court to another
venue, according to the Prosecutor's Office. A Middlesex County assistant
prosecutor will handle the case.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, Mpletsakis was fishing with friends
the afternoon before the accident.
"While on the board the boat, Mpletsakis consumed "three or four beers,' "
according to the Prosecutor's Office, citing the results of an Edison Police
Department internal affairs investigation.
William Lamb, first assistant Middlesex County prosecutor, declined to say
why the amount Mpletsakis allegedly drank was set off by quotes in the
Prosecutor Office's statement or whether that was the claim of Mpletsakis or
of witnesses.
After the boat pulled into the Edison boat basin between 8:30 and 9 p.m.,
Mpletsakis drove to his friend's home to go swimming, and he stayed for
about 45 minutes, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
He crashed his southbound BMW into the truck shortly after 10 p.m. Marvin
Chevez-Hernandez of Elizabeth was driving the International. His passenger
was Lemus Portillo, whose hometown was not given.
After the accident, Mpletsakis ran from the demolished BMW into nearby
woods, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
An Edison police lieutenant found Mpletsakis, took him to him home to clothe
him and then returned him to the accident scene, according to the
Prosecutor's Office.
Lamb declined to name the lieutenant or the other officers involved, citing
the state Attorney General's Policy and Procedure Manual that he said
prohibits the release of the names of those under internal affairs
investigations.
The accident report filled out by another officer included Mpletsakis' claim
that another car passing him hit his car before he collided with the truck.
Witnesses later contradicted that claim, according to the Prosecutor's
Office.
Mpletsakis was not taken to police headquarters to be given a drunken
driving test, the Prosecutor's Office said. He was allowed to go home
without motor vehicle summonses or criminal complaints being signed against
him.
Edison Police Chief Edward Costello declined comment, referring the call to
the Prosecutor's Office.
Deputy Chief Brent Papi and other administrators learned of the incident
only when an anonymous tipster called on July 22, the Prosecutor's Office
said.
The departmental charges against Mpletsakis and the other three officers
include: failure to conduct a proper, thorough and complete investigation;
neglect of duty; unprofessional conduct; failure to assume proper command of
an investigation; failure to make a proper report and failure to report the
misconduct of an officer.
The other officers could face suspension, demotion, a reprimand or the
forfeit of vacation or personal days.
Mpletsakis could be fired.
Mpletsakis, an Edison resident, was involved in a serious accident on Route
1 on Dec. 28 that left him with a ruptured aorta and a head injury. He was
driving southbound on Route 1 in a 2000 Honda Prelude when the vehicle left
the road near Forest Haven Boulevard and struck a concrete wall near the old
Ford plant, police said.
Asked about the Mpletsakis incident and other allegations against Edison
police in the last two months, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said
they are not representative of the Edison rank-and-file officers.
But he added, "We have had and will continue to have meetings with Chief
(Edward) Costello and command staff to assess the appropriate level of
professionalism displayed on- and off-duty by Edison police officers."