Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis

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Service Record

Edison New Jersey Police Department

Rank Sergeant (December 2017)[1]
Dates of Service Hired approximately 2002.[1]
Salary $178,083 (2021)[2]
Last Known Status Active

Incident Reports

2005 Vehicle Assault

On July 20, 2005, Mpletsakis was off-duty when he crashed his vehicle into a delivery truck and fled the scene while nude.[3]

Mpletsakis was found by a department lieutenant, who drove him home to get dressed before returning him to the accident scene.[3]

Mpletsakis claimed that another vehicle had struck his car and forced the collision with the truck.[3]

No DWI tests were performed.[3]

Response Timeline

Mpletsakis was suspended without pay.[3]

Mpletsakis was charged with assault by auto and hindering apprehension.[3]

Three other officers faced departmental charges for attempting to conceal the accident.[3]

In June 2006, Mpletsakis was found guilty by a judge of hindering, a disorderly-persons offense, and ordered to pay $655 in fines. The charges for assault by auto and leaving the scene of the crime were dropped.[4][5]

Mpletsakis was fired from the department after the ruling.[6]

In January 2007, the conviction for hindering was overturned and Mpletsakis was ordered to be reinstated.[6][4]

2016-2018 Racketeering

Response Timeline

On June 1, 2018, Sergeant Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, Sergeant Brian Rossmeyer, Patrolman Gregory Makras, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, and Patrolman Paul Pappas were charged with two counts of official misconduct in the second degree and one count of theft by unlawful taking in the third degree.[1]

In June 2018, the officers were suspended without pay.[7]

On October 19, 2019, the officers were indicted by a grand jury and charged with two counts of official misconduct in the second degree, participation in a pattern of official misconduct in the second degree, financial facilitation of criminal activity in the second degree, conspiracy to commit the crime of financial facilitation of criminal activity in the second degree, theft by unlawful taking in the second degree, and theft by deception in the second degree. Mpletsakis was also charged with promoting organized street crime in the first degree, and Makras was charged with hindering prosecution in the third degree, uttering a forged document in the fourth degree, and fabricating physical evidence in the fourth degree.[8]

On October 23, 2019, the officers asked that the charges be dropped as the prosecutor's office had not presented the case fairly to the grand jury.[9]

On April 16, 2020, a judge dropped the charges.[9]

On May 8, 2020, the prosecutor signed new complaints against the officers.[9]

On July 6, 2020, the same judge dismissed the new complaints, claiming "callous disregard" for his earlier order.[9]

On September 14, 2020, a judge ruled that the officers must be reinstated and given back pay.[10]

On October 14, 2022, a grand jury returned an indictment, charging the officers with racketeering, bribery, theft, money laundering, witness tampering, conspiracy, official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct, hindering apprehension, fabricating evidence, falsifying documents, failure to pay income tax, filing fraudulent tax returns, retaliating against a witness, and retaliation for past official action.[10]

The officers were offered to have the charges dismissed if they resigned from their positions. At least one officer turned down the deal, so the charges will be pursued in court.[10]

LEO Ratings

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Suzanne Russell, Edison police officers charged with misconduct and theft, My Central Jersey, 2018-06-01
  2. Ioannis Mpletsakis, Edison Township, govSalaries
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Rochelle Gerszberg, Cop who drove naked, totaled car, faces charges, Central Jersey, 2005-09-21
  4. 4.0 4.1 Tom Caiazza, Naked cop could soon be back in blue, Central Jersey, 2007-06-27
  5. Suzanne Russell, Edison's latest police promotions bring controversy, My Central Jersey, 2017-12-11
  6. 6.0 6.1 Nick Muscavage, Edison cops want jobs back after charges dismissed in no-show case, My Central Jersey, 2020-07-17
  7. Nick Muscavage, Judge blocks prosecutors’ request to reconsider Edison cops’ no-show case dismissal, My Central Jersey, 2020-07-31
  8. Susan Loyer, Edison police officers indicted on multiple charges including misconduct and theft, My Central Jersey, 2018-10-19
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Mike Deak, Edison police officers charged with racketeering in sweeping indictment, My Central Jersey, 2022-10-14
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Four Edison police officers facing trial after one turns down plea deal, My Central Jersey, 2022-10-29

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