A New Jersey police lieutenant has been charged with stealing seized narcotics from an evidence room and laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars of suspicious payments into his bank account.
Kevin T. Matthew, 48, of Cedar Grove deposited around $600,000 in unexplained cash into his bank account, The New York Post reported.
Matthew has just been hit with a staggering 50-count indictment.
The indictment details a years-long scheme where he allegedly pocketed cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office evidence vault.
Officials say the quantities he took were consistent with intent to distribute.
The allegations, if true, directly conflict with the behavior expected from someone sworn to uphold the law.
Matthew, who had been on the job for years, was arrested in December 2023.
He has been suspended from his position ever since.
But this week, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office laid out the full extent of his alleged misconduct.
Prosecutors say Matthew funneled roughly $600,000 into his personal bank accounts between January 2019 and November 2023.
Obviously, the money didn’t come from his law enforcement salary.
Instead of making large, attention-grabbing deposits, he allegedly kept his transactions under $10,000 to avoid triggering federal banking regulations.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin didn’t hold back in condemning the disgraced cop’s actions.
“The alleged misconduct by the defendant represents a stunning, tremendous disservice to the public,” Platkin said.
“This case highlights the corrosive effects that corruption can have on public safety and trust.
“Instead of making Bergen County safer, the indictment alleges the defendant repeatedly withdrew from the evidence vault large amounts of dangerous drugs that had already been seized by law enforcement.”
Platkin emphasized that Matthew’s alleged actions betrayed not only his department but also the entire community that trusted him to enforce the law—not break it.
Authorities say Matthew swiped drugs connected to at least nine different criminal cases.
His charges include financial facilitation of criminal activity, possession with intent to distribute, official misconduct, tampering with public records, and a slew of other drug and financial crimes.
While criminals get creative with laundering dirty money, it seems this officer took a page straight out of the playbook.
A cop entrusted with keeping criminals off the streets now stands accused of profiting from the same crimes he once arrested others for.
If convicted, Matthew’s fall from grace will serve as a stark reminder that no one—not even those in uniform—is above the law.
https://slaynews.com/news/new-jersey-cop-accused-stealing-seized-drugs-laundering-600k/
