Authorities arrested a high-ranking police lieutenant Tuesday in New Jersey for allegedly taking cocaine and fentanyl from evidence storage, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.
Authorities accused 47-year-old police lieutenant Kevin T. Matthew of illicitly acquiring cocaine and fentanyl from the evidence room, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin stated. Platkin’s office reported Matthew allegedly withdrew these drugs, and they were allegedly in “substantially different” condition when returned.
However, the officer allegedly attempted to present these items as the same evidence he had taken from the room.
Further adding to the charges, Matthew allegedly engaged in a pattern of discreet cash deposits across several banks, the press release added. This was an alleged strategy to bypass the mandatory reporting of transactions exceeding $10,000, as federal banking regulations require.
NJ police lieutenant arrested for stealing cocaine, fentanyl from evidence room https://t.co/WDlruphiJS pic.twitter.com/XbTFD6qbLZ
— New York Post (@nypost) December 19, 2023
Investigators allegedly discovered two razor blades in Matthew’s office. Tests later confirmed the presence of cocaine on these blades, the press release stated. The nature of Matthew’s intentions with the drugs remains unspecified, but the criminal complaint hints at personal gain or an alleged attempt to hide his misconduct. (RELATED: Prosecutors Charge Armorer On ‘Rust’ Set With Evidence Tampering, Narcotics Transferring)
“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,” Platkin said in the statement. “Serving in law enforcement is a position of public trust. If officers illegally break that trust, we will hold them accountable.”
Matthew allegedly checked out narcotics between Oct. 2022 and Nov. 2023 without any legitimate reason, the press release stated. Surveillance footage also allegedly caught him transporting large bags, suspected of containing the narcotics, in and out of the agency’s headquarters.
He now faces charges such as misconduct, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia and structuring financial transactions, the press release stated.
Matthew’s attorney, Charles Sciarra, has insisted on his client’s innocence. “That is not typical behavior for someone being portrayed as a drug user/dealer,” Sciarra said in a statement, New York Post reported. “Also not customary is a master criminal supposedly depositing all the illegally obtained loot in the local bank.”