Former Weehawken police sergeant sentenced to prison in theft scheme, misconduct
Former Police Sgt. Patrick Cannon was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $700,000 in restitution yesterday for stealing Weehawken money by diverting it to fake businesses he controlled.
“I want to apologize, your Honor. I don’t know why I did it,” said Cannon, who was on the verge of tears prior to being sentenced by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Arre yesterday morning.
“I apologize to my family,” said Cannon, whose wife and several other family members were at the hearing.
Calling Cannon’s crimes “a breach of the public trust,” Arre ordered that Cannon forfeit his job and barred him from ever holding a public position again.
Before the sentence was meted out, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Peter Stoma noted: “The public relies on the integrity of its officials.”
The 21-year veteran of the township police force was sentenced to five years for theft and three years for official misconduct. The sentences will run concurrently and he must serve two years before becoming eligible for parole.
The Rochelle Park resident was charged in June, weeks after his apparent suicide attempt triggered a frantic search for him in a Bergen County park.
Cannon was tasked with making purchases of police equipment and goods and services for construction projects at Township Hall and at the Police Department. In many cases he made the purchases from fictitious companies he controlled and had the payments sent to bank accounts he controlled.
Stoma said the companies were not real and the goods and services were never provided.
On the night of April 28, one of Cannon’s friends called police saying the officer had taken a cocktail of over-the-counter drugs, Bergen County police said at the time. Tracking his phone signal, police located Cannon’s vehicle in a camping area in Mahwah.
Cannon was found slipping in and out of consciousness after a three-hour search by about 40 officers, police dogs and a State Police helicopter. Arre noted the incident at yesterday’s sentencing.
Cannon was suspended without pay upon his arrest and he was fired after pleading guilty last month.