Misconduct probe
disturbs NJ's top cop
TRENTON
— The leader of New Jersey’s police force lamented Tuesday that a veteran
trooper’s distinguished career likely will be defined by the probe into
allegations he escorted — without official authorization — a group of luxury
sports cars at 100 mph down a state highway last month.
The
allegations against Sgt. 1st Class Nadir Nassry are “very disturbing,” State
Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said.
“We
have a 25-year trooper here who has numerous commendations, who’s spent his
entire time in uniform, who 12 years ago saved an occupant from a burning
vehicle,” Fuentes said Tuesday. “And the signature of his career is going to be
this. So it’s very disturbing, but it doesn’t distract us from doing what we
have to do when a mistake has been made.”
State
Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa suspended Nassry and Trooper Joseph Ventrella,
a six-year veteran, without pay Monday after news reports recounted witnesses
who said they saw the caravan of a few dozen high-performance luxury cars
speeding down the Garden State Parkway on March 30, escorted by two state
police cars.
Nassry’s
attorney didn’t respond to a request for comment. Chiesa and Fuentes appeared
before a Department of Law and Public Safety budget hearing Tuesday, and
discussed the caravan briefly.
“If
people are going to put the public safety at risk like these individuals did,
we’re going to take action; we’re going to take swift action,” Chiesa said.
Sen.
Paul Sarlo, the chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee,
called the incident a “blip.” He asked lawmakers to focus their questions on
the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, and said he has confidence in
Chiesa and Fuentes to handle the situation.
“In
a department of that size, unfortunately sometimes people make silly and stupid
mistakes and individuals make silly and stupid mistakes,” Sarlo said.
Steve
Jones, a spokesman for the state police, said before the hearing that such
escorts are approved at the local command level, by a station or regional
commander. Those must be performed within the law and are meant to enhance
public safety, he said.
Fuentes said state police do “hundreds” of
escorts on the state’s highways each year, usually helping out the Secret
Service or the NYPD, for instance. He said he hadn’t heard of the type of
escort currently under investigation. The attorney general’s office also is
investigating a second alleged high-speed police escort from 2010