North Arlington police officer is charged wtih theft and criminal trespass

NORTH ARLINGTON — A borough police officer who allegedly stole gold rings from an elderly resident’s house was arrested on theft and criminal trespass charges when he showed up for work at headquarters on Tuesday, authorities said.

Officer Paul Casale, 24, of Newark, was immediately suspended without pay, pending the outcome of the criminal and administrative cases against him, Chief Louis M. Ghione of the North Arlington police said in a statement.

The indictable offenses will be referred to Superior Court in Hackensack. No court date was available Tuesday.

Casale’s arrest followed an investigation into two incidents last month, both of which occurred at the same residence on Biltmore Street, Ghione said.

In the first, the woman, whose name and age were not released, reported the theft of several gold rings that she noticed missing after Casale left her house on April 22, said Capt. John P. Hearn, the operations commander for the North Arlington police. The rings were in the house prior to Casale’s visit, the woman told investigators.

Casale had gone to the woman’s house to investigate a “heating complaint,” Hearn said. Hearn would not say whether the rings had been recovered.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” Hearn said.

The criminal trespass charge resulted from Casale’s uninvited presence at the same house on April 28.

The woman alleged that Casale entered the house without her permission, Ghione said. The woman reported that she saw Casale standing in the living room and confronted him, the chief said.

Casale apparently entered the house through an unlocked door, Hearn said.

“We don’t know what his intention was,” Hearn said.

Following the woman’s complaints, the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit began an investigation, with assistance from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, authorities said.

Casale was arrested when he showed up for work at headquarters at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Hearn said. His police equipment, including his service weapon and badge, were seized, Hearn said. He was processed and released on summonses. He could not be reached for comment.

Casale joined the 25-member North Arlington police force in January 2011. Previously, he served for a little more than a year with the Newark Police Department.

On Tuesday, there was a sense of sadness among officers at police headquarters that one of their own had been arrested.

“In my 20 years, I never had anything like this,” said Hearn.

North Arlington Mayor Peter Massa, who served as a borough police officer for 23 years before retiring as a sergeant in 1993, said he was heartbroken over the allegations.

“In my years of experience, we’ve never had this,” Massa said.

“It’s disheartening, disappointing,” Massa added. “I’m very disturbed by it. On the other side of the coin, I have the most confidence in our Internal Affairs Unit and the Police Department."