Washington Township Police Officer Joseph DiBuonaventura was indicted on 14 criminal charges, including three counts of tampering with records, three counts of falsifying records, three counts of false swearing and five counts of official misconduct, by a grand jury Wednesday afternoon, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.
The charges stem from July 31 of last year, when he arrested Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-4 of Washington Township) on charges of driving while intoxicated. Moriarty has insisted on his innocence, saying DiBuonaventura targeted him, lied about the reason for the motor vehicle stop and falsly arrested him. Moriaty filed 27 criminal complaints against the officer last fall, 13 of which were found by a judge in Bridgeton, where it was sent to avoid a conflict of interest, to have probable cause and forwarded to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Officer.
DiBuonaventura, who earned a salary in the mid-$90,000s, is currently suspended from the department without pay, and will remain so until the charges are resolved, Captain Richard Leonard said Wednesday.
Each fourth-degree false swearing and fourth-degree falsifying records count could carry an 18 month jail sentence, and the third-degree tampering with records count could result in up to 5 years in jail. The most serious charges, the five counts of official misconduct, could carry a sentence of 5 to 10 years for each count, according to a release from Moriarty.
"I've said from the very first day that I did nothing wrong, this was an abuse of power, that I was hunted down, targeted and deprived of my civil rights, and I think that today the grand jury has validated what I've been saying all along," Moriarty said Thursday afternoon. "I want to really thank the grand jurors, men and women from across a wide spectrum of Gloucester County citizens who sat in judgement, listened to the evidence and said 'Yes, we believe these are criminal acts.'"
Moriarty said dashboard camera recording of DiBuonaventura's pursuit and subsequent stop of him was key to proving the officer lied and proving his innocence.
"I think in New Jersey we need to move toward a system where all police cars that are used for traffic stops need to have these motor vehicle recorders. All of them. That's the only thing that was able to show I did nothing wrong that day," Moriarty said. "That was what allowed us to prove the lies of this police officer."
Washington Township Business Administrator Bob Smith confirmed Tuesday that DiBuonaventura still owes the township $15,000 in unemployment pay. He collected the unemployment while he was suspended and then terminated from the department three years ago for allegedly lying during an internal affairs investigation. A judge court-ordered his reinstatement and ordered the township pay back-pay on the condition he returned the collected unemployment funds.
Smith discovered earlier this year DiBuonaventura had yet to reimburse the township, and the township’s legal counsel is directed to be “forceful and aggressive” with collecting the debt.
Paul Moriarty TapeVideo from police car camera of Assemblyman Paul Moriarty being stopped by Washington Township Ptl. Joseph DiBuonaventura.
What triggered the July 31 stop that resulted in Moriarty’s arrest, according to follow-up reports released to the media in January, was a phone call made by an employee at the Nissan dealership where Moriarty had been prior to the arrest.
Detective Martin Calvello, who was in the police department at the time, said he received a call from his cousin at Nissan. The cousin said his boss asked him to call Calvello after Moriarty had made the manager uncomfortable. The detective said his cousin called back shortly after to say Moriarty left without incident.
Moriarty admitted that, while he was there to discuss the end of his car lease at Nissan, he confronted the general manager about the dealership employees' support for an independent political candidate that had previously opposed Moriarty.
Information about Moriarty's confrontation at the dealership was overheard by Detective Lisa Fratalli who then told DiBuonaventura she "overheard Detective Calvello talking to someone on the phone about Moriarty being drunk at Nissan,"Fratalli wrote.
Fratalli said in her report that she called DiBuonaventura back moments later, telling him she had "limited information" and did not instruct him to investigate.
One week after the incident, according to Fratalli, DiBuonaventura asked her to write a report stating she had sent him to Nissan that day. She declined his request.
Reports authored by DiBuonaventura give conflicting information on the reason for the stop and contradict statements he made to Moriarty during the stop, which was recorded by his dashboard camera.
As the case against DiBuonaventura moves forward, Moriarty said he's just looking forward to seeing the case completed and justice resolved.
"I just want to see that justice is truly served, that this is adjudicated properly and my good name is restored, because I did nothing that day," Moriarty said. "On behalf of anyone that's ever been falsely accused, abused or harassed, we're going to keep fighting