Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department said today that an Edison police officer was arrested and charged with computer theft and stalking.
According to authorities, Paul Pappas, 43, of Edison, has been charged with computer theft/criminal activity in the second degree and stalking in the fourth degree.
Officials said Pappas was previously charged on March 20, 2018 with criminal mischief, a disorderly person’s offense, for slashing a tire on his ex-girlfriend’s car in New Brunswick, while he was on duty with the Edison Police Department.
Upon further investigation by the Edison Police Department, it was determined that Officer Paul Pappas, from August 2017 through March 2018, had been making unauthorized full disclosure inquiries into the New Jersey Criminal Justice Information System and using that information to stalk his ex-girlfriend.
According to authorities, Pappas turned himself into authorities at the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office today. He was charged on a summons and released pending his initial court appearance on May 4, 2018. He is currently suspended from the Edison Police Department without pay, as a result of the criminal charges brought against him.
The investigation was conducted by the Edison Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit in conjunction with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation is active and continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Sergeant Theodore Hamer of the Edison Police Department at (732) 248-7400, or Detective Nicholas Chiorello of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732)745- 3848.
As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against Pappas are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.