CAMDEN, N.J. – The retired chief of the Bordentown Township Police Department was convicted today of lying to FBI agents who were questioning him about violating an 18-year-old man’s civil rights during an arrest; the jury will return to court tomorrow to resume deliberations on the hate crime and civil rights counts, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Mr. Frank M. Nucera Jr., 62, of Bordentown, New Jersey, was convicted of one count of making false statements to FBI agents who were interviewing him about an arrest that occurred Sept. 1. 2016. Nucera is also charged by indictment with one count of hate crime assault and one count of deprivation of civil rights under color of law; the jury will return to court tomorrow to continue deliberating on those counts.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
On Sept. 1, 2016, two Bordentown Township police officers responded to a phone call from the Bordentown Ramada, complaining that two teenagers had stayed in a room at the hotel without paying.
The teens were listed in the complaint as “Civilian 1,” an 18-year-old African American teenager, and “Civilian 2,” a 16-year-old African American girl.
After the officers arrived and questioned the teenagers, the situation allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation, with both teens attempting to resist arrest.
The officers called for backup, and numerous officers, including then-Chief Nucera, arrived on the scene.
After Civilian 1 was handcuffed and was being escorted out of the hotel by police, Nucera allegedly approached him from behind and slammed the man’s head into a metal doorjamb.
During a video recorded interview by FBI special agents, Nucera falsely stated multiple times that he did not touch Civilian 1 during the arrest.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The remaining two counts of the indictment on which Nucera was tried are merely accusations, and he remains innocent unless and until proven guilty.