The Palisades Park Council recently issued a decision remove a suspended police officer from the official borough payroll.

According to Palisades Park officials, the suspect committed check fraud in 2015. He allegedly altered a check made out to the borough and then deposited the funds into his personal bank account.

The amount of the theft is said to be $1,000.

The suspect was the subject of an investigation and was ultimately placed under arrest. He was subsequently charged with theft.

The suspect made an appearance in Bergen County Superior Court, located in Hackensack, in August 2015 and entered a plea of not guilty to the theft charges.

In summer 2015, a short time after the criminal charges were filed, the Palisades Park Police Department suspended the suspect. As a result of the suspension, the suspect was no longer able to receive a biweekly check of $4,833.80 from the borough.

In December 2015, the suspect’s name was returned to the payroll because of a technicality: the Palisades Park Borough Council never voted on the police department’s decision to suspend the suspect’s pay. This meant that the suspect began to receive his biweekly checks again. Additionally, the suspect was granted almost $40,000 in back pay.

Now the Palisades Park Council has taken action to make sure that the suspect does not continue to receive municipal funds while he is suspended. The borough council has voted to remove the suspect from the borough payroll as long as the criminal charges are pending and his suspension from the police force is in effect.

For more information about this case, view the NJ.com article, “Palisades Park Suspends Pay for Cop Charged with Theft—Again.”