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Sgt. Andrew Chupela allegedly went home for nearly three hours during the Super Bowl, leaving his marked cruiser, like the one in this file photo, idling in his driveway.

(Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger))

The marked patrol car sat in the driveway of an Edison home for nearly three hours during Sunday’s Super Bowl. The engine idled. The headlights remained on.

But there was no crime here. No investigation or call for service.

As the Seattle Seahawks routed the Denver Broncos, Edison police Sgt. Andrew Chupela sat inside his own house when he should have been patrolling the streets, according to a complaint lodged by a neighbor.

Chupela, a 29-year veteran who makes more than $145,000 a year without overtime, is now the subject of an internal affairs investigation, Chief Thomas Bryan confirmed.

The neighbor, Thomas DeRienzo, said he has no ill will toward Chupela, 51, but he said he was angered the officer so blatantly ignored his responsibility to ensure public safety. DeRienzo called the action all the more bewildering given the intense scrutiny of the Edison Police Department, which has been rocked by political infighting and high-profile episodes of misconduct.

"We’ve got carjackings. We’ve got graffiti all over town. I’ve got people speeding down my street all the time," he said. "With all the negative publicity, these men have the audacity to continue to laugh in the faces of New Jersey residents?"

DeRienzo, 62, said he first noticed Chupela’s police car in the driveway around 7:30 p.m. The officer drove away at 10:15 p.m. or 10:20 p.m., about the time the Super Bowl ended, he said. DeRienzo and his girlfriend phoned in a complaint that night, then followed up in an email to Bryan Monday afternoon.

"Whether he was actually watching the Super Bowl or not is irrelevant," DeRienzo wrote in the email, which he shared with The Star-Ledger. "The police vehicle was there for an extended period of time, and that IS relevant. The taxpayers of Edison are getting fleeced by guys like this who think they are above the law."

Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan

Bryan quickly wrote back, saying he had listened to the tapes of the complaint DeRienzo and his girlfriend phoned in and that the matter had been referred to internal affairs.

The chief added in his email that he was working to "change the culture" of the department.

"I have made improvements, but there has been much resistance by the unions and the former mayoral administration," Bryan wrote to DeRienzo. "My commitment is to hold our officers accountable and provide nothing but the most professional police services. The citizens of Edison deserve nothing less."

Chupela has an unlisted number and could not be reached for comment. Efforts to reach him through the department were unsuccessful. The president of the Superior Officers Association — the union that represents sergeants, lieutenants and captains — declined to comment.

Chupela has not been suspended, Bryan said. The chief declined to say what kind of discipline he might face if the allegations is sustained by internal affairs.

"Any and all complaints against a police officer are investigated to their logical conclusion, and if sustained, the appropriate measure of discipline is administered," Bryan said.

Officers who have been found sleeping on the job or performing non-work activities while on the clock are sometimes suspended and sometimes not, according to a review of news accounts. In one case in October, a Belleville officer was suspended for falling asleep in his cruiser while working an off-duty side job.

DeRienzo said that when his girlfriend made the first complaint by phone Sunday night, a supervisor told her a letter of reprimand would likely be placed in Chupela’s file.

Bryan confirmed the department’s cruisers are equipped with GPS units, but he declined to say if they are regularly checked by watch commanders.

The incident is one of several episodes of alleged misconduct in the Edison Police Department this year. One officer was charged with drunken driving after he was seen swilling beer in his patrol car. Another was suspended for allegedly returning to the scene of an emergency call to proposition a woman for sex. A third was charged with five counts of attempted murder for allegedly setting fire to his captain's home.

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