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Joseph Derrico, circled at top, retired from the Hamilton Police Department at age 43 and claimed disability but since he's been busy appearing on truTV's repo reality show "Bear Swamp Recovery"

(Courtesy of New Jersey Watchdog)

HAMILTON — The story of Joseph Derrico blurs the lines between fake and reality, according to a joint investigation by New Jersey Watchdog and NBC 4 New York.

Derrico retired as a Hamilton Township police officer in 2010 to collect a police disability pension of nearly $70,000 a year, but today's report shows he's spent part of his retirement starring on truTV's "Bear Swamp Recovery," a reality show on vehicle repossessions by the "baddest towing team in Jersey."

During the show's "Monster Truck Showdown" episode, Derrico is seen chasing a monster truck on foot, grabbing the driver and throwing him to the ground, the report said.

According to the report, the episode first aired Oct. 19, 2011 — a year after Derrico received his first $5,808 pension check.

P.J. Vinch, a member of the Bear Swamp repo crew, vouched for Derrico's disability and told NBC 4 New York that the show "was all staged. Nobody was exerting any physical activity. Nobody was actually fighting; it was mocked for TV."

Derrico ran into a legal problem when he retired from the police force in 2010, the report said. A grand jury in Mercer County indicted him on a felony charge of theft by receiving stolen property.

The retired police officer ended up with his pension intact, because of a deal reached with Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini, who dismissed the theft case when Derrico retired, according to the report.

"No useful purpose would be served by further prosecution of this matter," Bocchini stated in his motion for dismissal, the report said.

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