Joe Malinconico

Paterson Press

PATERSON — A seventh police officer pleaded guilty to corruption charges Tuesday morning, meaning every city officer arrested in the FBI probe has been convicted.

Former Police Officer Daniel Pent, who worked as a state corrections officer before he joined the Paterson Police Department in 2014, admitted participating in a conspiracy in which five of the rogue officers took money from drivers and passengers during illegal traffic stops.

He faces up to three years in federal prison.

Pent also admitted filing false police reports to cover up the money he took and using excessive force in beating a man who was playing loud music while in a vehicle parked on Doremus Avenue in Paterson. Pent further acknowledged engaging in a practice with some of his co-conspirators of imposing a “running tax,” by repeatedly striking suspects who tried to escape from them.

In one instance in February 2017, Pent admitted that he and another officer, Eudy Ramos, took $10,000 from a front-seat passenger in a vehicle they stopped illegally. Court records say Pent and Ramos charged the man with loitering in a drug area, and then filed a police property report that said the person was carrying just $36.

Mayor Andre Sayegh responded to the latest guilty plea by restating his intolerance for police misconduct.

“I was proud to swear in seven new officers yesterday to replace the seven who disgraced the uniform,” Sayegh said. “Our Police Department is better today because these bad actors have been brought to justice.”

Federal authorities have not said whether Pent’s conviction brings to a conclusion a probe that started in 2016 after the Paterson police internal affairs division detected possible wrongdoing and the current police chief, Troy Oswald, alerted federal authorities.

“I’d like to thank the FBI for all the help they’ve given us,” Oswald said. “I hope this closes the book on rogue police officers in Paterson.”

Mason Maher, president of the union that represents Paterson’s ranking police officers, said the case has “scarred” the department.

“It’s been very tough for us,” Maher said. “The actions of a few bad apples have tarnished our department, the overwhelming majority of Paterson police officers who do their job the right way every day. We look forward to the end of this situation so we can repair our relationship with the community.”

But local Black Lives Matter activist Zellie Thomas said additional steps need to be taken to fix that relationship.

“There’s a dark cloud over the Paterson Police Department,” Thomas said, “and that dark cloud won’t be removed until we get full audit of the Police Department and a citizens’ complaint review board.”

Sayegh has run into difficulty in getting the City Council to sign off on the funding for the police audit. The mayor also has promised to create a citizens' police advisory committee. But Thomas said an advisory committee, which lacks the investigative power of a review board, is not a strong enough measure.

Meanwhile, Pent’s sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 14. Officials said he faces a possible sentence of 30 to 37 months in prison.

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Three of the previously convicted cops — Ramos, Matthew Torres and Frank Toledo — said during their guilty pleas that Pent participated with them in their crimes. The fifth former officer who has admitted being part of the shakedown conspiracy is Jonathan Bustios.

Those five are all awaiting sentencing. Two other rogue officers nabbed in the FBI probe already are serving time in federal prison.

Ruben McAusland was sentenced to 5½ years after admitting that he sold drugs from his police car while on duty and that he assaulted a suicide patient at a hospital emergency room.

Roger Then was sentenced to six months after he admitted participating in the hospital assault, part of which he recorded on video on his cellphone.

Email: editor@patersonpress.com

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