PROSECUTOR SUAREZ LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO MISSING CASH AT PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office has released the following information:

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has ordered an immediate internal affairs investigation into money that was recently discovered missing at the Prosecutor’s Office. Various denominations of cash recovered from several separate cases have gone missing. All of the missing cash was recovered from scenes and was being temporarily held for safekeeping. The money was kept in temporary storage in locked safes at the Prosecutor’s Office with limited access by investigative staff.

The Prosecutor’s Office Public Integrity Unit, Internal Affairs Section, will be conducting the investigation. The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General was also notified by the Prosecutor’s Office of the investigation. In addition to the internal affairs investigation, Prosecutor Suarez has also ordered a full audit of other cases and a review of the procedures for the safe keeping of cash and property.

Prosecutor Suarez said, “This is a sheer betrayal and disgrace of the sacred oaths taken by those who wear a badge and were involved in these appalling acts. What compounds this even more is the fact that members of the Prosecutor’s Office are held to an even higher standard when it comes to integrity and trust. Every angle will be examined and we are confident that we will find who was responsible for this and hold them accountable under the law.”

The investigation is in its very early stages and it has not been determined yet if this was limited to one or more of the investigative staff. In order to allow the internal affairs investigation to take its course, no further information will be released at this time.