Pubdate: Thu, 19 Dec 2002
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2002 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Authors: Sam Wood, Jake Wagman, Inquirer Staff Writers
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

TWO S. JERSEY OFFICERS CHARGED IN DRUG PROBE

They Were Included In A Widening Investigation In Gloucester County After 
An Arrest Sunday.

Two additional police officers in Gloucester County were charged yesterday 
with official misconduct in a widening drug probe that has prompted the 
county prosecutor to require random drug testing of all law enforcement 
employees just after the first of the year.

Harrison Township officer Michael J. Thiel, 32, and Washington Township 
officer John S. Lombardo, 30, were charged yesterday with official 
misconduct for allegedly possessing and using drugs. Until his arrest, 
Lombardo was a member of the county's Narcotics Strike Force, a special 
detail of local police officers involved in long-range drug investigations.

Authorities did not disclose the specific circumstances surrounding the 
arrests of Thiel and Lombardo, which came four days after police arrested 
Washington Township officer Amalio S. Gurcsik for trying to buy $40 worth 
of cocaine from an undercover officer in Cherry Hill.

County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton said there is no evidence that the three 
officers used drugs while they on duty. He said it did not appear that drug 
use within the two departments was widespread.

Washington Township has 84 officers; Harrison has 16.

Dalton would not comment on the number of officers being investigated in 
Harrison and Washington Townships, but he said every officer suspected by 
county investigators of drug use has been required to take a drug test over 
the past few days.

"It's important for the residents of Gloucester County to know that the 
investigation does not indicate a pervasive use of illicit substances in 
any police department," Dalton said.

Lombardo, a five-year veteran, has been a member of the county strike force 
since June, Dalton said. Thiel has worked for the Harrison Township 
department for four years.

Bail for each was set at $5,000. Lombardo and Thiel were released on their 
own recognizance after turning in their guns and badges.

The charges against the two officers followed Gurcsik's arrest Sunday 
night. Gurcsik is accused of driving his marked patrol car to Cherry Hill 
to buy two $20 bags of cocaine. He reportedly tried to buy the drugs from 
an undercover investigator from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

The three-year police veteran was scheduled to work a Sunday night shift. 
Instead, authorities said, he called out sick and drove his police cruiser 
from his Washington Township condo to the King of Pizza on Route 70 in 
Cherry Hill.

Gurcsik had been under surveillance for about a month, Dalton said. The 
three officers face dismissal from their respective departments. No officer 
who has been charged with drug offenses has ever been allowed to remain on 
a Gloucester County police force, Dalton said.

Random drug testing of all law enforcement personnel will begin just after 
Jan. 1. Dalton said his staff would be among the first tested.

Burlington County has required random testing of 20 percent of all 
municipal officers during the last two years, said Sgt. Jack Smith of the 
Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. Camden County has required local 
police departments to perform random tests for the last year, according to 
county law enforcement officials. Police departments are required to report 
the results to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. When asked whether he 
thought the unions that represent Gloucester County police would object to 
the random testing, Dalton said, "I would hope not." Thomas Cushane, 
president of Washington Township Regional Lodge No. 86 of the Fraternal 
Order of Police, declined to discuss specifics of the case. "It's an issue 
that's more appropriately addressed by the state office of the FOP, the 
state Attorney General's Office, and the county Prosecutors Office," 
Cushane said. Stuart J. Alterman, an attorney for the Washington Township 
Police Benevolent Association Chapter 318, who also is representing Thiel, 
said he hoped investigators would proceed with caution. "My client 
possessed no drugs," Alterman said. "This started out as a confidential 
internal investigation that should have remained confidential until 
appropriately released to the public because there are sensitive issues 
involved."
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