In the wake of their recent legal troubles, two Newark Fire Department officers have been suspended without pay from active duty, officials confirm.
(file photo)NEWARK -- One Newark Fire Department captain stands charged with counterfeiting DVDs. Another was charged with impersonating a police officer. Now, both men are suspended from active duty, officials have confirmed.
Captain Anthony Graves, 47, and Captain Jose Robles, 50, were removed from duty Wednesday, Acting Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.
In the past several days, county prosecutors have implicated both in a variety of criminal activity.
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/04/newark_asks_judge_to_toss_lawsuit_from_embattled_f.html
In a Monday statement, Union County Prosecutor Grace Park announced the result of the department's long-running investigation of Graves.
In November 2014, the 16-year department veteran allegedly used the emergency lights on his fire department vehicle to illegally initiate two motor vehicle stops, and then question each of the drivers, Park said. Graves now faces charges of fourth-degree impersonation of a law enforcement officer.
Sources also have said the Union County Prosecutor's Office is investigating Graves and the Newark Fire Department's Environmental Dumping Task Force.
As part of that investigation, detectives with the Union County Prosecutor's Office's Corruption Unit raided the offices of Fire Director James Stewart on July 17, sources previously said.
On Tuesday, an Essex County grand jury indicted Robles on charges of counterfeiting and official misconduct after investigators seized over $100,000 in pirated DVDs from a University Avenue comic book shop owned by the veteran firefighter.
Robles' next court appearance is scheduled for April 15.
Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.