WOODBURY — A New Jersey police
officer has pleaded not guilty to charges he made a bogus drunken driving
arrest of a politician last year.
Washington Township officer
Joseph DiBuonoventura entered the plea Monday. He could face decades in prison
if he is convicted of official misconduct, falsifying records and other
offenses.
A prosecutor said a guilty plea
would have been met with a recommendation for five years in prison.
The officer charged Assemblyman
Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, in July 2012 with drunken driving and other
crimes.
Moriarty, a former mayor of
Washington Township, said he had not been drinking and was wrongly accused. He
produced a video of the incident and the charges against him were dropped.