Newark cop loses job, sentenced
to 3 years probation for torching SUV
NEWARK — A veteran Newark
police officer was sentenced to three years probation and 200 hours of
community service today for torching his SUV in 2012 so he could collect on the
insurance, Essex County prosecutors say.
Johnathan Taylor, 41, agreed to
forfeit his $102,000-a-year-job in November after pleading guilty to
third-degree insurance fraud. The 17-year veteran was facing as much as 10
years in prison.
In March 2012, Taylor set fire
to his 2005 Toyota Sequoia and left it burning on Wainwright Street in Newark,
prosecutors say.
He then filed a phony insurance
claim and tried to collect the proceeds, prosecutors say.
A grand jury in Essex County
Superior Court indicted Taylor on charges of insurance fraud, aggravated arson
and conspiracy.
"John has proudly served
this city since 1996," said James Stewart, the president of the Newark
Fraternal Order of Police. "Unfortunately, he had a serious lapse in
judgment and became involved in a situation that cost him his career. Being the
family man that he is, he faced the consequences head on and took
responsibility for his actions to put this matter behind him and move on in the
next phase of his life."
Taylor is the second Newark
police officer to forfeit his job in the past week as a result of criminal
charges.
On Friday, an Essex County
judge ordered veteran Newark detective Ugo Bellomo, 44, into a court program
that allows defendants to avoid criminal convictions.
Essex County prosecutors say
Bellomo – the brother-in-law of Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio -- pointed
his gun at a motorist on a Millburn highway in November 2012.
The motorist called 911 and a
New Jersey state trooper stopped Bellomo a short time later. Bellomo, who
joined the department in 1996, was not charged at the time. However, he was
indicted this year on a charge of aggravated assault with a firerarm and
pleaded not guilty in May.
If Bellomo successfully
completes the Pre-Trial Intervention program over the next year, he will avoid
a criminal conviction. He’s also barred from taking a job in law enforcement.
