A Gloucester County assemblyman charged with drunken driving after declining to take a breath test over the summer has filed a 27-count criminal complaint against the arresting patrolman, accusing him of lying and falsifying a police report.
Democratic Assemblyman Paul Moriarty said Wednesday that he was wrongfully pulled over July 31 by Washington Township Police Officer Joseph DiBuonaventura, who accused the legislator of cutting him off near a Chick-fil-A restaurant on Greentree Road in Turnersville.
DiBuonaventura ordered Moriarty, a former Washington Township mayor, from the car. He asked Moriarty whether he had been drinking and told him to take a field sobriety test, which Moriarty said he passed. Moriarty declined to take a Breathalyzer test, explaining later, "I didn't know if I could trust the process."
The 4 p.m. traffic stop began with the officer accusing Moriarty of cutting him off in traffic, which the legislator denied. In addition to drunken driving, the assemblyman was charged with failure to maintain his lane.
Moriarty's complaint, announced Wednesday, accuses the officer of official misconduct, perjury, filing false reports, and falsifying and tampering with public records, among other alleged violations.
A Municipal Court judge or court administrator will evaluate the complaint and decide whether charges will be issued, said Moriarty's attorney, John C. Eastlack Jr.
"What happened to me a few months ago shouldn't happen to anyone," said Moriarty, 56, also a former CBS3 reporter. "There is no legal reason to even stop my car. This officer crossed the line."
Township Police Chief Rafael Muniz said after the arrest he would investigate whether the patrolman had probable cause to stop the legislator from the Fourth District, which also includes part of Camden County.
Muniz said Wednesday the misconduct allegations had been referred to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office for investigation.
Bernie Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office, said that his office had not seen Moriarty's complaint and that prosecutors were "limited in what they can say about a criminal case, having an obligation to ensure the accused receives fair treatment."
Township Police Capt. Richard Leonard was unavailable for comment Wednesday. DiBuonaventura and his police union representative, Officer Joe Micucci, also could not be reached.
It's unclear whether or how well the officer and lawmaker knew each other before the traffic stop. Moriarty's car has license plates that identify him as a legislator.
The case has been moved to Cumberland County, outside Moriarty's district.
"This complaint is a first step to getting my reputation back after being pulled over and arrested under false pretenses," Moriarty said.
"The officer in question desperately tried to reinvent the facts in light of his rogue actions," he said. "What he did that day is a travesty to the many men and women in uniform who go to work every day with the best intentions of fighting crime and bringing true offenders to justice."
Moriarty has voted for and sponsored bills that deal with drunken driving. He voted for a measure last year that would have reaffirmed the penalties for refusing to take a breath test.
In 2004, before Moriarty was elected to the Legislature, the penalty for refusing to take a breath test was changed to suspension of one's license for a minimum of seven months.
The state Supreme Court modified the law two years ago to require officers to warn drivers about the consequence of refusing the test. That prompted a follow-up bill.
That measure, approved by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee with a "yes" vote from Moriarty in November, would have forbidden defendants from mounting a defense based on an arresting officer's failure to state the consequences of not taking the test.
In addition, in 2009, Moriarty was the primary sponsor of a bill to require breath or blood samples from drivers involved in accidents that resulted in death or serious injury. He sponsored the bill again in 2010 and reintroduced it in January.
"I look forward to a full vetting of this incident," Moriarty said Wednesday. "This filing today is merely the tip of the iceberg.
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Contact Edward Colimore at 856-779-3833 or [email protected].
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
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