kugler
(Trenton, NJ/77WABC)-The NJ State Attorney General Monday charged Saddle Brook Police Chief, Robert Kugler, with official misconduct and other charges including conspiracy for allegedly using township police officers and police vehicles as an escort service for his private funeral business, The Kugler Funeral Home.
Officers were allegedly used as escorts to and from cemeteries using departmental vehicles within and outside of Saddle Brook’s boundaries. The Prosecutors office says The Kugler Funeral Home did not reimburse the town for the escorts which allegedly occurred between January 2019 and August 2020.
The 59-year-old Kugler is charged with official misconduct in the second degree, conspiracy in the second degree, and corruption of public resources in the third degree.
NJ State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in a press release said the 59-year-old Kugler used official police vehicles to escort funeral processions to cemeteries both within and outside of Saddle Brook.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the day-to-day operations of the Saddle Brook Police Department.
Deputy Attorney General Eric C. Cohen is prosecuting the case for the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). Chief Kugler was charged in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau and the OPIA Corruption Bureau.
Use of police vehicles for escort services is prohibited by township ordinance, with the exception of escorts for the municipal government of Saddle Brook or nonprofit organizations. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The second-degree charge of official misconduct carries a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison without the possibility of parole. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
It is not known if Kugler has retained counsel.
