Official Misconduct

The New Jersey Appellate Division today affirmed the conviction of a volunteer firefighter for calling in false alarms. The court concluded that the offense involved "official misconduct" and that the defendant received a "benefit" from the gratification of responding to the alarms. The calls were made to a phone line that bypassed police and was known only to insiders. Some calls were recorded and the defendant was identified as the caller. (Mike Frisch)