While Democrats speak from both sides of their mouths, telling us law enforcement should both be defunded and be the only ones trusted with firearms, it seems one of their confidants, or cretins depending on which way the wind blows, has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
And by cookies I mean ammunition. A lieutenant in charge of the New Jersey Department of Corrections gun ranges was recently arrested for allegedly stealing and selling what authorities say amounts to almost a half-million dollars in ammunition.
56-year-old Timothy John Morris of Bayville was charged on March 11 with 2nd-degree official misconduct, 2nd-degree theft, and 3rd-degree structuring financial transactions. According to the criminal complaint, as the agency’s range master, Morris was responsible for ordering and maintaining its ammunition inventory.
However, investigators discovered that he had been ordering an overabundance of ammunition since at least early 2019 and selling it to a gun supply store, which paid him directly via cash and check.
At the moment, it is believed that Morris made off with millions of rounds and saw personal profits in excess of $475,000. Morris allegedly concealed his actions by cashing checks at various banks in amounts under $10,000, helping him avoid mandatory reporting requirements that would have flagged transactions as suspicious. Official documents do not name the store that purchased the ammunition, and it is unclear if any additional suspects will be charged at this time.
Investigation into the matter involved cooperation between the Special Investigations Division of the Department of Corrections, the New Jersey State Police, and the Attorney General’s Public Integrity and Accountability Office.
“As the allegations in this case show, corruption is an expensive drain on public resources and victimizes taxpayers. My office refuses to accept that as business as usual… The defendant allegedly abused his law enforcement position to steal from the public, and he tried to conceal it with financial transactions designed to fly under the radar,” according to a statement from Attorney General Matt Platkin.
Morris, who joined the Department of Corrections in 1996 and has served as a lieutenant since 2015, was booked but immediately released from the Ocean County Jail and is suspended pending the case’s outcome. According to payroll records, his annual salary, including overtime in 2024, was $178,000. Now, he faces as much as 25 years in prison and fines of up to $315,000 if convicted.
“Correctional police officers are sworn to uphold the law, and when they violate their oath it erodes public trust,” said Department of Corrections Commissioner Victoria Kuhn.
It’s funny how trust and oaths work in these situations. If the allegations are proven, then the fiduciary betrayal of New Jersey taxpayer trust is undeniable. But why are lawmakers not held to the same standard as they routinely break oaths and defy the Constitution of the United States? Erosion of trust starts at the top, and government leaders have shielded themselves through a privileged class of their own white-collar making as they fleece the American public, not only of our tax dollars but also our liberty, arguably an even more unforgivable offense.
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