TRENTON, NJ – A state grand jury has indicted a suspended Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office (BCPO) lieutenant for allegedly removing and tampering with drug evidence on multiple occasions and engaging in financial crimes involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash deposits, officials announced.
Kevin T. Matthew, 48, of Cedar Grove, is accused of withdrawing cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl from BCPO’s evidence vault between January 2019 and November 2023. Prosecutors allege he accessed drug cases despite having no investigative role and returned altered evidence, impairing the chain of custody in ongoing criminal cases.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin called the alleged misconduct a “tremendous disservice to the public,” emphasizing that instead of protecting Bergen County, Matthew removed large amounts of previously seized drugs. Investigators also found that during the same period, Matthew made approximately $600,000 in cash deposits into bank accounts he controlled, allegedly structuring the transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements.
Matthew faces multiple charges, including tampering with evidence, financial facilitation of criminal activity, and filing fraudulent tax returns.