New Jersey cop charged with stealing cable box from police headquarters: report

George Gunderman is accused of stealing his police department's cable TV box and seeking pay for time he didn't work.  (Sussex County Jail)

A New Jersey police officer in charge of a small department is facing charges for allegedly stealing a cable TV box from police headquarters and getting paid for time he didn’t work.

Hamburg police lieutenant George Gunderman, 41, was taken into custody Monday while in uniform in front of the city’s municipal building. He was appointed in charge of the eight-member Sussex County police force last year after the police chief position was eliminated.

Authorities began investigating Gunderman after reports that he sought compensation for training courses he didn’t attend. He allegedly paid himself for 12 hours to attend training on March 3, but the hosting agency told prosecutors the course had been canceled the week prior.

One officer said the department’s cable box had been missing since Feb. 3-- Super Bowl Sunday. He said Gunderman told him he took it to a volunteer fire department where he was also a member, but that it had yet to be returned as of March 20, according to a criminal complaint, NJ.com reported.

Prosecutors have charged Gunderman with theft, tampering with public records, tampering with evidence and official misconduct, prosecutors said. It was not immediately if he will face disciplinary action from the city. Gunderman’s attorney called the allegations against him “baseless.”

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"We are preparing to mount a defense to all of these baseless allegations," Anthony J.Iacullo said Tuesday. "We are presently working on securing his immediate release from custody so that he could return home to his family and begin the process of defending against the allegations.”