A southern New Jersey Assemblyman and former TV news reporter who claims he was wrongly pulled over this summer has filed a 27-count criminal complaint against the patrolman who charged him with drunk driving.
Assemblyman Paul Moriarty accuses the officer of lying and falsifying a police report.
Moriarty's lawyer says it's now up to a municipal court judge to evaluate the complaint and decide whether to issue charges.
The 56-year-old Democrat insists he had not been drinking when he was pulled over on a Tuesday afternoon in late July by a patrolman in Washington Township, where he had once been mayor.
Moriarty took a field sobriety test but refused a Breathalyzer test.
He told NBC10 in August, “I did not have any alcohol,” said Moriarty. “None. And I think I was singled out and harassed. It was very embarrassing, very intimidating. I plan to defend this vigorously and perhaps even file charges against the Washington Township Police Department.”
The police chief said at the time he would investigate whether the officer had probable cause to stop the legislator.
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Moriarty has served in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 4th Legislative District, since 2006. He also served as the Mayor of Washington Township from 2004 until 2008.
Prior to his political career, Moriarty worked as an investigative journalist at CBS 3 for 17 years. Moriarty was also a news producer for NBC10 in the late 1980’s.
