Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Judge: Jersey police captain used FBI database to vet baseball teammates

A suspended New Jersey Human Services Police captain has been convicted of using a secure FBI database to conduct background checks on members of his minor league baseball team.

A suspended New Jersey Human Services Police captain has been convicted of using a secure FBI database to conduct background checks on members of his minor league baseball team.

Brian Brady, 52, of Sparta, also directed subordinate officers to use the National Crime Information Center database to run a background check on a home health aide he was considering hiring for his mother, according to evidence prosecutors presented during a six-week bench trial in Mercer County Superior Court.

A judge found Brady guilty of official misconduct and computer theft, the state Attorney General's Office announced this week.

Criminal Justice Division Director Elie Honig said in a statement that Brady "repeatedly treated a restricted law enforcement database like his personal information clearinghouse."

"There's no room in law enforcement for this type of rogue behavior," Honig said.

Brady was acquitted of additional counts of official misconduct, theft by deception and tampering with public records related to allegations he used a state-issued vehicle, gas card and E-Z Pass for personal trips, then falsified time sheets to make it appear as though he was working.

Brady, who also formerly served as a councilman and mayor in Sparta, was suspended in May 2011 from his post as the third highest-ranking officer in the Human Services Police Force, which guards state-run developmental centers, psychiatric hospitals and child protection agency offices.

He will be permanently barred from holding a position of public employment as part of the terms of his sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.

Brady faces a maximum possible state prison term of 20 years and will be required to serve at least five years without parole for the official misconduct charge alone, prosecutors said.