Rockaway Township officer indicted for misconduct

A now-suspended Rockaway Township police officer was indicted Thursday on charges of official misconduct and witness tampering in connection with his alleged efforts to get a relative's drunken-driving ticket dismissed in Municipal Court in 2012.

Clifton "Clif" Gauthier, 35, of Sparta, was first charged in March by Morris County Prosecutor's Office Detective Daniel Haber and then indicted Thursday by a Morris County grand jury.

The investigation dates back to Feb. 9, 2012, when Gauthier allegedly called a State Trooper who had given his relative, Sean Costigan, a drunken driving ticket. Gauthier is accused of asking the trooper not to appear in Rockaway Township Municipal Court so that the ticket might be dismissed based on the trooper's failure to appear in court.

The witness tampering charge alludes to the same event, when Gauthier allegedly tried to block the trooper -- identified in court records only as N.S. -- from appearing in court.

According to records, Gauthier was hired in Rockaway Township in July 2005 and was earning $108,525 annually before his suspension.

Authorities previously have said that Gauthier allegedly contacted the trooper on Feb. 9, 2012, and "suggested" he didn't need to appear in township Municipal Court for trial because the charge was resolved. Then-Municipal Prosecutor Denis Driscoll questioned the trooper's failure to appear because the case was not resolved and Driscoll was prepared to proceed against Costigan.

Official misconduct is a second-degree crime punishable upon conviction by up to 10 years in prison. Defendants convicted of the offense normally must forfeit their jobs and are precluded from public employment again in New Jersey.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com