Trenton police officer charged for allegedly making false statements under oath

Gaetano Ponticiello, 42, was in front of Judge Renee C. Ricciardelli on Feb. 23, 2009 when he gave the false testimony, the complaint says.

TRENTON — A veteran city police officer was charged last week after allegedly making a false statement during testimony in front of a worker’s compensation judge in 2009, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Gaetano Ponticiello, 42, was in front of Judge Renee C. Ricciardelli on Feb. 23, 2009 when he made “a false statement under oath, or equivalent affirmation, and did not believe the statement to be true,” according to the wording of the criminal complaint for false swearing, the fourth-degree crime he was charged with. The prosecutor’s office did not elaborate on what Ponticiellio is alleged to have said.

There is no evidence the court appearance involved Ponticiello’s duties as a police officer. A department spokesman would not comment on Ponticiello’s status, but officers are typically suspended if criminal charges have been filed against them.

Ponticiello will have a first appearance in the new case in Trenton Municipal Court Aug. 12, the prosecutor’s office said.

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