Adam Klymko ended an eight-year police career on Tuesday by pleading guilty to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Morris Plains PBA.
As treasurer of PBA Local 254 from January 2018 to March 2020, Klymko, 31, withdrew money for “his own personal benefit, to pay bills and so forth,” in the words of his lawyer.
The patrolman pled to a third-degree charge of theft. If convicted at trial, he could have faced five years in jail and $15,000 in fines, Superior Court Judge David Ironson said during a virtual hearing that lasted about 20 minutes.
Under a plea deal with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Klymko instead is looking at five years’ probation when Ironson sentences him on Oct. 16, 2020.
The disgraced cop also must repay the PBA up to $91,170 — about $6,000 is in dispute– while forfeiting any future public employment. That includes any office or position of “honor, trust or profit under the state or any of its administrative or political subdivisions,” Judge Ironson said.
It would be a fourth-degree crime for Klymko to apply for a public job, the judge warned.
The plea required Klymko to acknowledge his crime.
“So do you agree and recognize therefore that you stole their money, that you committed a theft during that period of time by taking the PBA funds, for your own personal use without their authorization?” asked defense lawyer Patrick Caserta.
“Yes,” Klymko answered quietly.
If he wishes to move from New Jersey, he will need permission from probation officials in his new state, the judge added. Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Vincent Leo prosecuted the case.
Leo could have charged Klymko with second-degree theft, for stealing more than $75,000. That crime carries maximum penalties of 10 years in jail and fines of $150,000 or double the purloined amount–whichever is greater.
Investigators said Klymko bilked the PBA’s Operations and Fund Drive accounts for personal expenses and online purchases and activities, and sent stolen money to family and friends.
He siphoned the money in a variety of ways and attempted to hide the illicit withdrawals with money from a PBA mutual fund that he liquidating, according to legal documents.
Morris Plains Police Chief Michael Koroski, who contacted the prosecutor’s office when the PBA reported suspicions about Klymko, declined to comment on the guilty plea. The chief referred questions about the officer’s termination, pension and benefits to the borough clerk’s office.
This story will be updated with the borough’s response, along with any comments from the PBA. Klymko was hired as a Morris Plains police officer in 2012.
