Adam Klymko dreamed of being a cop since he was 5 years old. On Friday, the former Morris Plains officer reflected on the career he threw away by stealing money from his PBA.
“Obviously I don’t think there’s words to explain how much I regret what I did, and
how much it kills me to know what I did to my co-workers, who were my best friends and that trusted me with their lives,” a somber Klymko, 31, told Superior Court Judge David Ironson at his virtual sentencing.
“I just hope at some point, once restitution’s paid, that we can move past this,” Klymko said.
In exchange for a guilty plea to third-degree theft, Klymko was given five years probation. During that time he must repay $86,276 he stole as treasurer of PBA Local 254 between January 2018 and March 2020.
An officer for eight years, Klymko never again can hold a public job.
Whether the PBA can repair the damage of the officer’s betrayal remains to be seen, said Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Vincent Leo. The stolen funds included donations from police and the public.
“In today’s society, how do you rebuild that trust, go back to the people, and say, ‘Our funds have been depleted, can you give us more money?’ Especially in today’s economic times, and just the world in general?” Leo said.
A half-dozen letters “clearly set forth the anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment” of those affected by Klymko’s “selfish” actions, Judge Ironson said.
“This theft of money does not only affect just the PBA. These actions have consequences in the community. As the letters have explained, the money that was in the PBA account is used for scholarships, it’s used for athletics, for school programs to assist struggling families, just to name a few,” Ironson said.
Klymko used the money “primarily to pay bills,” said his lawyer, Patrick Caserta, who quickly added: “That’s not an excuse.”
Ironson said Klymko, a County College of Morris graduate, is undergoing treatment. The judge did not elaborate.
Klymko could have been charged 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.
When the police department suspended him, Klymko immediately hired Caserta to inform the prosecutor’s office of his intention to plead guilty and repay the money, the lawyer said.
Klymko has lost far more than a badge, Caserta told the judge.
“First of all, he had the most difficult task of going home and telling his wife about all of this. And what this would do to their family’s finances. He lost a career that…he had dreamed about since he was 5 years old, a career that he can’t replace now in any way shape or form.”
And Klymko, a father of two, must face his neighbors.
“That town is a small town,” Caserta said. “People will know him. People will see him in the stores, on the sidewalk, in the restaurants. And he’ll be remembered long for this — all things that I think far exceed, or certainly add to, the punishment the judicial system might impose.”
