NJ police chief charged with kidnapping victim in hotel room

🚨A Passaic County police chief faces kidnapping and domestic assault charges

🚨Totowa’s mayor suspended the chief without pay

🚨The chief is also reportedly linked to a prior DWI case at the Jersey Shore

TOTOWA — A Passaic County police chief is scheduled to be arraigned in Boston on a domestic assault charge.

A Massachusetts grand jury on Thursday indicted Totowa police Chief Carmen Veneziano on one count of kidnapping and three counts of domestic assault and battery after he “confined and assaulted a woman” in a hotel room in the Back Bay section of Boston during the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 14, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

He was arrested on Friday and was being held at the Bergen County Jail, according to WCVB TV.  He was extradited to Massachusetts on Sunday.

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Prior DWI charge raises further questions

Totowa Mayor John Corio said on the borough's Facebook page that he did not see the charges in writing but was advised that "these charges were serious in nature and considered felonies. Veneziano has been suspended without pay, according to the mayor. An interim chief will be appointed.

The chief also faces a DWI charge from February while driving his chief’s vehicle at the Jersey Shore on Feb 23, according to Independent Online News. WCVB TV reports he was charged with operating under the influence of liquor or drugs, reckless and careless driving.

There is no listing for his arrest on the state court website. According to Online News Veneziano paid a $640 fine as part of a plea agreement.

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