Hamilton Township informed the state pension board of the criminal and administrative charges against a former police officer when he filed for a disability pension three years ago, township officials said Thursday.

Joseph Derrico, a police officer who retired on a disability pension in 2010, came into the spotlight this week after a report from New Jersey Watchdog and NBC 4 New York showed him roughhousing on the television show Bear Swamp Recovery. Derrico was also under the microscope for an indictment for theft by receiving stolen property at a store in Ewing Township.

Pension officials in the New Jersey Watchdog story said they did not find out about the indictment or charges against Derrico until after his pension had been awarded. But a letter Hamilton Township received on May 26, 2010, indicated the pension board had received the report of the charges against Derrico.

Business Administrator John Ricci said the township also filed notices with the board when they suspended him without pay in July and when the township filed administrative disciplinary charges against him. He said the latest notice was sent in August, and the board approved Derrico’s pension in September.

“The staff had it, what they did with it, what they showed to the board, I can’t say,” he said.

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