A 17-year veteran of the Newark Police Department wasindicted yesterday amid allegations he set fire to anSUV last year to collect an insurancepayout.

Johnathan Taylor, a 41-year-old resident of Plainfield,N.J., faces charges of conspiracy, aggravated arson, andinsurance fraud for which he could spend the next 30 years in jailif convicted.

Taylor joined the Newark police force in 1996, but his forayinto fraud may have begun in 2012, according the indictment bythe Essex County grand jury. Prosecutors allege that on March1, 2012, Taylor arranged to have his 2005 Toyota Sequoia torchedand subsequently lied to his insurer, New Jersey Skylands InsuranceCompany. The burning vehicle was later found, and aninvestigation followed.

Samuel DeMaio, director of the Newark policedepartment, told reporters the indictment is "troubling" andrepresents an "an isolated incident" rather than a trend ofmisconduct by the city's law enforcement.

"The circumstances surrounding this indictment were totallyseparate from his duties as a police officer," DeMaio stated."The final outcome of this indictment will determine the policedepartment's course of action once he has had the benefit of dueprocess."

Interestingly, Taylor is not the first Newark police officer tobe charged with insurance fraud. Last year, 30-year-old SulimanKamara was the focus of a state police probe. Investigatorsbelieved Kamara attempted to defraud his automotiveinsurer by falsely reporting his 2003 GMC Yukon stolen in2009.