Michael Irey, 55, who led the Upland Borough Police Department, was arrested in New Jersey on a warrant and was awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania as of Monday afternoon, according to the Delaware County District Attorney's Office.

The arrest follows a nearly year-long investigation that began after eight Upland officers filed anonymous complaints alleging misconduct by Irey, District Attorney Tanner Rouse said. Rouse accused Irey of treating his badge as a "personal paycheck," betraying both the public and the officers who served alongside him.

"I commend the officers who had the courage to come forward and expose this misconduct," Rouse said in a statement. "They demonstrated exactly what we expect from those who wear the badge: integrity, accountability, and the willingness to do what is right, even when it is difficult."

An attorney representing Irey could not be immediately reached for comment.

The investigation began last December, when the district attorney's Criminal Investigation Division received a tip that eight Upland officers had filed anonymous complaints with the borough accusing Irey of claiming overtime and special-duty pay for work he did not perform. The department receives outside money from agencies such as Chester Community Charter School and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to pay officers for extra duties like directing school traffic, and the Roving DUI Patrol is another such initiative. A record was kept of all officers paid for overtime or special details.

"Within the past year, the details are filled by Chief Irey and one other officer," Rouse's office said in a press release. "It is known that Chief Irey was assigned and drove an unmarked vehicle for the Upland Police. Officers became suspicious that Irey was not working any or all of the hours of the detail."

According to the district attorney's office, officers feared retaliation if they came forward publicly. In January, the same tipster followed up with another report: Irey was still allegedly receiving overtime pay for details he never worked. That person was brought in for an interview and provided seven anonymous complaints that had also been submitted to Upland Borough Council, telling detectives that Irey was never seen at the morning or afternoon charter school detail and that he signed up for the majority of PennDOT details but was not seen working them. Multiple officers were able to place him at popular bars in and around Delaware County, the office said.

Using license plate readers, detectives and prosecutors placed Irey's borough-issued vehicles near bars at times when he should have been on duty elsewhere. In one instance detailed in the affidavit, Irey's vehicle was in the vicinity of a bar in Media when he was scheduled to be conducting a DUI patrol.

County detectives reviewed further evidence and concluded that Irey had been paid more than $50,000 for overtime and specialty details he did not work. Upland Borough placed him on administrative leave in February, according to the Delaware County Daily Times.

Irey faces three counts of theft by unlawful taking, three counts of tampering with physical evidence, one count of obstruction of justice, three counts of theft by deception, six counts of forgery, three counts of unsworn falsification and one count of receiving stolen property.

The case is the latest development in a turbulent period for the small borough's police department and raises questions about oversight of the outside-funded details that supplement officers' pay in communities across the Philadelphia suburbs.