By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 09:48 EST, 18 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:54 EST, 18 July 2013 . A former New Jersey police officer has lost his disability pension after footage emerged showing him wrestling and chasing monster trucks on a reality TV show. Joseph Derrico started receiving monthly payouts of $5,808.61 - nearly $70,000 a year - in 2010, claiming he had sustained a leg injury while working for Hamilton Township police. But doctors have now concluded that his disability . no longer exists after NBC4 and the New . Jersey Watchdog discovered footage of him taking part in TruTV's Bear Swamp . Recovery. And in yet another twist, it has emerged that the police officer was approved for the tax-free pension even though he had been indicted just one month earlier on receiving stolen goods charges. Scroll down for video . Oops: Joe Derrico, circled, has lost his state-paid disability pension after he appeared on reality TV show Bear Swamp Recovery. He claimed he had a leg injury but on the show he was filmed running and wrestling . Derrico resigned from the police force in October 2010, three months after he was indicted. The charges stemmed from stolen jewelry he accepted while working at Hiram's Gold and Coin Exchange in Ewing, a gold-buying service which he co-owned. He was behind the counter when the thieves brought the loot to the store and Derrico asked few questions before paying around $1,000 for the bag of jewelry, the watchdog reported. The day after the burglary, investigators went to the store to ask about the items and Derrico denied the youngsters had been at the store. However, the store had been under surveillance by Ewing police, who suspected . burglars were using Hiram's to get rid of stolen items. Derrico promptly changed his story. A month later, Derrico was indefinitely . suspended from his police job, with charges against him . including misconduct and untruthfulness. Physical: Derrico, left, is seen running and fighting in the show, which only had one series on TruTV . He was indicted by a grand jury on July 14, 2010 on a charge of third-degree theft by . receiving stolen property, which could have seen him locked up for five years in . prison. But just a month before the indictment, Derrico had applied for retirement and a disability pension, claiming he had injured his leg twice while on the job in July 2009 and January 2010. 'I feel my injury will prohibit me from . doing my job safely and at the level needed, it will put me or other . officers in danger,' Derrico concluded, according to documents in his state pension file. The pension office did not know he was under indictment and he was granted the pension. The . payout was a staggering two-thirds of his $104,555 annual salary, and . it was to be paid to him, tax-free, for the rest of his life. As he was retired, all charges against Derrico were dropped in September 2010. A year after he received his first . payment, it emerged that he had been cast as a minor character in the . reality TV show Bear Swamp Recovery, a one-season show about a repossession business. 'Fake': Despite his appearance on the show, he was receiving nearly $70,000 a year for a leg injury . Questionable: The former Hamilton township cop received the state-paid, tax-free pension even though he had been indicted on receiving stolen goods charges and dismissed from the force . Clips of the men - one of whom was Derrico’s partner in the gold buying business - were recently posted to YouTube and show him running and wrestling. He is seen chasing after a monster truck, pulling a man . down from the driver's seat, throwing him to the ground and climbing inside before driving off. When the video emerged, he was sent back to the doctor who originally examined him, and the doctor said Derrico was no longer disabled. It was sent to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System who approved it 10-0. Across the state, at least 5,300 retired police officers and firefighters are receiving disability payments. Pension payouts total $198 million per year and soar by $20 million each year. 'Is this one in a million?' John . Sierchio, a member of the PFRS board of trustees, asked during an . interview with The Times of Trenton. Appearance: Derrico can be seen left in one episode of the show, which followed a repossession business . Fight: He is seen tackling a man to the ground - even though he said his leg was too injured for him to work . 'No, I don't believe this is one in a million. I think there are a lot of people out there who are using the system to fill their needs.' Derrico's resignation remains in effect, according to Hamilton business administrator John Ricci. 'So . he resigned with disciplinary charges pending, which happens,' Ricci . said. 'We don't have to take him back… but he doesn't have a pension . anymore.' But in April, P.J. Vinch, a friend of Derrico's, told NBC4 that the reality TV show had been staged. 'There's no way that he could have ever been a police officer with the injury that he sustained,' Vinch said - but the board disagreed. 'We had to stop his pension,' Sierchi said. 'Otherwise, this would go on in limbo forever. And he would be collecting a pension, not being disabled and pretty much laughing at everybody.' Derrico may appeal the decision to the Office of Administrative Law, a process that could take years.
Joseph Derrico was receiving nearly $70,000 a year from his pension .
Claimed he was unable to work due to leg injury sustained on the job .
A year after his first payment, he appeared on Bear Swamp Recovery .
The former cop was granted the pension even though he had been indicted on charges of receiving stolen goods .
By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 09:48 EST, 18 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:54 EST, 18 July 2013 . A former New Jersey police officer has lost his disability pension after footage emerged showing him wrestling and chasing monster trucks on a reality TV show. Joseph Derrico started receiving monthly payouts of $5,808.61 - nearly $70,000 a year - in 2010, claiming he had sustained a leg injury while working for Hamilton Township police. But doctors have now concluded that his disability . no longer exists after NBC4 and the New . Jersey Watchdog discovered footage of him taking part in TruTV's Bear Swamp . Recovery. And in yet another twist, it has emerged that the police officer was approved for the tax-free pension even though he had been indicted just one month earlier on receiving stolen goods charges. Scroll down for video . Oops: Joe Derrico, circled, has lost his state-paid disability pension after he appeared on reality TV show Bear Swamp Recovery. He claimed he had a leg injury but on the show he was filmed running and wrestling . Derrico resigned from the police force in October 2010, three months after he was indicted. The charges stemmed from stolen jewelry he accepted while working at Hiram's Gold and Coin Exchange in Ewing, a gold-buying service which he co-owned. He was behind the counter when the thieves brought the loot to the store and Derrico asked few questions before paying around $1,000 for the bag of jewelry, the watchdog reported. The day after the burglary, investigators went to the store to ask about the items and Derrico denied the youngsters had been at the store. However, the store had been under surveillance by Ewing police, who suspected . burglars were using Hiram's to get rid of stolen items. Derrico promptly changed his story. A month later, Derrico was indefinitely . suspended from his police job, with charges against him . including misconduct and untruthfulness. Physical: Derrico, left, is seen running and fighting in the show, which only had one series on TruTV . He was indicted by a grand jury on July 14, 2010 on a charge of third-degree theft by . receiving stolen property, which could have seen him locked up for five years in . prison. But just a month before the indictment, Derrico had applied for retirement and a disability pension, claiming he had injured his leg twice while on the job in July 2009 and January 2010. 'I feel my injury will prohibit me from . doing my job safely and at the level needed, it will put me or other . officers in danger,' Derrico concluded, according to documents in his state pension file. The pension office did not know he was under indictment and he was granted the pension. The . payout was a staggering two-thirds of his $104,555 annual salary, and . it was to be paid to him, tax-free, for the rest of his life. As he was retired, all charges against Derrico were dropped in September 2010. A year after he received his first . payment, it emerged that he had been cast as a minor character in the . reality TV show Bear Swamp Recovery, a one-season show about a repossession business. 'Fake': Despite his appearance on the show, he was receiving nearly $70,000 a year for a leg injury . Questionable: The former Hamilton township cop received the state-paid, tax-free pension even though he had been indicted on receiving stolen goods charges and dismissed from the force . Clips of the men - one of whom was Derrico’s partner in the gold buying business - were recently posted to YouTube and show him running and wrestling. He is seen chasing after a monster truck, pulling a man . down from the driver's seat, throwing him to the ground and climbing inside before driving off. When the video emerged, he was sent back to the doctor who originally examined him, and the doctor said Derrico was no longer disabled. It was sent to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System who approved it 10-0. Across the state, at least 5,300 retired police officers and firefighters are receiving disability payments. Pension payouts total $198 million per year and soar by $20 million each year. 'Is this one in a million?' John . Sierchio, a member of the PFRS board of trustees, asked during an . interview with The Times of Trenton. Appearance: Derrico can be seen left in one episode of the show, which followed a repossession business . Fight: He is seen tackling a man to the ground - even though he said his leg was too injured for him to work . 'No, I don't believe this is one in a million. I think there are a lot of people out there who are using the system to fill their needs.' Derrico's resignation remains in effect, according to Hamilton business administrator John Ricci. 'So . he resigned with disciplinary charges pending, which happens,' Ricci . said. 'We don't have to take him back… but he doesn't have a pension . anymore.' But in April, P.J. Vinch, a friend of Derrico's, told NBC4 that the reality TV show had been staged. 'There's no way that he could have ever been a police officer with the injury that he sustained,' Vinch said - but the board disagreed. 'We had to stop his pension,' Sierchi said. 'Otherwise, this would go on in limbo forever. And he would be collecting a pension, not being disabled and pretty much laughing at everybody.' Derrico may appeal the decision to the Office of Administrative Law, a process that could take years.
on a reality TV show. Joseph Derrico started the tax-free pension even though he had been state-paid disability pension after he appeared on reality TV show Bear Swamp Recovery. He Derrico was indefinitely . suspended from his indictment and he was granted the pension. The . received his first . payment, it emerged that he receiving nearly $70,000 a year for a leg injury though he had been indicted on receiving stolen