Former Irvington Mayor Michael Steele Pleads Guilty to Taking Kickbacks September 30, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: official misconduct
add a comment
TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that former Irvington Mayor Michael Steele pleaded guilty today to rigging school district contracts and taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks as business administrator for the Irvington Board of Education.
According to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Steele, 53, of Easton, Pa., pleaded guilty today before Superior Court Judge Roger F. Mahon in Hunterdon County to charges of second-degree official misconduct and second-degree pattern of official misconduct. The charges were contained in a June 5 state grand jury indictment that stemmed from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau.
In pleading guilty, Steele admitted that he took thousands of dollars in kickbacks on school district contracts. He agreed to pay $120,000 in restitution to the Irvington Board of Education.
Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Steele receive a sentence of seven years in state prison – including five years without possibility of parole – on each of the charges, with the sentences to run concurrently. Steele, who retired from the school district in April 2008, will be permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.
“Mr. Steele admitted that he took thousands of dollars in bribes generated by inflating contract costs,” said Attorney General Milgram. “That money was stolen from state and local taxpayers who pay for this struggling school district, and from students who deserve to see school funding used to improve their education, not to enrich corrupt administrators.”
Deputy Attorney General Erik Daab prosecuted the case and took the plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
The state’s investigation revealed that Steele engaged in two separate bid-rigging schemes between 2003 and 2007 involving two contractors and approximately $1.4 million in contracts. The two contractors pleaded guilty in August 2008, admitting that they provided bribes to Steele in connection with the schemes.
Preston Lewis, 54, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., and William Hardy, 57, of Margate, Fla., each pleaded guilty to accusations charging them with offering an unlawful benefit to a public servant for official behavior. Each of the contractors was sentenced late last year to three years of probation and a $5,000 fine. Lewis was ordered to perform 250 hours of community service, and Hardy, 150 hours. Both are barred from government contracts in New Jersey for five years.
The investigation was conducted and coordinated by Detective Kiersten Pentony, Detective Robyn Greene, Detective Harry Maronpot Jr., and Deputy Attorney General Daab of the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, and Detective Sgt. Geoffrey P. Forker, Detective Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Celli III and Detective Sgt. 1st Class Thomas T. Goletz of the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Unit. The state Department of Education assisted in the investigation.
“This case began with a tip from a person who was suspicious about the large sums of money that one contractor was receiving from the Irvington Board of Education,” said Director Gramiccioni. “We urge anyone who has information about possible misconduct by public officials to call our confidential tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. Our investigators will thoroughly investigate any leads.”
The investigation revealed that Steele, whose annual salary was $120,000, would purchase maintenance supplies for the district – including cleaning chemicals, asphalt repair compounds and salt for melting snow – from Hardy’s maintenance supplies company, WH Chemical Group in Margate, Florida, and the company would pay Steele a “bonus” of between $5,000 and $20,000 per order. WH Chemical Group received approximately $900,000 in district contracts.
Steele would call Hardy and ask him the quantity of products he needed to buy to get a kickback in a particular amount. Steele would then order supplies in the quantities stated by Hardy, and Hardy would send the kickback to Steele. While WH Chemical Group would provide the agreed upon quantities of supplies to the district, Steele created false purchase orders that inflated the quantities. WH Chemical Company could not match the prices offered by competitors, so Steele made it appear that the company was providing more supplies to beat the other bids.
In the second scheme, Steele rigged bids to award contracts to Lewis, a Lakewood-based contractor who owned Lone Star Consulting, a construction company, and BMG Security, a security camera installation company. Steele rigged bids on at least 29 school contracts involving those companies between January 2003 and December 2007 and inflated the contract prices to build in thousands of dollars in kickbacks for himself.
Steele would contact Lewis about school district projects and instruct him to prepare a cost estimate. Steele would then tell Lewis to inflate the estimate to include a kickback and submit the inflated bid to the school district. Steele or Lewis would prepare two fraudulent competing bids for the project in higher amounts. Because Lewis’s company always had the lowest bid, the Board of Education would award his company the contract. After he completed the work and received a check from the district, Lewis would meet with Steele to provide the kickback in cash.
Alarm Contractor Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids on Contracts with Department of Corrections September 30, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: bid rigging
1 comment so far
TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that an alarm system contractor from Collingswood and three companies that he owns have pleaded guilty to rigging bids for contracts with the New Jersey Department of Corrections and the Haddon Township Board of Education.
According to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Paul Kerth, 58, of Collingswood, and three companies he owns – Independent Alarm Distributors, Inc., Adirondack Alarm, and Automatic Alarm Associates – each pleaded guilty yesterday to third-degree theft by deception before Superior Court Judge Irvin J. Snyder in Camden County.
Kerth was named in a Jan. 14, 2009 state grand jury indictment which also charged Frederick J. Armstrong, 59, of Pemberton Borough, a construction management specialist in the Capital Planning & Construction Unit of the Department of Corrections (DOC). The indictment alleges that Armstrong assisted Kerth in submitting rigged bids to the DOC and used his influence over contracting procedures to steer contracts awarded by the department to Independent Alarm.
In pleading guilty, Kerth admitted that, at Armstrong’s request, he solicited other contractors to submit higher “cover” bids so Independent Alarm would win a 2003 contract with the Department of Corrections for $39,600 to install closed-circuit television components at Mid-State Correctional Facility. Under state law, Independent had to be the lowest qualified bidder among at least three independent bids to win the contract. Kerth further admitted that Automatic Alarm submitted a cover bid so that Independent Alarm would win a 2002 contract for $5,030 to install upgraded alarm systems in two schools in Haddon Township.
Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Kerth be sentenced to a term of probation conditioned upon him serving 364 days in the county jail and cooperating in the state’s ongoing investigation. He and his three companies will be barred from all public contracts in New Jersey for a period of five years and must pay $150,000 in restitution into the state’s Anti-Trust Revolving Fund for anti-trust enforcement efforts. Deputy Attorney General Steven J. Zweig took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Judge Snyder scheduled sentencing for Kerth for Nov. 20.
The charges are the result of an investigation by the Department of Corrections’ Special Investigations Division and the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
The charges against Armstrong are pending. He is charged in the indictment with conspiracy (2nd degree), official misconduct (2nd degree), conspiracy in restraint of trade (2nd degree), theft by deception (2nd degree), contract fraud (2nd degree), and two counts of misconduct by a corporate official (2nd and 3rd degree).
Armstrong has been suspended without pay from his position at DOC since the indictment was returned in January.
The state investigation revealed that between April 1999 and December 2004, Kerth and his companies, with Armstrong’s assistance, rigged at least nine DOC contracts with contract prices that, in the aggregate, exceeded $230,000.
Hudson County Enforcement Officer Pleads Guilty to Promoting Gambling September 29, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: promoting gambling
add a comment
TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that an enforcement officer for the Hudson County Improvement Authority pleaded guilty today to promoting gambling.
According to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Harry L. Aceti, 52, of Flemington, pleaded guilty to an accusation charging him with fourth-degree promoting gambling before Superior Court Judge Lourdes I. Santiago in Hudson County.
Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Aceti be ordered to serve a four-year term of probation. He must forfeit his job as an enforcement officer for the Hudson County Improvement Authority and will be permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. He could also face a criminal fine of up to $25,000.
In pleading guilty, Aceti admitted that he was actively involved in promoting an illegal bookmaking operation in which he solicited individuals to place bets on sporting events by distributing telephone numbers which these individuals could call to place bets. Aceti admitted that he also was responsible for collecting money from these bettors to cover their losses and ensuring that money was delivered to the winners.
Members of the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau North Unit conducted the investigation. Deputy Attorney General David M. Fritch took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
Contractor Pleads Guilty to Submitting False Claims for Schools Contract September 29, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: false payment claims
add a comment
Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that a Somerset County contractor has pleaded guilty to submitting false payment claims on behalf of his family’s company under a contract to replace doors in four schools in Clark Township.
According to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Rantik Parikh, 48, of Warren, and the family company he operated, Parikh Inc., pleaded guilty yesterday to a criminal charge of submitting false contract payment claims before Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier in Mercer County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Parikh be sentenced to three years of probation. Parikh and Parikh Inc. will be debarred from public contracts in New Jersey for a period of five years.
Judge Billmeier scheduled sentencing for Dec. 17. Deputy Attorney General Pearl Minato took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
The defendants were indicted last year for making false representations in submissions to the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation, now the Schools Development Authority, in connection with a 2004 contract to replace doors at the Johnson, Kumpf, Valley Road and Hehnly Schools in Clark. In pleading guilty, Parikh admitted that he submitted false certifications in connection with payment claims filed under the $295,500 contract.
The investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau revealed that the defendants falsely certified in a January 2005 payment application to the Schools Construction Corporation that a subcontractor, Rangam Consultants Inc., had been paid for work performed. They further certified that any additional money owed to any subcontractors would be paid within 10 days of receipt of the next contract payment. Based on the representations, the SCC authorized a $57,000 payment to Parikh Inc. in May 2005. However, the state’s investigation revealed that the first time any money was paid to Rangam was nearly 18 months after the certification. Another subcontractor was never paid.
Bergen County lawyer pleads guilty in contract fraud September 29, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: mail fraud
add a comment
Dennis Oury, a former Bergen County Democratic Party lawyer and adviser to several municipalities has pleaded guilty to corruption charges two days before his scheduled trial date. He pled to a mail fraud conspiracy charge and to failing to file a 2006 tax return.
He was indicted in September with former Bergen County Democratic leader Joseph Ferriero, who also faces conspiracy and mail fraud charges. Federal prosecutors allege that the two men used their political influence to get government contracts for their jointly owned consulting firm without disclosing that they stood to benefit from the deals. Ferriero’s trial is still going forward on Thursday but of course, that may change as a result of today’s plea.
Story is here.
General manager of Backhoe Services Inc. in Bayonne enters guilty plea September 29, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: embezzlement
add a comment
Anthony R. Ambrosio, the former general manager of Backhoe Services Inc. in Bayonne pleaded guilty today to five charges including embezzlement of an employee benefit program, tax evasion and conspiracy. Free on $1 million bond, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
Ambrosio that from 2004 to 2007, he cashed corporate checks to pay cash to illegal immigrant workers, skirted union wage rules, withheld payroll taxes and filed fraudulent tax returns. He also admitted that he paid about $20,000 in cash to leaders of union Local 825 to obtain snow plowing contracts at construction sites.
Story is here.
Submit a blog to the Blawg 100 September 28, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in Misc..add a comment
Here’s the link where you can nominate my blog or any other legal blog:
http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/blawg100_submit
Operation Bid Rig III Update: James King pleads out September 24, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: Operation Bid Rig III
add a comment
James King, a former Hudson County undersheriff and one of the Operation Bid Rig 3 defendants admitted today that he took bribes from an undercover government informant (Dwek). He is now the fifth defendant to plead guilty in connection to July’s corruption sting. Obviously, the defense attorneys are really fighting hard huh? (sarcasm)
While running for the Jersey City Council, he took between $5,000 and $10,000 from Dwek. In exchange, King promised that if elected, he would help secure zoning changes for Dwek who was posing as a developer that was building a luxury condominium project.
I see no indication that he implicated anyone else, so this seems like a rather uneventful plea. Story is here.
NJ woman wanted in theft from auto dealership found in Florida September 24, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: money laundering
1 comment so far
Last November, workers at Lynnes Nissan in Bloomfield that were performing an internal audit discovered that money was missing from the dealership’s accounts payable department. An apparent theft had occurred in multiple stages from 2007 to 2008. Karen Sosa, an accounts payable clerk at the business left her job shortly after the audit.
The dealership notified the Essex County Prosecutor’s Economic Crimes Unit who sought to interview Sosa in June. However, she allegedly skipped town and was on the run. This Wednesday, members of the U.S. Marshals tracked her down to at an apartment in Broward County.
She is now facing charges of first-degree money laundering and second-degree theft by deception for the alleged theft of $545,000. I’d like to know more about the case. That money laundering charge has to be the harshest white collar crime in New Jersey. Thus, her attorney should focus on getting around that charge one way or the other.
Story is here.
Five indicted for auto insurance fraud September 23, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: Insurance Fraud
1 comment so far
This is more common than most people think. As a result, if your car is stolen, the insurance company may subject you to an examination under oath. As I have indicated in prior posts, it is very important to have an attorney at an EUO so that you don’t get yourself in hot water.
Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that five North Jersey residents were charged today in separate state grand jury indictments for falsely reporting the theft of their cars. The charges stem from an ongoing investigation into an automobile “give up” scheme in which its leader, Jose Torres, was previously sentenced to eight years in state prison with five years of parole ineligibility.
The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor obtained the following indictments:
State v. Jose Pujols. Pujols, of Paterson, was charged with second-degree insurance fraud, third- and fourth-degree theft by deception, third-degree tampering with public records or information and fourth-degree falsifying records. The indictment alleges that on Sept. 30, 2006, Pujols reported to the Paterson Police Department that his 2000 Honda Accord had been stolen from in front of his house in Paterson and that he had last seen it around 8:45pm on Sept. 29, 2006. An investigation determined that the vehicle had not been stolen but had allegedly been purchased as part of an undercover law enforcement operation around 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2006 in Dover.
The indictment further alleges that Pujols filed a fraudulent vehicle theft claim with Geico Insurance Company over the phone on Sept. 30, 2006. On Oct. 17, 2006, Pujols allegedly completed an affidavit, falsely claiming that his vehicle was stolen along with personal items and baseball equipment inside the car. He subsequently submitted the false affidavit to Geico. As a result of the false claim, Pujols allegedly received $8,265 for the Honda and $200 for the personal items in the car, knowing that neither the car nor the personal items had been stolen.
State v. Mark P. McCaffrey. McCaffrey, of Landing, was charged with insurance fraud, theft by deception and tampering with public records or information (all third-degree) as well as fourth-degree falsifying records. The indictment alleges that on Sept. 9, 2006, McCaffrey falsely reported to the Roxbury Police Department that his 1999 Lincoln Navigator had been stolen when, in fact, the vehicle had been sold to undercover detectives on Sept. 5, 2006. According to the indictment, McCaffrey submitted a fraudulent affidavit to Geico Insurance Company claiming that his vehicle was stolen and received $13,000 from Geico to which he was not entitled.
State v. Natividad Lopez. Lopez, of Passaic, was charged with insurance fraud, theft by deception, tampering with public records or information (all third-degree) as well as fourth-degree falsifying records. The indictment alleges that Lopez falsely reported to the Passaic Police Department, and reported in a fraudulent affidavit to the IFA Insurance Company, that her 2000 Jaguar S had been stolen on Sept. 1, 2006. In fact, the vehicle had been sold to undercover detectives on Aug. 23, 2006. As a result of the alleged fraud, IFA Insurance paid the lien holder of the Jaguar $16,400 for the car.
State v. Caseem Gresham. Gresham, of Saddle Brook, was charged with insurance fraud, theft by deception, tampering with public records or information (all third-degree), and fourth-degree falsifying records. The indictment alleges that on Oct. 30, 2006 Gresham falsely reported to the Garfield Police Department that his 2005 Honda Accord had been stolen, when in fact the vehicle had been sold to undercover detectives on Oct. 26, 2006. The indictment charges that Gresham subsequently submitted a fraudulent affidavit to First Trenton Companies/Travelers Insurance Company claiming that his vehicle had been stolen. As a result, Gresham allegedly received $11,400 from Travelers to which he was not entitled.
State v. Gladys Ramos. Ramos, of Paterson, was charged with insurance fraud, theft by deception, and tampering with public records or information (all third-degree). It is charged that on Oct. 5, 2006, Ramos fraudulently reported to the Paterson Police Department that her 2006 Chevrolet Equinox had been stolen when, in fact, the vehicle had been sold to undercover detectives on Sept. 29, 2006. The indictment further alleges that Ramos submitted a false vehicle theft claim to Allstate Insurance Company and illegally received $19,600 from Allstate.
The Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor thanked Geico Insurance Company, IFA Insurance Company, First Trenton Companies/Travelers Insurance Company and the Allstate Insurance Company for their assistance in the investigations. In other words, the insurance company uncovered the alleged fraud and handed over all of the evidence to the State.
