2 ex-workers charged with embezzling $500,000 from Lakewood company February 19, 2011
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: embezzlement
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Two former employees of a Lakewood company have been charged by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office with stealing funds from their employer. Arrested Tuesday were Mildred L. Hahn, 62, of Florida Court in Brick, and James R. Distasio, 32, of Halliard Avenue in Beachwood. The two had worked at Mon-Oc Mechanical Inc. Avenue in Lakewood.
Hahn is accused of embezzling in excess of $500,000 from the company between 2003 and 2009, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office.
Hahn was in charge of the firm’s bookkeeping duties, including processing payroll checks to employees. Employed with the company for 33 years, she also oversaw company bank deposits for all its business accounts and paid all company bills. The investigation began after company officials filed a theft complaint with Lakewood police. A complaint against Hahn also charges her with writing unauthorized company checks to herself.
Hahn was arrested at home and charged with theft, computer criminal activity as computers and the computer database were used in the alleged theft and fraudulent use of a stolen credit card. Distasio was arrested and charged with theft of company funds, according to the complaint warrant. Distasio, a general foreman at Mon-Oc Mechanical for approximately 12 years, is accused of partnering with Hahn to steal approximately $130,000 of company funds which were diverted to Distasio by company checks made out to him and authorized by Hahn.
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Three Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission employees arrested on charges of official misconduct February 1, 2011
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: official misconduct
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Three Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission employees were arrested today on charges of official misconduct as part of an ongoing probe into the troubled agency. Arrested were Anthony Ardis, 56, of Paterson, a former PVSC Commissioner who currently is Clerk to the Board of Commissioners and Director of Management Services at the PVSC; Kevin Keogh, 45, of Roseland, Superintendent for Special Services at the PVSC; and Chester Mazza, 69, of Totowa, Assistant Superintendent for Special Services.
Each was charged with official misconduct. The defendants will be held at Passaic County Jail, with bail for each set at $75,000. According to the complaint, each was hit with charges that they directed subordinate employees to complete repairs or improvements at their private homes or the homes of people close to them while the employees were on agency time.
According to the complaint, on several occasions Ardis allegedly sent PVSC employees to his mother’s home to tear down sheet rock in her garage and do other home maintenance work. On another occasion, Ardis sent PVSC workers to his girlfriend’s home to replace two air-conditioning units. According to the Star Ledger, Ardis serves as the agency’s ethics officer and is a former district director for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell.
The complaint alleges that Keogh sent workers to his home on several occasions to do deck work, remove old windows and install replacements and cut, finish and install kitchen cabinet doors. Mazza is alleged to have sent PVSC employees to his home twice, once to install a roof vent and a second time to repair an outside wall.
Official misconduct carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison. For each defendant, the conduct is alleged to have occurred after April 14, 2007, when enhanced penalties for official misconduct took effect. As a result, each defendant would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison without possibility of parole if convicted. In other words, these crimes have become very serious and the mandatory terms present problems for criminal defense attorneys.
The agency has been under fire daily over the past two weeks as Gov. Chris Christie ordered the removal of six of seven commissioners last week. Christie was responding to an expose by the Star Ledger that detailed several abuses including hiring of several family members by the sitting commissioners. All six resigned late last week. Last year, Christie replaced the agency’s director with former prosecutor Wayne Forrest. Earlier this week, Forrest cut the salaries of every employee making over $100,000.
