TRENTON
– Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
today announced that the former vice president
and general manager of the New Jersey
Transit (NJT) was sentenced to three years
in State Prison by Essex County Superior
Court Judge Thomas Vena for soliciting
and receiving $1,600 worth of Broadway
tickets from a vendor that had a contract
with the transit agency.
The Attorney General said that Maureen
A. Milan, 54, of Westfield, Union County,
who oversaw the Bus and Light Rail operation
for NJT, pleaded guilty to one count of
Unlawful Benefits for Official Behavior,
a second degree offense in September.
"Attacking government corruption
and financial fraud is a priority of the
Attorney General's Office. Any official
that abuses his or her office for personal
gain will be brought to justice. This
case shows that by combining our investigative
units, we are strengthening our resources
and our commitment to investigating and
prosecuting corruption," said the
Attorney General.
The investigation into Milan was conducted
jointly by the Office of Government Integrity
(OGI) and the Division of Criminal Justice.
The investigation resulted in an indictment
returned on February 11, 2003.
First Assistant Attorney General and Director
of OGI Edward Neafsey said public officials
must be held accountable for their crimes.
"A public official takes an oath
to serve the citizens, and is held to
a higher standard. Any breach of that
public trust is an affront to the integrity
of the office and to the citizens of New
Jersey," Neafsey said.
Vaughn L. McKoy, Director of the Division
of Criminal Justice, praised the work
of the joint investigation. "The
Division of Criminal Justice and the Office
of Government Integrity combined resources
to effectively prosecute allegations of
corruption involving Milan. With statewide
prosecutorial authority, the Division
will continue to maximize law enforcement
resources with federal, state, county
and local law enforcement to investigate
and prosecute corruption," McKoy
said.
Milan admitted to the judge that she accepted
four tickets to a July 2001 performance
of "The Producers" from a vendor.
The company, which paid $1,600 for hard-to-get
tickets, was identified as Motor Coach
Industries, Inc. Motor Coach Industries
of Shaumburg, Ill. had a $500 million,
three-year contract to provide commuter
buses to NJT.
Neafsey said that the indictment is the
first time that criminal charges have
been filed against an individual under
the Unlawful Benefits for Official Behavior
statute, which was amended by the legislature
in 2000. This new criminal provision was
part of the omnibus revision to the public
bidding laws which enhanced the criminal
penalties for gifts made to public servants.
"This
is an important tool provided by the state
legislature that makes it easier to go
after public corruption," said Neafsey.
"We will use all available tools
to root out corrupt public officials,"
said Neafsey.
Assistant Attorney General Victoria Bramson
of the Office of Government Integrity
represented the State at the court proceeding.
The investigation was conducted by Supervising
State Investigator Anthony D'Aquino and
State Investigators Lori Buttich and Raymond
Kaminski, who are assigned to the OGI,
and DAG Thomas Goan of the Division of
Criminal Justice.
