TRENTON
– Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
announced today that Manny Bana, a former
school construction contractor once based
in Somerset County, pleaded guilty in
New Jersey Superior Court to criminal
charges related to the embezzlement of
nearly $1 million in public funds earmarked
for school construction and renovation
projects in Edison Township.
Bana, 38, pleaded guilty this afternoon
before Superior Court Judge Frederick
P. DeVesa in Middlesex County to one count
each of making false contract representation
for a government contract, and theft of
funds by failure to make required disposition.
Both counts represent second-degree charges
resulting from an investigation by the
Attorney General’s Office of Government
Integrity (OGI). As the result of a plea
agreement, Bana is expected to be sentenced
to five years in State Prison, and to
be ordered to pay a yet-to-be-determined
amount of restitution and fines.
According to Attorney General Harvey,
defendant Bana was the sole owner and
operator of the Somerville-based Icon
Construction Corp., a company hired by
the Edison Township Board of Education
in December 2002 to act as primary contractor
on nine different public school construction
projects throughout the Edison district.
The projects were funded in part by the
New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation
(SCC).
The Attorney General said an extensive
investigation by OGI revealed that Bana
stole by accepting payments as primary
contractor on the Edison school construction
jobs, then withholding payment to six
subcontractors hired to help with the
work despite representing that he had
paid those subcontractors. In announcing
Bana’s guilty plea, Harvey noted
that, while contractors failing to pay
subcontractors is not a new problem, he
knows of no other successful criminal
prosecution of a contractor by the State
for such conduct.
“We
remain committed to policing public corruption
and protecting public funds, and to helping
school districts and hard-working contractors
avoid being exploited by unscrupulous
business operators,” said Harvey.
“Through greed and deception, this
defendant stole public money, caused extreme
financial hardship for all of the subcontractors
involved and, clearly, walked away believing
that no consequences would result from
his unlawful actions.”
On March 19, 2004 Bana, who once resided
in Roselle Park, Union County, and Icon
Construction were debarred by the New
Jersey Schools Construction Corporation
and the State Division of Property Management
and Construction from receiving public
works contracts in New Jersey. Bana was
indicted in connection with his Edison
crimes in late March 2005. He turned himself
in shortly thereafter. Following today’s
guilty plea in Superior Court, Bana remained
free on $25,000 bail pending formal sentencing.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 6,
2006 before Judge DeVesa.
Acting OGI Director Tracy M. Thompson
said the investigation and prosecution
of Bana represented a significant commitment
of OGI resources because it required,
among other things, detailed analysis
of corporate financial records, a thorough
understanding of the construction industry
and its processes, and an extensive understanding
of school construction and renovation
projects.
“This
case should serve as a strong warning
to others who would seek to profit by
taking financial advantage of school districts,
contractors and others involved with publicly-funded
work – at OGI, we are committed
to protecting the public trust, and we
stand ready to tackle complex, time-consuming
investigations in order to do so,”
said Thompson.
Thompson credited OGI State Investigator
Kim Husband, Special Investigator Lee
Wittig, and Deputy Attorney General Ronald
A. Epstein for putting together a thorough
prosecution of the Bana case. She said
the State Commission of Investigation
(SCI) assisted in the investigation.
Subcontractors impacted by the Bana theft
included: Three Generations Plumbing and
Heating, Inc. Of Morris Plains; Weir Welding
Company, Inc., of Carlstadt; DPR Electric,
Inc., of Bound Brook; Brittashan Enterprises
of Franklin; M & R Mechanical Contractors,
Inc., of Highlands and WHL Enterprises,
Inc., trading as Bill Leary Air Conditioning
& Heating of Metuchen.
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