| TRENTON
– Attorney General Stuart Rabner and
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory
A. Paw announced today that Mayor John “Mack”
Lake of Carneys Point has been indicted
by a state grand jury on charges that he
tried to bribe his opponent to drop out
of the race for township committee.
Lake,
50, was indicted by a state grand jury on
one count of second-degree official misconduct
and two counts of second-degree bribery.
Under state law, second-degree crimes carry
a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison
and a criminal fine of $150,000.
Lake
allegedly approached his opponent, Anthony
Rullo, on at least two occasions with offers
to secure him a paid municipal job if he
would drop out of the race for township
committee. Rullo stayed in the race and
defeated Lake on Nov. 7.
“This
case involves political corruption at its
most venal and brazen,” said Attorney
General Rabner. “According to the
indictment, Mr. Lake basically told his
opponent, you keep me in power and I’ll
use that power to reward you financially.
That’s the kind of cynical attitude
that we reject and why we intend to significantly
increase our resources to root out public
corruption.”
“We’re
teaming with the State Police to triple
the number of investigators working with
our attorneys on public corruption cases,”
said Director Paw of the Division of Criminal
Justice. “We’re doing all we
can to ensure that public corruption, at
any level, will be uncovered and prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law.”
It
is alleged that Lake approached Rullo in
July and offered to use his position as
mayor – appointed by the committee
– to get Rullo a paid part-time position
with the Carney’s Point Sewer Authority
if Rullo withdrew as a candidate for township
committee.
Rullo
brought the offer to the attention of Salem
County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan, who conducted
an initial review and subsequently referred
the matter to the State Police Official
Corruption Unit and the Division of Criminal
Justice.
In
August, Lake allegedly made a new offer
to secure Rullo a paid position as assistant
to the township housing inspector if he
dropped out of the race.
The
indictment was voted on Nov. 6 but was sealed
until yesterday by Superior Court Judge
Maria Marinari Sypek of Mercer County. The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
Attorney
General Rabner thanked Superintendent Rick
Fuentes and the State Police Official Corruption
Unit for conducting the investigation; Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Susan Kase of the
Division of Criminal Justice - Special Prosecutions
Bureau for handling the case; and Prosecutor
Lenahan for his assistance.
Attorney
General Rabner and Director Paw noted that
the Division of Criminal Justice - Special
Prosecutions Bureau has established a toll-free
Corruption Tipline for the public to report
corruption, financial crime and other illegal
activities. The statewide Corruption Tipline
is 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. Additionally,
the public can log on to the Division of
Criminal Justice Web site at www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Tipline or Web site will
remain confidential.
>> Lake
Indictment (281k pdf) plug-in
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