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TRENTON
– Attorney General Stuart Rabner and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that the former principal of the
H.B. Wilson Elementary School in Camden
and his top assistant were indicted today
on charges they stole more than $14,000
from students and teachers by tricking them
into paying for field trips that were paid
for by the school district.
Former
Wilson principal Michael Hailey, 65, of
Delran, and former school facilitator Patricia
Johnson, 57, of Atco, who was Hailey’s
top administrator, were indicted by a state
grand jury on charges of second-degree conspiracy,
second-degree official misconduct, third-degree
theft by deception and third-degree tampering
with public records.
In
addition, Hailey and Johnson were indicted
on charges they attempted to bill the Camden
Board of Education more than $25,000 in
extra wages for 14 School Leadership Council
members in connection with eight meetings
that never took place. Also indicted in
that alleged scheme were former U.S. Wiggins
Elementary School principal Juanita Worthy,
59, of Evesham, and her daughter, Keah Worthy,
31, of Evesham, a former teacher at Wilson
Elementary. The four are charged with second-degree
conspiracy, second-degree official misconduct,
third-degree attempted theft by deception,
third-degree tampering with public records
and third-degree tampering with witnesses.
“It
is a sad day when leaders in our schools
are charged with stealing from their students.
That behavior is unconscionable,”
said Attorney General Rabner. “We
entrust our children into the hands of principals
and teachers in order to learn and advance,
not to be victims of greed.”
“Beyond
that, when school administrators try to
defraud the district and bill for services
they never provided, they are trying to
take money away from the classroom, where
it belongs,” Rabner said.
“Greedy people have betrayed the public
confidence by stealing from students as
well as New Jersey’s taxpayers. The
detectives in the State Police Official
Corruption Unit are proud to have done their
part to bring these deeds to light,"
said State Police Superintendent Colonel
Rick Fuentes. “The State Police Official
Corruption Unit has a long and successful
track record working with the Office of
the Attorney General to root out crime in
the last place we would hope to find it
– among those placed in positions
of public service and trust.”
“The
Division of Criminal Justice is continuing
to investigate allegations regarding misconduct
in the Camden schools,” said Director
Paw. “We will move forward with prosecutions
wherever criminal conduct is discovered.
We recognize the community’s right
to have full faith in this school system
and all of its operations.”
Under
state law, crimes of the second degree carry
a sentence of up to 10 years in state prison
and a criminal fine of up to $150,000, while
crimes of the third degree carry a sentence
of up to five years in state prison and
a criminal fine of up to $15,000. The indictment
is merely an accusation and the defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Hailey
and Johnson allegedly told teachers at Wilson
Elementary that field trips were to be paid
for by the students’ parents, even
though Hailey and Johnson had prepared,
signed and submitted paperwork to the school
board for the trips and knew they were approved
for payment by the district. Teachers conducted
fundraisers with their students and sometimes
paid for students whose parents could not
afford the amounts that Hailey and Johnson
allegedly indicated were required for the
bus and other trip costs. The school board
paid the full cost of the trips by issuing
checks to the vendors involved.
School
board policy prohibits charging elementary
or middle school students for field trips
that are curriculum related. The following
list shows the approximate amounts Hailey
and Johnson collected from students and
teachers for the field trips:
Top
In
connection with the School Leadership Council
scheme, Hailey, Johnson, Juanita Worthy
and Keah Worthy allegedly pressured teachers
from the Wilson and Wiggins schools to sign
blank attendance sheets for meetings of
each school’s School Leadership Council,
an advisory group of school stakeholders
that includes teachers, administrative staff
and community representatives.
Johnson
prepared vouchers for the School Leadership
Councils for Wilson and Wiggins and submitted
them to the school board on February 8,
2006, and February 9, 2006, requesting payment
in excess of $25,000 for fourteen members
for attendance at 64 hours of meetings.
The vouchers indicated that eight-hour meetings
took place on the following dates: Oct.
15, 2005, Oct. 29, 2005, Nov. 12, 2005,
Nov. 26, 2005, Dec. 3, 2005, Dec. 17, 2005,
Jan. 7, 2006 and Jan. 21, 2006.
The
school board never paid for the School Leadership
Council meetings because it discovered they
had not been held. The witness tampering
charges stem from a board investigation
into the false vouchers. Once the board
commenced the investigation, Hailey, Johnson,
Juanita Worthy and Keah Worthy allegedly
pressured teachers into telling the board
that meetings were held and work was completed
and attempted to get them to copy a meeting
summary sheet which listed the specific
dates, times and locations for the meetings.
Hailey,
Johnson and Juanita Worthy were suspended
with pay by the school board in May 2006
after the board’s investigation into
the School Leadership Council vouchers.
They retired in July 2006 while facing disciplinary
action by the district.
Attorney
General Rabner thanked Superintendent Rick
Fuentes and the State Police Official Corruption
Unit for leading the investigation. He credited
Sgt. Gary D. Sandes, who led the investigation,
Detective Gregory Shawaryn and Lt. Gerard
A. McHugh of the State Police, and State
Investigator Anthony Luyber of the Division
of Criminal Justice - Special Prosecutions
Bureau. Supervising Deputy Attorney General
Susan Kase and Deputy Attorney General Vincent
J. Militello of the Special Prosecutions
Bureau are prosecuting the case for the
Attorney General.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County.
The case was assigned to Superior Court
in Camden County.
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 page will
remain confidential.
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| Camden
Board of Education Indictments, Charges
& Penalties |
Count
1
Conspiracy (2nd degree)
N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson |
10
years/$150,000
|
Count
2
Official Misconduct (2nd degree)
N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2 |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson
|
10
years/$150,000 |
Count
3
Theft by Deception (3rd degree)
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4 |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson |
5
years/$15,000 |
Count
4
Tampering with Public Records
(3rd degree) N.J.S.A. 2C:28-7a(1) |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson |
5
years/$15,000
|
Count
5
Conspiracy (2nd degree)
N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson
Juanita Worthy
Keah Worthy |
10
years/$150,000 |
Count
6
Official Misconduct (2nd degree)
N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2 |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson
Juanita Worthy
Keah Worthy |
10
years/$150,000 |
Count
7
Attempted Theft by Deception (3rd degree)
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4 |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson
Juanita Worthy
Keah Worthy |
5
years/$15,000 |
Count
8
Tampering with Public Records
(3rd degree) N.J.S.A. 2C:28-7a(1)
|
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson |
5 years/$15,000 |
Count
9
Tampering
with Public Records
(3rd degree) N.J.S.A. 2C:28-7a(1)
|
Juanita
Worthy
Patricia Johnson
|
5
years/$15,000 |
Count
10
Tampering
with Witnesses (3rd degree)
N.J.S.A. 2C:28-5a(1) |
Michael
Hailey
Patricia Johnson
Juanita Worthy
Keah Worthy |
5 years/$15,000 |
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