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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced today that four people have been
charged in separate indictments with stealing
a total of more than $60,800 from New Jersey’s
unemployment insurance trust fund.
The
indictments resulted from cooperative investigations
by the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development and the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Crimes Bureau.
“These
indictments charge the defendants with illegally
collecting thousands of dollars in benefits
to which they were not entitled,”
Attorney General Milgram said. “Our
goal is to identify those who cheat the
system, prosecute them and recover the money
taken from the state’s unemployment
insurance trust fund.”
“The
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
uses a variety of methods to track those
who would abuse the system and fraudulently
obtain benefits,” said Commissioner
of Labor and Workforce Development David
J. Socolow. “These cases were first
identified by Labor Department investigators
by cross-matching employer-submitted wage
information against UI benefit payments;
pursuing leads from employer protests of
UI benefit charges; surveying employer payroll
records; and responding to alerts from concerned
citizens.”
According
to Director Paw, the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Financial Crimes Bureau
recently obtained the following state grand
jury indictments:
- State
v. John Palmieri.
Palmieri, 54, of Wayne, was charged with
two counts of third-degree theft by deception
and one count of fourth-degree unsworn
falsification. The indictment alleges
that Palmieri stole $21,772 by failing
to notify the labor department that he
was earning wages while collecting on
two separate UI benefit claims. It is
charged that Palmieri was allegedly employed
by Randy Scott Corp., located in Elmwood
Park, while collecting on UI benefits
claims that he filed in September 2001
and December 2002.
- State
v. Pittman G. Hemingway.
Hemingway, 48, of Somerset, was charged
with third-degree theft by deception and
fourth-degree unsworn falsification. Hemingway
filed a claim for UI benefits in October
2001 and collected on the claim until
August 2002. It is alleged that Hemingway
did not report to the labor department
that while collecting on the claim, he
was employed by Dowling Food Service Mgmt.,
Inc., located in Stanhope. As a result,
Hemingway allegedly stole $14,212 in UI
benefits.
- State
v. George W. Stainrod.
Stainrod, 57, of Trenton, was charged
with two counts of third-degree theft
by deception and one count of fourth-degree
unsworn falsification for allegedly stealing
$12,472 from the unemployment insurance
program. According to the indictment,
Stainrod allegedly failed to notify the
labor department that he was earning wages
from at least four different companies
while he was collecting on UI benefits
claims that he filed in February 2002
and June 2003.
- State
v. Joemy S. Antonetti. Antonetti,
36, of Hoboken, was charged with two counts
of third-degree theft by deception and
one count of unsworn falsification. The
indictment alleges that after filing for
UI benefits in March 2002 and March 2003,
Antonetti began working for Bergen Medical
Alliance, PA, located in Englewood. It
is charged that Antonetti failed to report
her employment to the labor department
and consequently received $12,415 in UI
benefits to which she was not entitled.
The
indictments, which were handed up on Aug.
3, are merely accusations and the defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of
up to five years in state prison and a fine
of up to $15,000, while fourth-degree crimes
carry a sentence of up to 18 months in state
prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
>>
View
Indictments (482k pdf) plug-in
State
Investigators Gary O’Brien and Lynn
Fitzgerald coordinated the investigations.
Deputy Attorney General Janet R. Bosi presented
the Palmieri and Antonetti indictments to
the state grand jury. Deputy Attorney General
Jessica Oppenheim presented the Hemingway
and Stainrod cases to the state grand jury.
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