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TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that former Camden Education Association (CEA) president Claraliene Gordon pleaded guilty today to stealing funds of the teachers union by using a CEA-funded credit/debit card for personal expenses.
According to Director Paw, Gordon, 66, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Samuel Natal in Camden County to third-degree misapplication of entrusted property, a charge that was contained in a Nov. 15 state grand jury indictment. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend a sentence of probation conditioned on payment of restitution in an amount to be determined by the court. The state will recommend that restitution be set at $3,000.
At the guilty plea hearing, Gordon admitted that, during her tenure as president, she used her CEA-issued credit/debit card for personal expenses exceeding $1,000.
An investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice revealed that Gordon, who served as CEA president from September 2000 to August 2006, used the CEA-funded card at various Atlantic City casinos on numerous occasions to help finance her gambling habit. After being confronted by union officials on a number of occasions about the misappropriated funds, Gordon repaid $7,467, but she has failed to repay additional amounts she charged for personal expenses.
The case was investigated by Detective Sgt. Dawn Heltzman and Detective Rachel Vogel of the New Jersey State Police and State Investigator Kim Husband of the Division of Criminal Justice. Deputy Attorney General Vincent J. Militello represented the Division of Criminal Justice at the guilty plea hearing.
Gordon is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Natal on May 16.
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