TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that 12 public employees and one
private citizen were indicted today on charges
they stole gas for their personal cars from
government fueling stations. Six are current
or former employees of the state Department
of Children and Families, two are City of
Camden employees, and four are Camden City
Board of Education employees.
According
to Director Paw, the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Unit obtained 10 state
grand jury indictments charging 13 defendants
with official misconduct for allegedly stealing
gas for their personal vehicles or, in one
instance, stealing a government-issued fuel
card used to activate the pumps. Some of
the defendants were indicted on additional
charges.
The
charges resulted from an investigation by
the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption
Unit and the State Police Organized Crime
Control Bureau South.
“We
charge that these government workers literally
took a free ride at the expense of state
and local taxpayers,” said Attorney
General Milgram. “These thefts are
a slap in the face to taxpayers who are
struggling to afford the gas they need to
get to work and to the grocery store. Government
agencies in New Jersey pay millions of dollars
a year for gas legitimately needed for official
business, but we can’t afford to pay
for employees who steal.”
New
Jersey State Comptroller Matthew Boxer announced
that his office will conduct an audit of
vehicle and gasoline usage within the Department
of Children and Families. The department’s
fleet of approximately 2,500 vehicles uses
tens of thousands of gallons of gas each
week.
“Today’s
indictments, as well as independent information
we received previously, point out the need
for a comprehensive review of the usage
of the more than 2,500 vehicles used by
the Department of Children and Families,”
Boxer said. “Our audit team will take
a close look at this issue to examine whether
more controls are needed to close off the
potential for further abuse.”
“We
will continue to direct our resources and
efforts to address this problem of public
corruption,” said Criminal Justice
Director Paw. “As in these cases,
we will investigate and prosecute anyone
who we find has violated the public’s
trust and converted state resources for
their personal gain.”
“The
New Jersey State Police and its fine investigators
will continue to support Attorney General
Anne Milgram in her efforts to rid New Jersey
of corruption. The unified efforts of our
investigators and the Office of the Attorney
General will continue to seek out, investigate
and expose corruption at all levels in our
state,” said New Jersey State Police
Superintendent Rick Fuentes.
The
Department of Children and Families issues
magnetic swipe cards that activate the pumps
at state fueling stations. While fuel cards
are supposed to be signed out with a specific
state vehicle and remain with the vehicle,
the defendants allegedly kept and shared
the cards, using them to fuel their personal
cars.
The
following indictments were returned today
for alleged thefts involving fuel cards
issued by the Department of Children and
Families:
-
Tyrone B. Williams, 48,
of Willingboro, an administrative analyst
for the Children and Families Licensing
Office in Trenton, is charged with second-degree
official misconduct, second-degree pattern
of official misconduct, third-degree official
misconduct and third-degree theft by unlawful
taking for allegedly stealing more than
$750 worth of gas for his personal vehicle
on various occasions between April 2007
and May 2008 at the Mt. Laurel and Edgewater
Park state fueling stations.
-
A single indictment charges Sharon
Smalls, 37, a transportation
aide in the Camden office of Children
and Families, Montrice Wright, 29, also
a transportation aide in that office,
Sandra G. Ingram, 37, a clerk for the
Camden City Board of Education, and Nicole
Y. Millner, 32, a private citizen. The
women are all from Camden. Wright and
Millner are charged with second-degree
official misconduct and third-degree theft
by unlawful taking. Wright is also charged
with second-degree pattern of official
misconduct and third-degree official misconduct.
Smalls and Ingram are charged with third-degree
official misconduct. It is alleged that
Smalls taught Wright how to steal gas,
and they stole gas together at the state
pumps in Berlin. Smalls also allegedly
recruited Ingram, sharing a fuel card
with her and going with her on three occasions
beginning in August 2007 to fuel each
of their personal vehicles at the state
pumps in Cherry Hill. Wright allegedly
recruited Millner, her cousin, teaching
her how to use the pumps and sharing a
state fuel card with her. In 2007, Wright
allegedly stole more than $1,000 worth
of gas and Millner allegedly stole more
than $600 worth of gas from the Deptford,
West Deptford and Cherry Hill fueling
stations.
-
Jesse Rodriguez, 44,
of Audubon, a vehicle coordinator for
the Camden office of Children and Families,
is charged with third-degree official
misconduct for allegedly using a state-issued
fuel card to steal 12 gallons of gas for
his personal vehicle on July 28, 2007
at the West Deptford fueling station.
-
Benny B. Sherman, 35,
of Paterson, a former vehicle dispatcher/coordinator
for the Paterson office of Children and
Families is charged with third-degree
official misconduct for allegedly stealing
a state fuel card prior to losing his
state job in June 2007. He allegedly used
the card to put 12 gallons of gas in his
personal car at the state pumps in Totowa
in April 2008.
-
Alexis R. Quezada, 29,
of Clifton, an assistant family services
worker in the Paterson office of Children
and Families, is charged with third-degree
official misconduct for allegedly using
a state fuel card to steal 16 gallons
of gas for his personal vehicle on April
23, 2008 at the state fueling station
in Clifton.
Two
municipal employees of the City of Camden
were indicted. City employees who are authorized
to use a city vehicle receive a fuel key
and are assigned a specific pin number.
The fuel key may be used to put up to 15
gallons of gas per week into the city vehicle.
The key may not be used to fill any personal
vehicle. Only employees who have special
authorization can use the state pumps to
fill their personal vehicles for city business.
Neither of the indicted employees had such
authorization.
The
following indictments were returned alleging
gas thefts by Camden municipal employees
using city-issued fuel keys:
-
Patrick L. Freeman, 66,
of Camden, Superintendent of the City
of Camden Bureau of Recreation, is charged
with third-degree official misconduct
and third-degree pattern of official misconduct
for allegedly stealing approximately 37
gallons of gas by fueling either his personal
car or his son’s SUV at the city
pumps on four occasions in September and
October 2007 using a city-issued gas key.
-
Terrance Mayo, 25, of
Lindenwold, an employee in the City of
Camden Bureau of Recreation, is charged
with third-degree official misconduct
and third-degree pattern of official misconduct
for allegedly fueling a friend’s
SUV at the city pumps on Sept. 15 and
Oct. 7, 2007, stealing about 10 gallons
each time.
Three
employees of the Camden City Board of Education
were also indicted (in addition to Sandra
Ingram – see above). Board employees
who are authorized to receive gas from the
city pumps for personal or municipal vehicles
for official business do not receive city-issued
fuel keys. Instead, the Board of Education
has two attendants at the city pumps who
have a master key to operate the pumps and
who are authorized to pump gas for Board
of Education employees who are on a list
of approved employees. The employees must
fill out a log indicating the date, their
name, vehicle information and gallons pumped.
The union contract for Board of Education
employees specifies the maximum amount of
fuel an employee is permitted to pump each
week based on the position of the employee.
The
following indictments were returned alleging
gas thefts by Camden City Board of Education
employees:
-
Urshell Pearson, 46,
of Philadelphia, a plumbing foreman and
inspector for the Camden City Board of
Education, is charged with second-degree
official misconduct, third-degree official
misconduct, third-degree pattern of official
misconduct and third-degree tampering
with public records and information for
allegedly exceeding the weekly limit of
25 gallons that he was permitted to obtain
from the city pumps for his personal vehicle
on five occasions between Sept. 4 and
Nov. 8, 2007, and falsifying fuel logs
to conceal the fact.
-
Charles Rice, 88, of
Camden, who is employed by the Camden
City Board of Education as a gas attendant
at the city pumps, is charged with third-degree
official misconduct and third-degree pattern
of official misconduct for allegedly fueling
personal vehicles at the city pumps on
six occasions between Aug. 2 and Oct.
17, 2007. Rice is not authorized to fuel
a personal vehicle at the city pumps.
-
William Elliot, 54, of
Camden, who is employed as a roofer by
the Camden City Board of Education but
also serves as a gas attendant at the
city pumps, is charged with third-degree
official misconduct and third-degree pattern
of official misconduct for allegedly fueling
personal vehicles at the city pumps on
three occasions in September 2007, stealing
a total of about 29 gallons. Elliot is
not authorized to fuel a personal vehicle
at the city pumps.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000,
while third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in state prison and
a criminal fine of $15,000.
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. The indictments were handed up to
Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg in
Mercer County. The defendants will be ordered
to appear in court at a later date to answer
the charges. Copies of the indictments are
available with this release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
Attorney
General Milgram credited Deputy Attorneys
General Robert Czepiel and Peter Lee for
presenting the cases to the state grand
jury, and credited the following detectives
for conducting the investigation:
From
the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption
Unit: Detective Sgt. 1st Class Robert Schulte,
Detective Sgt. Geoffrey P. Forker, Detective
Sgt. Brice L. Cote, Detective Sgt. David
A. Smith, Detective Rachel Vogel, Detective
Kevin J. Plumaker and Detective James Sansone.
From
the New Jersey State Police Organized Crime
Control Bureau South: Lt. Miguel A. Cartagena,
Detective Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth F. Farrell,
Detective Sgt. 1st Class Glenn H. Pender,
Detective Sgt. Vincent P. Coppola, Detective
David D. Caracciolo, Detective Timothy Steinmetz,
Detective George Wren and Detective Anthony
Carugno.
Attorney
General Milgram also thanked the state Department
of Treasury and the state Human Services
Police Department for their support and
assistance in the investigation.
Insurance
Companies for their assistance in this matter.
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