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TRENTON
– A Pennsylvania contractor was sentenced
today to probation and community service
for offering bribes to former Irvington
Mayor Michael Steele in his job as business
administrator for the Irvington Board of
Education. Steele was indicted in June on
official misconduct and bribery charges
for allegedly taking at least $120,000 in
kickbacks for rigging school district contracts.
Preston
Lewis, 53, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., was sentenced
today to three years probation by Superior
Court Judge Michael A. Petrolle in Essex
County. He also was ordered to pay a $5,000
fine and perform 250 hours of community
service. Lewis pleaded guilty on Aug. 18
to an accusation charging him with third-degree
offer of unlawful benefit to a public servant
for official behavior.
A
second contractor, William Hardy, 55, of
Margate, Fla., was sentenced by Judge Petrolle
on Oct. 6. Hardy was ordered to serve three
years probation, pay a $5,000 fine and perform
150 hours of community service. He pleaded
guilty on Aug. 14 to the same charge as
Lewis.
Deputy
Attorney General Erik Daab prosecuted the
cases and handled today’s sentencing.
Deputy Attorney General Michael Monahan
represented the state at Hardy’s sentencing.
An
investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau and the State
Police Official Corruption Unit revealed
that Steele, 52, of Easton, Pa., engaged
in two separate bid-rigging and kickback
schemes between 2003 and 2007 involving
the two contractors and approximately $1.4
million in contracts. The two contractors
admitted that they provided bribes to Steele
in connection with the schemes. The charges
against Steele remain pending.
Steele,
who retired from the district in April,
allegedly received kickbacks totaling $120,000
from Hardy’s Florida-based maintenance
supplies company, WH Chemical Group Inc.,
in return for ordering supplies for the
district. Steele allegedly falsified purchase
orders, overstating the quantity of supplies
that were provided in order to make it appear
that the company offered the best prices.
WH Chemical Group received approximately
$900,000 in district contracts.
In
the second scheme, Steele allegedly rigged
bids to award contracts to Lewis, a Lakewood-based
contractor who owned Lone Star Consulting,
a construction company, and BMG Security,
a security camera installation company.
Steele allegedly rigged bids on at least
29 school contracts involving those companies
and inflated the contract prices to build
in thousands of dollars in kickbacks for
himself.
The
Division of Criminal Justice obtained a
nine-count state grand jury indictment on
June 5 charging Steele with two counts of
second-degree official misconduct, two counts
of second-degree pattern of official misconduct,
two counts of second-degree bribery, two
counts of second-degree acceptance or receipt
of unlawful benefit by a public servant
for official behavior, and one count of
second-degree conspiracy.
Each
count of the indictment carries a maximum
sentence of 10 years in state prison with
a mandatory minimum of five years upon conviction.
The mandatory minimum was established under
a new law signed by Governor Jon S. Corzine
in March 2007 that significantly enhances
the punishment of government officials who
are convicted of abusing their office and
violating the public trust. Second-degree
offenses also carry a criminal fine of up
to $150,000. The indictment is merely an
accusation and the defendant is presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
The
investigation was conducted and coordinated
by Detective Kiersten Pentony, Detective
Robyn Greene, Sgt. Harry Maronpot Jr., and
Deputy Attorney General Daab of the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, and
Detective Sgt. Geoffrey P. Forker, Detective
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Celli III and Detective
Sgt. 1st Class Thomas T. Goletz of the New
Jersey State Police Official Corruption
Unit. Deputy Attorney General Daab presented
the case to the state grand jury. The state
Department of Education assisted in the
investigation.
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