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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that the former supervisor and
an employee at the state Department of Treasury’s
First Avenue Warehouse in Hamilton were
indicted today on charges that they stole
surplus equipment from the warehouse.
The
Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau obtained a five-count state grand
jury indictment charging the supervisor,
David Winkler, 47, of Bordentown, and warehouse
employee Thomas Sundstrom, 66, of Southampton,
with conspiracy (2nd degree), two counts
of official misconduct (2nd degree), theft
by unlawful taking (3rd degree), and misapplication
of entrusted property and property of government
(3rd degree).
The
indictment alleges that Winkler and Sundstrom
misappropriated computer equipment worth
more than $1,000 for the personal use of
other individuals, including other warehouse
employees. Winkler also allegedly ran a
scheme in which he and other employees illicitly
sold more than $24,000 in scrap metal and
divided the proceeds between July 2005 and
April 2007. Winkler and Sundstrom were suspended
from their state jobs after their arrests
on April 10.
“The
defendants treated this state warehouse
like their own storage shed, taking government
property or giving it to others as they
saw fit,” said Attorney General Milgram.
“We will not tolerate officials who
steal public property.”
Three
other former warehouse employees have pleaded
guilty in connection with the scrap metal
scheme. They are James Mate, 48, of Yardville;
Dominick Mangine, 44, of Jackson; and William
Gawroski III, 33, of Hamilton.
The
charges resulted from a year-long investigation
by the New Jersey State Police that commenced
when Treasury officials obtained information
that Gawroski was taking illegal payments
from a recycling company in return for helping
the company to secure more valuable equipment
in auctions of surplus state computer equipment.
The probe quickly expanded to include allegations
that employees at the warehouse were taking
home state-owned computers and that Winkler
and other employees were taking surplus
metal equipment to a non-approved recycler,
selling it for cash as scrap metal, and
splitting the money. The surplus metal items
sold as scrap included desks, filing cabinets
and other furniture and equipment.
Scrap
metal from the warehouse is supposed to
go to one recycling company that has a contract
with the state to buy it. The company credits
the state for each load and pays Treasury
by check. Gawroski, Mangine and Mate admitted
they participated in a scheme with Winkler
in which they took the scrap metal to another
recycling company in Trenton, which paid
up to several hundred dollars in cash per
load that was divided among the men.
The
investigation was conducted by Lt. Keith
Dangler, Detective Sgt. 1st Class John Cappetta
and Detective Sgt. Vincent Greene of the
State Police State Governmental Security
Bureau Investigations Unit. Deputy Attorney
General Anthony Picione, deputy chief of
the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau, presented the case to the state
grand jury and has prosecuted the other
defendants.
Mate
pleaded guilty on June 26 to second-degree
official misconduct. Mangine pleaded guilty
on May 28 to third-degree pattern of official
misconduct. Gawroski pleaded guilty on April
11 to third-degree pattern of official misconduct.
Each
of those three defendants forfeited his
state job and was ordered to pay restitution
of $24,292. Mate faces a sentence of three
years in state prison. Mangine faces a sentence
of three to five years of probation, conditioned
on him serving 364 days in the county jail.
Gawroski faces a sentence of three to five
years of probation. They face potential
criminal fines of up to $15,000. Gawroski
also was required to forfeit $1,400 that
he admitted he received in illegal payments
from a recycling company that he assisted
in state auctions.
Today’s
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Maria Marinari Sypek in Mercer County.
The defendants will be ordered to appear
in court in Mercer County at a later date
to answer the charges.
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 $15,000 fine.
The
third count of the indictment, which charges
second-degree official misconduct for conduct
that occurred on or after April 14, 2007,
carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence
of five years without eligibility for parole
upon conviction. The mandatory minimum was
established under a law signed by Governor
Jon S. Corzine that applies to offenses
occurring on or after that date and that
significantly enhances the punishment of
government officials who are convicted of
abusing their office and violating the public
trust.
The
charges in the indictment are merely accusations
and the defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty. Winkler is free on
$25,000 bail, and Sundstrom is free on $20,000
bail.
A
copy of the indictment is posted with this
release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
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