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For Immediate Release:  
For Further Information:
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December 15, 2008  

Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791

Office of The Attorney General
- Anne Milgram, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Director

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State Worker Pleads Guilty to Taking Gas from Government Pumps for Personal Use; Faces State Prison Sentence - Six other defendants previously pleaded guilty to stealing government gas

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TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that a former employee in the Camden office of the state Department of Children and Families has pleaded guilty to charges she filled her own car for personal use at state fueling stations. Previously, six other defendants pleaded guilty to charges of stealing government gas.

The Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau obtained state grand jury indictments charging the defendants on June 11 as a result of an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Unit and the State Police Organized Crime Control Bureau South.

Montrice Wright, 29, of Camden, who was a transportation aide in the Camden office of Children and Families, pleaded guilty on Friday, Dec. 12, to second-degree official misconduct before Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson in Gloucester County. Under her plea agreement, she faces a state prison sentence of three years. She forfeited her state job and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. In addition, she is required to forfeit her pension, pay restitution, and continue to cooperate in the investigation. Wright admitted she repeatedly used a state-issued fuel card to pump gas for her personal vehicle and friends’ vehicles at state pumps in Berlin, Deptford, West Deptford and Cherry Hill.

Previously five other government workers and one private citizen named in the June indictment entered guilty pleas:

Sharon Smalls, 38, of Camden, another transportation aide in the Camden office of Children and Families, pleaded guilty on Nov. 10 to third-degree official misconduct before Judge Allen-Jackson. She faces a sentence of probation. She also forfeited her state job and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. In addition, she is required to forfeit her pension, pay restitution, and continue to cooperate in the investigation. Smalls admitted she repeatedly used a state fuel card to steal gas for her personal vehicle and the vehicle of a friend at the state pumps in Berlin and Cherry Hill.

Nicole Millner, 33, of Camden, a private citizen, pleaded guilty on Nov. 5 to third-degree official misconduct before Judge Allen-Jackson. Under her plea agreement, the state will recommend a county jail term not to exceed 364 days as a condition of probation. She will be permanently barred from public employment and must continue to cooperate in the investigation. Millner admitted she used a state fuel card provided by Wright, her cousin, to repeatedly steal gas for her personal vehicle at the state pumps in Deptford, West Deptford and Cherry Hill.

Benny B. Sherman, 35, of Paterson, a former vehicle dispatcher/coordinator for the Paterson office of Children and Families, pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to third-degree official misconduct before Superior Court Judge Ernest M. Caposela in Passaic County. He faces 364 days in the county jail as a condition of a sentence of probation, and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. In addition, he is required to forfeit his pension, pay restitution, and continue to cooperate in the investigation. Sherman admitted he took a state-issued fuel card without authorization before he lost his state job in 2007. He used it to put 12 gallons of gas into his personal car in April 2008 at the state fueling station in Totowa.

Alexis R. Quezada, 29, of Clifton, a former assistant family services worker in the Paterson office of Children and Families, also pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to third-degree official misconduct before Judge Caposela in Passaic County. He faces probation under his plea agreement. Quezada forfeited his state job and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. In addition, he is required to forfeit his pension, pay restitution and continue to cooperate in the investigation. He admitted he used a state fuel card to take 16 gallons of gas for his personal vehicle in April at the state pumps in Clifton.

Jesse Rodriguez, 45, of Audubon, a former vehicle coordinator for the Camden office of Children and Families, pleaded guilty on Sept. 29 to third-degree official misconduct before Judge Allen-Jackson. He was sentenced on Nov. 7 to one year of probation. He forfeited his state job and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. He forfeited his pension, paid restitution, and was ordered to continue to cooperate in the investigation. He admitted he used a state fuel card to put 12 gallons of gas into his personal car in July 2007 at the state pumps in West Deptford.

Sandra G. Ingram, 38, of Camden, a former clerk for the Camden City Board of Education, pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 to third-degree official misconduct before Judge Allen-Jackson. She was sentenced on Oct. 10 to three years probation. She forfeited her school district job and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. She forfeited her pension and was ordered to pay restitution and continue to cooperate in the investigation. Ingram admitted she used a state fuel card obtained by Smalls to fuel her own vehicle several times at the state pumps in Cherry Hill.

Deputy Attorneys General Robert Czepiel and Peter Lee handled the cases and took the guilty pleas for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.

The judges set the following dates for sentencing for the defendants: Wright on Feb. 6; Smalls and Millner on Dec. 19; Sherman and Quesada on Feb. 26, 2009.

The Division of Criminal Justice obtained 10 state grand jury indictments on June 11 charging a total of 13 defendants: six employees of the state Department of Children and Families, two employees of the City of Camden, four employees of the Camden City Board of Education, and one private citizen. A full list of the defendants and charges is contained in the June 11 press release at www.njpublicsafety.com.

The charges against the remaining defendants are pending. The indictments are merely accusations and those defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Attorney General Milgram credited Deputy Attorneys General Czepiel and Lee for presenting the cases to the state grand jury, and credited the following detectives for 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, Detective Deniele DeBoer 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.

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