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NEWARK
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced
that Mims Hackett Jr., the former Orange mayor
and former state assemblyman, was sentenced
to prison today for fraudulently billing the
City of Orange for travel expenses he never
incurred.
Hackett,
67, was sentenced to five years in state prison
by Superior Court Judge Michael J. Nelson
in Essex County. He pleaded guilty to second-degree
official misconduct on May 27, 2008, in a
case investigated and prosecuted by the state
Division of Criminal Justice. He forfeited
his position as mayor and is permanently barred
from public employment in New Jersey. In addition,
he was ordered to pay $5,475 in restitution
to the City of Orange.
Hackett
also pleaded guilty on May 27 to a federal
charge of attempted extortion in a separate
corruption case brought by the U.S. Attorney’s
Office. Under a joint resolution of the cases,
Hackett will serve the state sentence concurrently
with the federal sentence of nine months in
prison and two years of probation, imposed
on Oct. 22 by U.S. District Judge Jose Linares.
He is scheduled to surrender to federal authorities
on Monday to begin his federal sentence.
In
pleading guilty to the state charge, Hackett
admitted that he fraudulently billed the City
of Orange for travel expenses he did not incur.
An investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau revealed that Hackett
collected more than $5,700 in fictitious meal
expenses by submitting 16 fraudulent travel
expense vouchers.
“Time
after time, Mayor Hackett violated his duty
to honestly serve his struggling city and
look out for its financial interests, choosing
instead to lie and steal,” said Attorney
General Milgram. “With this state prison
sentence, we send a message that we will do
everything in our power to see that public
officials who act corruptly are brought to
justice.”
Attorney
General Milgram credited Sgt. Warren H. Monroe
and Deputy Attorney General Michael Monahan
for conducting the state investigation for
the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau. Deputy Attorney General Monahan prosecuted
the case and handled today’s sentencing
hearing.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, the Division of Criminal
Justice investigation revealed that Hackett
forged receipts for meals at pricey restaurants
and submitted them with fraudulent expense
vouchers for reimbursement from the City of
Orange related to trips he took as mayor.
Hackett frequently attached handwritten “Guest
Check” receipts that he wrote himself.
In other instances, he submitted fraudulent
carbon receipts imprinted with his credit
card. The charges were not reflected in his
credit card records.
“This
case started when an employee in the mayor’s
office provided a tip to the Division of Criminal
Justice, which was thoroughly investigated
by our Corruption Bureau,” said Director
Gramiccioni. “We rely on tips from government
workers and members of the public to root
out corruption. That is why we urge people
who suspect misconduct by a public official
to call or send us their information, which
will be treated in confidence and appropriately
investigated.”
Attorney
General Milgram and Director Gramiccioni noted
that the Division of Criminal Justice - Corruption
Bureau has established a toll-free Corruption
Tipline for the public to report corruption,
financial crime and other illegal activities.
The statewide Corruption Tipline is 1-866-TIPS-4CJ.
Additionally, the public can log on to the
Division of Criminal Justice Web page at www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Tipline or Web page will
remain confidential.
Hackett
was arrested by federal authorities on Sept.
6, 2007, along with 10 other public officials
and one private citizen as part of a public
corruption investigation. In pleading guilty
to the federal charge, Hackett admitted that
in his capacity as mayor of Orange, he accepted
a $5,000 bribe from a cooperating witness
in exchange for helping to obtain public contracts
with the city for an undercover insurance
brokerage company that the cooperating witness
represented.
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