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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that two former employees in the
Paterson office of the state Department of
Children and Families were sentenced today
for filling their own cars with gas for personal
use at state fueling stations.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Benny B. Sherman,
36, of Paterson, a former vehicle dispatcher/coordinator
for the Paterson office of Children and Families,
was sentenced to 364 days in jail as a condition
of five years of probation by Superior Court
Judge Ernest M. Caposela in Passaic County.
Sherman pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to third-degree
official misconduct, admitting he took a state-issued
fuel card without authorization before he
lost his state job in 2007, and later used
it to put 12 gallons of gas into his car at
the state fueling station in Totowa.
In
addition, Judge Caposela sentenced Alexis
R. Quezada, 30, of Clifton, a former assistant
family services worker in the Paterson office
of Children and Families, to three years of
probation. Quezada pleaded guilty on Sept.
30 to third-degree official misconduct, admitting
he used a state fuel card to pump 16 gallons
of gas for his own vehicle at the state pumps
in Clifton.
Deputy
Attorney General Robert Czepiel handled the
sentencings for the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau. The Corruption Bureau obtained
10 state grand jury indictments on June 11,
2008 charging 13 defendants: six employees
of the state Department of Children and Families,
two employees of the City of Camden, four
employees of the Camden Board of Education,
and one private citizen. The charges resulted
from an investigation by the State Police
Official Corruption Unit and the State Police
Organized Crime Control Bureau South.
In
addition to Sherman and Quezada, five other
defendants have entered guilty pleas. All
of the government employees who pleaded guilty
were required to forfeit their jobs and pensions
and be permanently barred from public employment
in New Jersey.
- Montrice
Wright, 29, of Camden, who was
a transportation aide in the Camden office
of Children and Families, pleaded guilty
on 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. 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. Wright is scheduled to be sentenced
on March 13.
- 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.
On Dec. 19, she was sentenced to two years
of probation. Smalls admitted she repeatedly
used a state fuel card to steal gas for
her personal vehicle and a friend’s
vehicle 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. 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.
Under her plea agreement, the state recommended
a county jail term not to exceed 364 days
as a condition of probation. On Dec. 19,
she was sentenced to one year of probation
and was ordered to pay $500 in restitution.
- 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.
He was sentenced on Nov. 7 to one year of
probation. He admitted he used a state fuel
card to put 12 gallons of gas into his personal
car 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. She was sentenced on
Oct. 10 to three years of probation. 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 presented the cases to the state grand
jury and have prosecuted the cases for the
Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
The
charges against the remaining defendants are
pending. The indictments are merely accusations
and those defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty. A full list of the defendants
and charges in the indictments is contained
in the June 11, 2008 press release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
Attorney
General Milgram 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, the state Human Services Police
Department, and the state Department of Children
and Families for their support and assistance
in the investigation.
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