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For Immediate Release:  
For Further Information:
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March 13, 2009  

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 Sentenced to Prison for Taking Gas
From Government Pumps for Personal Use

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TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that a former employee in the Camden office of the state Department of Children and Families was sentenced to prison today for filling her own car for personal use at state fueling stations.

According to Director Gramiccioni, Montrice Wright, 30, of Camden, who was a transportation aide in the Camden office of Children and Families, was sentenced to three years in prison by Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson in Gloucester County. Wright pleaded guilty on Dec. 12 to second-degree official misconduct for repeatedly using 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 forfeited her state job and her pension and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. Deputy Attorney General Robert Czepiel handled today’s sentencing hearing.

The Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau 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. 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 Wright, six 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.

  • 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.
  • Benny B. Sherman, 36, 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. Sherman admitted 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. Sherman was sentenced on March 5 to 364 days in county jail as a condition of five years of probation.
  • Alexis R. Quezada, 29, of Clifton, a former assistant family services worker in the Paterson office of Children and Families, pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to third-degree official misconduct. 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. Quezada was sentenced on March 5 to three years of probation.
  • 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 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. 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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