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TRENTON - Attorney General
Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director
Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that the
two men who served as the chairman and the
treasurer for the 2006 congressional campaign
of former Perth Amboy mayor Joseph Vas were
charged today with soliciting fraudulent campaign
contributions.
According to Director Gramiccioni,
Melvin Ramos, 53, of Perth Amboy, a former
mayoral aide who served as treasurer of Vas’
campaign, and Raymond Geneske, 73, a member
of the Perth Amboy Board of Education who
served as campaign chairman, were charged
today by complaint summons. Ramos and Geneske
were each charged with second-degree conspiracy,
second-degree official misconduct and third-degree
money laundering. They will be ordered to
appear in Superior Court in Middlesex County
at a later date to answer the charges.
The complaints charge that
between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2006, Ramos and
Geneske solicited employees of the City of
Perth Amboy and others to make fraudulent
contributions to Vas’ 2006 campaign
for the U.S. House of Representatives for
the 13th Congressional District.
Ramos and Geneske allegedly
paid cash to the people they solicited to
reimburse them for writing personal checks
made payable to “Vas for Congress.”
Vas was mayor of Perth Amboy at the time and
currently is a state assemblyman. The investigation
is ongoing.
“We charge that these
defendants engaged in an elaborate fraud to
pump cash into Joseph Vas’ congressional
campaign,” said Attorney General Milgram.
“By pressuring city employees to go
along with their scheme, they were able to
conceal the source of the cash and skirt bank
reporting requirements.”
Ramos and Geneske were charged
with money laundering because, by structuring
funds into the campaign through people who
falsely appeared to be making personal contributions,
they allegedly sought to avoid applicable
state and federal currency transaction reporting
requirements in connection with deposits into
the campaign’s account at Commerce Bank.
Banks are required to report cash deposits
of $10,000 or more under federal reporting
requirements.
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 prison and a $15,000 fine.
Because the charges are indictable
offenses, this case is subject to presentation
to a grand jury for potential indictment.
The charges are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
The charges stem from an investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau. Assistant Attorney General Lewis Korngut
and Deputy Attorney General Dianne C. DiGiamber
Deal are prosecuting the case. The investigation
was led by Sgt. Dino Dettorre and Detective
Benjamin Kukis, assisted by Lt. Daniel O'Brien,
Sgt. Robert McGrath, Detective Lee Bailey,
Detective Melissa Calkin, Detective Lisa Cawley,
Detective Shaun Egan, Detective Kiersten Pentony,
Detective Robert Stemmer and Civil Investigator
Joseph Salvatore
Last week, the Attorney General’s
Office indicted Vas on charges that, while
serving as mayor of Perth Amboy, he conspired
with city employees to steal approximately
$5,000 in city funds to pay for personal purchases
and expenses. Vas was also charged with his
personal driver, Anthony S. Jones, in connection
with an alleged scheme in which Vas rigged
a public lottery so that Jones won the opportunity
to buy an affordable two-family home through
the Perth Amboy Home Program.
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.
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