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TRENTON
- A South Brunswick man was sentenced today
for conspiring to steal $105,000 in funds
that were allocated by the New Jersey Schools
Construction Corporation for payment to a
masonry subcontractor working on the construction
of Newark Central High School, Attorney General
Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director
Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Craig Maltese, 55,
of South Brunswick, was sentenced to two years
of probation by Superior Court Judge Frederick
P. DeVesa in Middlesex County. He was ordered
to pay restitution of $35,000 to the masonry
subcontractor. Maltese pleaded guilty on Jan.
6 to an accusation charging him with third-degree
conspiracy to commit theft.
In
pleading guilty, Maltese admitted that he
conspired with other unnamed individuals between
Aug. 1, 2005 and July 19, 2006 to divert $105,000
in funds of the New Jersey Schools Construction
Corporation, now known as the New Jersey Schools
Development Authority, which had been authorized
for payment to a masonry subcontractor.
The
New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation
had authorized payment of $283,765 to the
subcontractor solely for the purposes of preparing
the job site, purchasing materials and paying
other start-up costs related to the masonry
work. Maltese admitted that $105,000 of that
NJSCC money was instead diverted to M.T. Consulting,
a construction consulting company owned by
his family. The investigation into the unauthorized
diversion of funds is continuing.
The
investigation is being conducted and coordinated
by Sgt. Anthony D’Aquino, Sgt. Alan
Drummond and Deputy Attorney General Pearl
Minato of the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau. Deputy Attorney General
Minato is prosecuting the case and represented
the state at today’s sentencing hearing.
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