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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that a former state warehouse employee
was sentenced to prison today for stealing
surplus equipment from the Department of Treasury’s
First Avenue Warehouse in Hamilton.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, James Mate, 48, of
Yardville, was sentenced to three years in
state prison by Superior Court Judge Gerald
J. Council in Mercer County. Mate pleaded
guilty to second-degree official misconduct
on June 26, 2008. He forfeited his job and
is responsible with his co-defendants for
full restitution for the thefts of $24,292.
In
pleading guilty, Mate admitted that he participated
in a scheme to steal surplus equipment and
sell it as scrap metal. Deputy Attorney General
Anthony Picione, deputy chief of the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, prosecuted
the case and handled today’s sentencing.
“This
prison sentence sends a strong message that
we will not tolerate officials who steal public
property,” said Attorney General
Milgram. “The defendants in this
case stole equipment worth thousands of dollars
that belonged to the state and its taxpayers.”
Mate
was arrested on April 10, 2008, with the supervisor
of the warehouse, David Winkler, 47, of Bordentown,
and two other employees, Dominick Mangine,
45, of Jackson, and Thomas Sundstrom, 66,
of Southampton. A fifth worker, William Gawroski
III, 33, of Hamilton, pleaded guilty the next
day to third-degree pattern of official misconduct
and faces probation.
The
charges resulted from a year-long investigation
by the New Jersey State Police that commenced
when Treasury officials obtained information
that Gawroski was taking illegal payments
from a recycling company in return for helping
the company to secure more valuable equipment
in auctions of surplus state computer equipment.
The
probe quickly expanded to include allegations
that employees at the warehouse were taking
home state-owned computers and that Winkler
was running a scheme in which employees took
surplus metal equipment to a non-approved
recycler, sold it for cash as scrap metal,
and split the money.
Winkler,
Gawroski, Mangine and Mate were charged with
illicitly selling more than $24,000 in scrap
metal and dividing the proceeds between July
2005 and April 2007. The surplus metal items
sold as scrap included desks, filing cabinets
and other furniture and equipment. In addition,
Winkler, Mangine and Sundstrom were charged
with assisting Gawroski to steal a computer
and related accessories from the warehouse
in December 2007.
Winkler
and Sundstrom were indicted on Nov. 20 and
face charges of conspiracy (2nd degree), official
misconduct (2nd degree), theft by unlawful
taking (3rd degree), and misapplication of
entrusted property and property of government
(3rd degree).
Mangine,
who held the job of storekeeper at the warehouse,
pleaded guilty on May 28, 2008 to a charge
of third-degree pattern of official misconduct.
On Feb. 26, Judge Council sentenced Mangine
to 364 days in the Mercer County Jail as a
condition of two years of probation. He also
was ordered to perform 50 hours of community
service.
The
investigation was conducted by Lt. Keith Dangler,
Detective Sgt. 1st Class John Cappetta and
Detective Sgt. Vincent Greene of the State
Police State Governmental Security Bureau
Investigations Unit.
The
charges against Winkler and Sundstrom are
merely accusations and they are presumed innocent
until proven guilty. Winkler is free on $25,000
bail. Sundstrom is free on $20,000 bail.
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.
The
Division of Criminal Justice has established
a toll-free Corruption Tipline for the public
to report corruption, financial crime and
other illegal activities: 1-866-TIPS-4CJ.
Additionally, the public can log on to the
Division Web site at www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Tipline or Web page will
remain confidential.
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