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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that a former administrator at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey was indicted today for allegedly accepting
lavish gifts from a contractor to whom he
steered millions of dollars in work. The contractor
was also indicted.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, the state grand jury
indictment charges that Frank X. Watts, 57,
of Oxford, the former director of the physical
plant at UMDNJ, accepted gifts from the contractor
of a 20-by-20-foot wooden deck for his home,
a 200-square-foot furnished sun room, a Cadillac
Deville and a cellular telephone.
The
contractor, Daniel Cesario, 49, of East Hanover,
owner of Cesario Construction Inc., received
nearly $2.9 million from UMDNJ for work that
was steered to Cesario Construction by Watts
during the last seven years that he was director,
frequently without following proper procedures
for public contracts. Cesario Construction
did a variety of work for the university,
including construction, plumbing, snow removal
and HVAC maintenance.
The
case was investigated by the New Jersey State
Commission of Investigation, which referred
it to the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau. Watts, Cesario and Cesario Construction
were indicted on charges of bribery, official
misconduct and other crimes.
“We
charge that by steering millions of dollars
to this contractor and accepting his lavish
gifts, Mr. Watts violated his duty to act
exclusively in the public interest and avoid
any conflict or appearance of conflict,”
said Attorney General Milgram. “This
type of corrupt pursuit of self interest on
the part of officials is what erodes public
confidence in state agencies.”
As
director of the physical plant, Watts had
oversight over the hiring of contractors.
He directed those under him to hire Cesario’s
company. Frequently the company was hired
for jobs on an emergency basis, without engaging
in a bidding process, even when there was
no emergency.
The
indictment charges that Cesario stole in excess
of $15,000 by deliberately overbilling UMDNJ
for “troubleshooting” maintenance
on the university’s HVAC system. It
is alleged that Cesario repeatedly billed
UMDNJ $440 or $480 for an eight-hour day of
work, when the bill should have been $400,
or $50 per hour. It is also alleged that on
some days he billed for two employees, when
there was never more than one Cesario employee
working on a given day.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, the eight-count state
grand jury indictment charges Watts, Cesario,
and Cesario Construction Company with bribery
in official and political matters (2nd degree),
two counts of official misconduct (2nd degree),
and pattern of official misconduct (2nd degree).
The
indictment charges Daniel Cesario and Cesario
Construction Company with theft by deception
(3rd degree), false representations for government
contracts (2nd degree), and tampering with
public records or information (3rd degree).
It
also charges Daniel Cesario with misconduct
by a corporate official (3rd degree).
“State
law and UMDNJ policy prohibited Watts from
taking gifts from this vendor, but we charge
that he ignored that prohibition and the best
interests of the public,” said
Director Gramiccioni. “We further
charge that this contractor used his position
of advantage to defraud UMDNJ. We are working
hard to root out such corruption. In this
case, we were assisted by the New Jersey State
Commission of Investigation, which referred
the matter to us.”
Attorney
General Milgram thanked the SCI for its investigation
and referral.
Special
Agent Michael Dancisin investigated the case
for the SCI. Detective Robert Stemmer and
Civil Investigator Joseph Salvatore investigated
for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau, in coordination with Assistant Attorney
General Lewis Korngut. Assistant Attorney
General Korngut presented the case to the
state grand jury.
Watts
retired from UMDNJ in June 2006 while this
matter was under investigation.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a fine of $150,000, while
third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of five years in state prison and a fine of
$15,000.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. A copy of the indictment is linked
to this release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Morris County, where
the defendants will be ordered to appear in
court at a later date to answer the charges.
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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