TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that the former tax collector for
Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, was
indicted today for allegedly stealing approximately
$100,000 in property tax payments.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau obtained a state
grand jury indictment charging Heddi Sutherland,
42, of Millville, with official misconduct,
theft by failure to make required disposition
of property, and computer theft, all in the
second degree.
“It
is appalling that Sutherland viewed her public
office as an opportunity to pocket cash for
her personal use, stealing money from Fairfield
Township taxpayers,” said Attorney
General Milgram. “We will continue
to root out and aggressively prosecute such
acts of public corruption.”
The
indictment alleges that between January 2003
and December 2007, while employed as the municipal
tax collector, Sutherland stole approximately
$100,000 from Fairfield Township by collecting
cash property tax payments from township residents
and keeping the money for her personal use.
Sutherland allegedly made computer entries
of the cash payments using the township’s
tax collection software and issued receipts
to taxpayers. However, it is alleged she then
altered the computer entries in order to conceal
her theft of the cash, which was never deposited
into the township’s bank account.
Sutherland
was terminated as Fairfield Township tax collector
in March 2008 because she could not obtain
the necessary security bond required for persons
holding such positions. The new tax collector
and an accounting firm hired by the township
for an audit discovered a discrepancy between
the amount of property taxes collected and
the amount of tax proceeds actually deposited
into the township’s bank account. They
referred the matter to the New Jersey State
Police and the Division of Criminal Justice.
Deputy
Attorney General Susan Kase presented the
case to the grand jury for the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. The investigation
was conducted by Detective Matthew Peeke,
Detective Sgt. Karl Ulbrich and Detective
Anthony Carugno of the State Police Official
Corruption Bureau, and Deputy Attorneys General
Susan Kase and Michael Wicke.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000.
The indictment is merely an accusation and
the defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
The
indictment was handed up today to Superior
Court Judge Maria Marinari Sypek in Mercer
County, who assigned it to Cumberland County,
where Sutherland will be ordered to appear
in court at a later date to answer the charges.
The
indictment is posted with this release at
www.njpublicsafety.com.
Attorney
General Milgram noted that the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau has established
a toll-free tipline: 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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