TRENTON - Attorney General
Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director
Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that John
Fiore, former executive vice president of
the East Windsor Police Athletic League, was
convicted at trial today of official misconduct
and bribery for steering a PAL construction
contract to a contractor who built a deck
at his home free of charge.
According to Director Gramiccioni,
Fiore, 63, of Allentown, was convicted by
a Mercer County jury of conspiracy, bribery
and official misconduct, all second-degree
offenses. The verdict followed an 11-week
trial before Superior Court Judge Mitchell
Ostrer. The jury deliberated for five hours
over a two-day period. Second-degree crimes
carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state
prison and a $150,000 fine. Judge Ostrer scheduled
Fiore’s sentencing for Oct. 13.
Assistant Attorney General
Lewis Korngut conducted the trial for the
Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
The charges stem from an investigation by
the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor within
the Division of Criminal Justice.
“This defendant selfishly
and corruptly used his public position within
the PAL for his personal gain,” Attorney
General Milgram said. “Today’s
verdict sends a loud message that this type
of conduct will not be tolerated.”
The jury found that Fiore,
a retired East Windsor police officer, used
his position as an officer on the Board of
Directors of the East Windsor PAL to steer
a contract to Jeffrey Nemes to build the PAL
a combined concession stand and administration
building on Airport Road in East Windsor.
The jury found that, in return for Fiore influencing
the Board of Directors to hire Nemes’
company, Nemes built a $12,000 deck, free
of charge, at Fiore’s former home in
Washington Township, Mercer County.
The state’s investigation
revealed a conspiracy among Fiore, Nemes and
a third man, Marc Rossi, to arrange for Nemes
Construction Company to get the contract and
overcharge the East Windsor PAL for the project.
The PAL paid Nemes a total of $274,046, which
was at least $90,000 more than what the building
should have cost. Rossi received $5,000 for
his role in arranging the deal between Fiore,
the East Windsor PAL, and Nemes Construction
Company.
The investigation was conducted
and coordinated by Lt. Robert Stemmer, Civil
Investigator Joseph Salvatore, Analyst Paula
Carter, Deputy Attorney General Asha Vaghela
and Assistant Attorney General Lewis Korngut.
Stemmer and Salvatore were formerly assigned
to the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
but now are assigned to the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau.
“This verdict is a tribute
to the superb hard work and dedication of
the Division of Criminal Justice’s investigative
and trial teams,” Director Gramiccioni
said. “Today’s conviction marks
the conclusion of a 10-year investigation
in which 12 people were convicted, resulting
in seven people being sent to New Jersey State
Prison.”
In March, Nemes, 43, of Hamilton,
pleaded guilty to bribery, admitting he built
the $8,000 deck for Fiore in return for the
PAL contract. The judge ordered Nemes to pay
$8,000 in restitution to the East Windsor
PAL and imposed a five-year state prison sentence,
concurrent to an eight-year sentence he was
already serving on a 2007 bribery conviction
obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice.
Rossi pleaded guilty to theft
in 2003 in connection with the $5,000 payment
involving the PAL. He was sentenced to three
years in prison.
Nemes, a former Hamilton Township
police officer, was convicted at trial in
2007 of offering two Hamilton Township fire
chiefs up to $500 and other rewards if they
would delay fire suppression and increase
damage at fire scenes so as to increase potential
profits for Nemes' company and an insurance
adjustment firm owned by Rossi. That conviction
led to his prior eight-year state prison sentence.
Assistant Attorney General Korngut also represented
the state in that trial.
In addition, Nemes pleaded
guilty in March to theft for stealing insurance
money from four fire victims who hired him
for repairs that he never completed. For that
charge, Nemes received a concurrent jail sentence
and was ordered to pay $74,472 in restitution.
Rossi pleaded guilty in 2003
to bribery and operating an "arson-for-profit"
insurance fraud scheme. Rossi admitted to
intentionally setting at least six fires in
the Trenton area in 1999 so his public insurance
adjustment business would be hired to adjust
the insurance claims. Rossi was sentenced
to eight years in prison and was ordered to
pay $542,853 in restitution and a $50,000
insurance fraud fine.
Attorney
General Milgram 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 site 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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