|
TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that an alarm system contractor from Collingswood
and three companies that he owns have pleaded
guilty to rigging bids for contracts with
the New Jersey Department of Corrections and
the Haddon Township Board of Education.
According
to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni,
Paul Kerth, 58, of Collingswood, and three
companies he owns – Independent Alarm
Distributors, Inc., Adirondack Alarm, and
Automatic Alarm Associates – each pleaded
guilty yesterday to third-degree theft by
deception before Superior Court Judge Irvin
J. Snyder in Camden County.
Kerth
was named in a Jan. 14, 2009 state grand jury
indictment which also charged Frederick J.
Armstrong, 59, of Pemberton Borough, a construction
management specialist in the Capital Planning
& Construction Unit of the Department
of Corrections (DOC). The indictment alleges
that Armstrong assisted Kerth in submitting
rigged bids to the DOC and used his influence
over contracting procedures to steer contracts
awarded by the department to Independent Alarm.
In
pleading guilty, Kerth admitted that, at Armstrong’s
request, he solicited other contractors to
submit higher “cover” bids so
Independent Alarm would win a 2003 contract
with the Department of Corrections for $39,600
to install closed-circuit television components
at Mid-State Correctional Facility. Under
state law, Independent had to be the lowest
qualified bidder among at least three independent
bids to win the contract. Kerth further admitted
that Automatic Alarm submitted a cover bid
so that Independent Alarm would win a 2002
contract for $5,030 to install upgraded alarm
systems in two schools in Haddon Township.
Under
the plea agreement, the state will recommend
that Kerth be sentenced to a term of probation
conditioned upon him serving 364 days in the
county jail and cooperating in the state’s
ongoing investigation. He and his three companies
will be barred from all public contracts in
New Jersey for a period of five years and
must pay $150,000 in restitution into the
state’s Anti-Trust Revolving Fund for
anti-trust enforcement efforts. Deputy Attorney
General Steven J. Zweig took the guilty plea
for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau. Judge Snyder scheduled sentencing
for Kerth for Nov. 20.
The
charges are the result of an investigation
by the Department of Corrections’ Special
Investigations Division and the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
The
charges against Armstrong are pending. He
is charged in the indictment with conspiracy
(2nd degree), official misconduct (2nd degree),
conspiracy in restraint of trade (2nd degree),
theft by deception (2nd degree), contract
fraud (2nd degree), and two counts of misconduct
by a corporate official (2nd and 3rd degree).
Armstrong
has been suspended without pay from his position
at DOC since the indictment was returned in
January.
The
state investigation revealed that between
April 1999 and December 2004, Kerth and his
companies, with Armstrong’s assistance,
rigged at least nine DOC contracts with contract
prices that, in the aggregate, exceeded $230,000.
The
investigation was conducted and coordinated
for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau by Detective Sgt. Keith Lerner, Detective
Paul Marfino Jr., Detective David Patella
and Deputy Attorney General Zweig. Senior
Investigators Manuel Alfonso and Charles Walters
conducted the investigation for the Department
of Corrections’ Special Investigations
Division.
Attorney
General Milgram thanked the Department of
Corrections for its referral and extensive
assistance in the investigation.
The
indictment against Armstrong is merely an
accusation and he is presumed innocent until
proven guilty. 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.
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.
###
|
