TRENTON
– Acting Attorney General Ricardo Solano
Jr. and Division of Criminal Justice Director
Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that Essex
County Superintendent of Elections Carmine
Casciano was charged today with official misconduct
for allegedly giving unauthorized paid days
off to county employees who worked on political
campaigns.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Casciano, 63, of
West Caldwell, was charged today by complaint
summons with second-degree official misconduct.
The charge stems from a joint investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau and the Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office Corruption Unit. Casciano will be ordered
to appear in Superior Court in Essex County
at a later date to answer the charges.
The
complaint charges that between Jan. 1, 2005
and Dec. 31, 2008, Casciano, in his position
as Essex County Commissioner of Registration
and Superintendent of Elections, orchestrated
a scheme in which employees of his office
would be given unauthorized paid days off
to compensate them for vacation days they
used to work on political campaigns.
The
complaint alleges that Casciano instructed
one or more county employees to maintain an
unauthorized log of vacation days used by
county employees to work on political campaigns
and paid days off owed to those employees
to compensate them under the scheme. It is
further alleged that, in an attempt to conceal
evidence of a crime, he instructed one or
more county employees to alter and/or destroy
records related to vacation days and unauthorized
paid days off of employees who participated
in the scheme.
The
official misconduct charge carries a maximum
sentence of 10 years in state prison, a criminal
fine of up to $150,000 and a lifetime ban
on any future public employment.
The
investigation was led for the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau by Deputy
Attorney General Vincent Militello, Sgt. James
Scott, and Sgt. Lisa Shea. It was conducted
for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office
Corruption Unit by Assistant Prosecutor Brandon
Minde, Detective David Sanabria and Detective
Elizabeth Bazan. Deputy Attorney General Christopher
Romanyshyn, Analyst Kathleen Ratliff and all
of the detectives in the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau North provided valuable
assistance in the investigation.
Because
the charge is an indictable offense, the case
is subject to presentation to a grand jury
for potential indictment. The charge is merely
an accusation and the defendant is presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
Acting
Attorney General Solano and Director Gramiccioni
noted that the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau has established a toll-free
Corruption 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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