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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that former Department of Corrections
administrator Gerald T. Kennedy was sentenced
to prison today for orchestrating a bid
rigging and kickback scheme involving hundreds
of thousands of dollars in state contracts.
According
to Director Taylor, Kennedy, 48, of Red
Bank, was sentenced to seven years in state
prison by Superior Court Judge Ira E. Kreizman
in Monmouth County. Kennedy pleaded guilty
on Jan. 14 to a second-degree charge of
conspiracy to commit various crimes, including
official misconduct, bribery, money laundering,
theft by deception, making false representations
for government contracts, and use of a corporation
for furtherance of a criminal object. The
charge was contained in an April 2, 2008
indictment obtained by the Division of Criminal
Justice.
Judge
Kreizman ordered Kennedy to disgorge $80,000
in kickbacks he received. Kennedy was required
to forfeit his job and will be permanently
barred from public employment in New Jersey.
Also
today, Judge Kreizman sentenced three co-defendants.
He sentenced Jasher Guerrero Ramos to five
years in state prison, and sentenced Alfred
“Buddy” Canale to three years
in state prison. Ronald Hayes was sentenced
today to two years probation and was ordered
to perform 300 hours of community service.
Last month, Judge Kreizman sentenced defendant
Mark Stermer to three years in state prison.
“This
was a flagrant case of cronyism and self-dealing
by a state official,” said Attorney
General Dow. “Prison is an appropriate
sentence for Mr. Kennedy, who pocketed $80,000
in kickbacks on state contracts at the expense
of New Jersey taxpayers.”
“We
have sent one state official and three private
contractors to prison in this case, sending
a clear message that those who cheat the
state and its taxpayers will be aggressively
prosecuted,” said Director Taylor.
“The Division of Criminal Justice
partnered with the Department of Corrections
in this investigation, and we will continue
to work with government agencies across
New Jersey in our fight against public corruption.”
Deputy
Attorneys General Steven J. Zweig and Pearl
Minato prosecuted the case and represented
the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau at today’s sentencing hearing.
Kennedy
admitted that between December 2002 and
March 2006, he steered more than $630,000
in state contracts to three companies that
were owned by friends. As Assistant Director
of the DOC Division of Operations, in charge
of the Capital Planning & Construction
Unit, Kennedy had control over soliciting
bids and selecting contractors for small
capital projects costing under $41,100.
Although he was required to seek bids from
at least three pre-qualified contractors,
he frequently solicited bids exclusively
from the companies he and his friends controlled,
and he often dictated the amount of each
bid so he could award the contract as he
desired. The contracts were for masonry,
painting, "skirting" of a trailer,
roofing repairs and other general projects.
Kennedy
admitted he steered state contracts totaling
about $348,000 to Pro General Contracting
Inc., a.k.a. Pro Painting & General
Contracting Inc. Jasher Guerrero Ramos,
50, a Colombian national who formerly lived
in Elizabeth, was listed in corporate records
as owner of Pro Painting, but Kennedy actually
controlled the company. Kennedy admitted
he received about $40,000 in kickbacks on
those contracts with the help of Guerrero
Ramos and Ronald Hayes.
Guerrero
Ramos funneled cash back to Kennedy through
Hayes, 49, of Oceanport, by writing checks
to Hayes as if Hayes performed work for
Pro Painting, when he did not actually perform
any work for the company. Hayes would keep
just 5 to 10 percent of the amount of each
check and give the rest of the money directly
to Kennedy. Guerrero Ramos was sentenced
to five years in prison pursuant to his
Dec. 14, 2009 guilty plea to a second-degree
charge of bribery. He and Pro Painting are
barred from doing business with any public
agency in New Jersey for 10 years. Hayes
was sentenced to probation based on his
Nov. 26, 2007 guilty plea to a third-degree
charge of offering an unlawful benefit to
a public servant for official behavior.
Kennedy
admitted that he received more than $34,000
in kickbacks on state contracts totaling
$128,850 that he awarded to SBC Construction
Inc., the company of his friend Alfred “Buddy”
Canale. Canale, 55, of Point Pleasant, admitted
providing kickbacks to Kennedy. He was sentenced
today to three years in prison pursuant
to his Dec. 21, 2007 guilty plea to bribery.
Another defendant, Delfim Rodrigues, 47,
of Wayside, also admitted providing kickbacks
to Kennedy on those contracts. He pleaded
guilty on Feb. 28, 2008 to offering an unlawful
benefit to a public servant for official
behavior. He has not been sentenced yet.
His company, DEL ROD Inc., was a subcontractor
on the SBC Construction contracts.
Finally,
Kennedy admitted that he steered approximately
$153,000 in state contracts to a third company,
SteelGrey LLC, which was owned by his friend
Mark Stermer. On May 28, Stermer, 43, of
Red Bank, was sentenced to three years in
prison by Judge Kreizman and was ordered
to pay a $22,500 fine. Stermer and SteelGrey
pleaded guilty on Feb. 16 to a second-degree
charge of making false representations for
government contracts. They are barred from
doing business with public agencies in New
Jersey for 10 years. Stermer admitted he
submitted a fraudulent financial statement
and false information about past projects
of Steel Grey in an application to the Division
of Property Management and Construction
for approval to work on state contracts.
The
Department of Corrections reported suspected
irregularities in the bidding process on
small capital projects to the Division of
Criminal Justice in early 2006.
The
investigation was conducted by Lt. Keith
Lerner, Detective Paul Marfino and Deputy
Attorney General Zweig of the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, assisted
by Senior Investigator Manuel Alfonso of
the Department of Corrections Special Investigations
Division, who was sworn in as a special
investigator for the Division of Criminal
Justice.
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