|
TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that Virginia Pagan, the former
Administrator of the Jersey City Municipal
Court, was sentenced to prison today for
fixing parking tickets.
According
to Director Taylor, Pagan, 55, of Jersey
City, was sentenced to three years in state
prison by Superior Court Judge Harry G.
Carroll in Bergen County. She pleaded guilty
on June 17 to second-degree official misconduct,
a charge contained in a July 14, 2008 state
grand jury indictment obtained by the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
Pagan
resigned from her court position in September
2007 after her alleged misconduct came to
light. As a result of the guilty plea, she
was ordered to be permanently barred from
public employment in New Jersey.
Pagan
admitted that between Nov. 9, 1999 and April
1, 2007, she used her official position
to access the court’s computer record
system and make entries dismissing 215 parking
tickets, carrying potential fines in excess
of $5,000, which had been issued to her
and her daughter. The judge ordered Pagan
to pay full restitution for the fines, penalties
and costs associated with the dismissed
tickets.
“The
conduct of Ms. Pagan threatened to undermine
public confidence in our courts,”
said Attorney General Dow. “This sentence
should help restore the public’s faith
that court officials will not be permitted
to administer unequal justice by giving
special treatment to themselves or those
close to them.”
“People
must be able to count on the fact that justice
will be administered fairly and impartially,”
said Director Taylor. “We will continue
to work with the Judiciary, as we did here,
to thoroughly investigate any allegations
of corrupt conduct by court officials.”
Deputy
Attorney General Richard Queen took the
guilty plea and represented the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau at
the sentencing.
On
June 4, Wanda Molina, 51, of Jersey City,
the former Chief Judge of the Jersey City
Municipal Court, pleaded guilty before Judge
Carroll to tampering with public records
or information, a third-degree offense,
and falsifying records, a fourth-degree
offense. Those charges were contained in
a Dec. 11, 2008 state grand jury indictment.
In
pleading guilty, Molina admitted that between
October 30, 2006 and April 2, 2007, she
took judicial action to dismiss eight parking
tickets that were issued to a close personal
companion. The Court Rules and the Code
of Judicial Conduct strictly prohibit judges
from hearing cases if they have any personal
interest in them or if anyone close to them
does. She admitted that she wrote the word
“emergency” on three of the
tickets, falsely indicating that there were
compelling circumstances to justify the
illegal parking, when in fact there were
not. In connection with her plea, Molina
will pay restitution in the amount of the
dismissed tickets.
The
state will recommend that Molina receive
a sentence of probation conditioned on her
serving up to 364 days in the county jail.
Molina resigned from her judgeship on Sept.
21, 2007 in connection with this case, and
she will be permanently barred from public
employment in New Jersey. She is scheduled
to be sentenced by Judge Carroll on Aug.
27.
Hudson
County Assignment Judge Maurice J. Gallipoli
initially investigated allegations regarding
irregularities in the disposition of tickets
in Jersey City Municipal Court. He referred
the matter to the Attorney General’s
Office.
The
case was investigated by Detective Lisa
Cawley and Sgt. Lisa A. Shea of the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Deputy
Attorney General Asha Vaghela presented
the cases to the state grand jury.
Attorney
General Dow 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.
### |
