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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that the director of the Passaic
County Garage was charged today with stealing
a large amount of cash found hidden in a
car that was seized by law enforcement during
a drug investigation. He was also charged
with stealing an engine from a second vehicle.
According
Director Taylor, Paolo “Paul”
Mariano, 52, of Wayne, was charged by complaint
with two counts of second-degree official
misconduct, one for the theft of cash and
a second for the theft of the engine. The
charges are the result of an investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau. Each charge carries a maximum sentence
of 10 years in state prison.
The
investigation revealed that Mariano allegedly
stole a large quantity of cash found inside
a 2000 Ford Taurus that had been seized
during an investigation by the Passaic County
Drug Task Force in 2004. The car was being
repaired for use as an undercover car in
2005 when county mechanics found the cash
in a hidden compartment. They found three
or four stacks of $100 bills, each more
than an inch thick, estimated at about $100,000.
The mechanics told Mariano. He allegedly
took possession of the car and the cash,
and directed them not to report anything.
It is alleged that Mariano subsequently
had a mechanic disassemble the car.
Mariano
is also charged with directing county mechanics
in November 2006 to remove an engine from
a 1995 Toyota 4-Runner that had been seized
by the county. Mariano allegedly had the
mechanics place the engine into a 1993 Toyota
4-Runner that he had given to his girlfriend
but titled in his own name. The stolen engine
was in better condition than the one that
was replaced. Mariano allegedly sold that
car, with the engine from the county vehicle,
to an undercover detective on May 14, 2010
for $2,000.
Mariano
is expected to surrender to detectives from
the Division of Criminal Justice. The complaint
is merely an accusation and the defendant
is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Because the charges are indictable offenses,
they will be presented to a state grand
jury for potential indictment.
The
investigation was led by Deputy Attorney
General Vincent J. Militello, Deputy Chief
Paul Castellvi, Detective Scott Donlan,
and Detective Harry Maronpot Jr. They were
assisted by Sgt. David Salzmann and Detectives
Laura Clarke, Ruben Contreras and Nick Olenick.
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