TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a corporation that was contracted
by the City of Perth Amboy during the administration
of former Mayor Joseph Vas pleaded guilty
today to performing thousands of dollars
worth of free masonry and paving work at
the mayor’s house.
According
to Director Taylor, Jenicar Builders Contractors
Co., Inc., pleaded guilty through its corporate
president to a charge of third-degree conspiracy
to commit official misconduct before Superior
Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr. in Monmouth
County. The charge was contained in a May
21, 2009 indictment obtained by the Division
of Criminal Justice, which also charged
Vas and his longtime aide, Melvin Ramos.
The company pleaded guilty to an amended
charge.
In
pleading guilty, the company admitted that
between May and November 2002, it performed
approximately $25,000 in work at the home
of Mayor Vas, free of charge. The work included
constructing paver walkways, a paver driveway,
a paver patio, a concrete foundation for
a shed, brick columns, a cement sidewalk,
and a cut-stone window border. Jenicar Builders
Contractors, which is based in Newark and
Kearny, was a vendor for the City of Perth
Amboy at the time.
Under
the plea agreement, the company will be
required to pay a $45,000 fine, and its
principals will be required to cooperate
in the ongoing prosecution. Deputy Attorneys
General Dianne C. DiGiamber Deal and Pearl
Minato took the guilty plea for the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Judge
Mellaci scheduled sentencing for Feb. 18.
On
Aug. 3, three other defendants who were
charged in the May 21, 2009 indictment pleaded
guilty. Two contractors, Frank Dominguez,
46, of Chester, and Richard Briggs, 50,
of Long Valley, pleaded guilty to third-degree
misconduct by a corporate official for submitting
a false invoice to the City of Perth Amboy.
Their company, Imperial Construction Group
Inc. of Pine Brook, pleaded guilty to third-degree
submission of false payment claims under
a government contract. The defendants admitted
that they submitted the false invoice, allegedly
at the direction of Vas, so that they could
obtain payment from the city secretly reimbursing
them for a $58,006 catering bill they paid
at the mayor’s request. The bill was
for a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 19,
2008 at the new Perth Amboy Public Safety-Court-Community
Complex.
The
state will recommend that Dominguez and
Briggs each be sentenced to five years of
probation. They are scheduled for sentencing
on Feb. 18, 2011. The two men and Imperial
Construction will be barred from public
contracts in New Jersey for five years.
The defendants will be jointly and severally
liable for paying restitution to the City
of Perth Amboy of $58,006. They must cooperate
fully in the ongoing prosecution.
The
charges are pending against Vas and Ramos.
Vas, who also is a former New Jersey Assemblyman,
faces multiple second-degree counts of conspiracy
and official misconduct, among other charges.
The
indictment, which is posted with the May
21, 2009 press release at www.njpublicsafety.com,
charges Vas with four distinct criminal
schemes. In addition to the scheme involving
Jenicar and the scheme involving Dominguez,
Briggs and Imperial, the following two schemes
are alleged:
Fraudulent
Campaign Contributions - Between
January and July 2006, Vas and Ramos allegedly
solicited city employees and others to
make fraudulent contributions to Vas’
2006 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives
for the 13th Congressional District. Ramos
allegedly paid cash to the people he solicited
to reimburse them for writing personal
checks payable to “Vas for Congress.”
Vas and Ramos are charged with money laundering
because by structuring funds into the
campaign through people who falsely appeared
to be making personal contributions, they
allegedly sought to avoid applicable state
and federal currency transaction reporting
requirements in connection with deposits
into the campaign’s account at Commerce
Bank. Banks are required to report cash
deposits of $10,000 or more under federal
reporting requirements. They allegedly
requested city employees to solicit contributions
during work hours, solicited city employees
and others during work hours, and used
city facilities and property for campaign
activities.
Medical
and Eyecare Bills - Between November
2004 and July 2005, Vas allegedly stole
$5,926 from the city by unlawfully authorizing
the submission to the city and approval
of payment of a personal medical bill
for $5,322 he received from the Mayo Clinic
of Jacksonville, Fla., and a personal
eyeglasses bill for $604 he received from
Lenscrafters.
Deputy
Attorneys General Deal and Pearl Minato
are assigned to the case. The investigation
was conducted by Deputy Attorney General
Deal, Sgt. Dino Dettorre and Detective Benjamin
Kukis. They were assisted by Lt. Daniel
O'Brien, Sgt. Robert McGrath, Detective
Lee Bailey, Detective Melissa Calkin, Detective
Lisa Cawley, Detective Shaun Egan, Detective
Kiersten Pentony, Detective Robert Stemmer
and Civil Investigator Joseph Salvatore.
In
March 2009, the Division of Criminal Justice
obtained an indictment charging Vas with
conspiring with city employees from 2003
to 2007 to fraudulently obtain payment of
approximately $5,000 from the Perth Amboy
Recreation Department for his personal expenses.
In addition, Vas and his driver, Anthony
S. Jones, 49, were charged in a scheme in
which Vas allegedly rigged a public lottery
so Jones won the opportunity to buy an affordable
home through the Perth Amboy Home Program.
Those charges are also pending. The indictments
are merely accusations and the defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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