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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a former administrator at
the University of Medicine and Dentistry
of New Jersey has pleaded guilty to accepting
an expensive gift from a contractor to whom
he steered numerous university contracts.
The contractor pleaded guilty in October.
According
to Director Taylor, Frank X. Watts, 59,
of Oxford, the former director of the physical
plant at UMDNJ, pleaded guilty yesterday
to second-degree official misconduct before
Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in
Morris County. The charge was contained
in a March 31, 2009 state grand jury indictment
obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau.
In
pleading guilty, Watts admitted that he
accepted a gift from the contractor of a
sun room, worth approximately $15,000, that
was built around a large wooden deck at
his home in 2002. The state’s investigation
revealed that the contractor also paid for
the $2,000 deck. Watts further admitted
that he hired the contractor for numerous
UMDNJ contracts.
Under
the plea agreement, the state will recommend
that Watts be sentenced to four years in
state prison. He must pay a penalty of $17,000,
representing the value of the gifts, and
he will be permanently barred from public
employment in New Jersey.
The
case was investigated by the New Jersey
State Commission of Investigation, which
referred it to the Division of Criminal
Justice in May 2007. Deputy Attorney General
Michael A. Monahan prosecuted the case and
took the guilty plea for the Division of
Criminal Justice.
“By
accepting an expensive gift from this contractor,
Mr. Watts put his personal interest ahead
of the public interest and undermined the
integrity of the government contracting
process he administered,” said Attorney
General Dow. “We will not tolerate
public officials who unlawfully use their
positions for personal gain.”
“This
case should serve as a wakeup call for government
officials who think favoritism and gifts
have a place in public contracting,”
said Director Taylor.
The
contractor, Daniel Cesario, 51, of East
Hanover, pleaded guilty on Oct. 21 before
Judge Manahan to third-degree misconduct
by a corporate official. His company, Cesario
Construction Inc., also pleaded guilty to
third-degree misconduct by a corporate official.
Cesario
admitted that he paid for the sun room at
Watts’ house in exchange for Watts
helping him to secure contracts at the university.
Under the plea agreement, the state will
recommend that Cesario be sentenced to a
term of probation conditioned on him serving
up to 364 days in the county jail. He and
his company must pay $15,980 in restitution
to the state, representing alleged overbilling
on UMDNJ contracts, and they will be excluded
from state government contracts in New Jersey
for five years. Cesario did not admit the
overbilling in pleading guilty. The state
will also recommend that the company be
ordered to pay a $45,000 fine.
Watts
is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21.
Cesario and Cesario Construction are scheduled
to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2011.
State
investigators determined that Cesario received
nearly $2.9 million from UMDNJ for work
that was steered to Cesario Construction
by Watts during the last seven years that
he was director. Cesario Construction did
a variety of work for the university, including
construction, plumbing, snow removal and
HVAC maintenance.
As
director of the physical plant, Watts had
oversight over the hiring of contractors.
Investigators found that Watts frequently
did not follow proper procedures for public
contracts. Cesario Construction was repeatedly
hired for jobs on an emergency basis, without
engaging in a bidding process, even when
there was no emergency.
Attorney
General Dow thanked the SCI for its investigation
and referral.
Special
Agent Michael Dancisin investigated the
case for the SCI. Detective Robert Stemmer
and Civil Investigator Joseph Salvatore
investigated for the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau, in coordination
with former Assistant Attorney General Lewis
Korngut.
Watts
retired from UMDNJ in June 2006 while this
matter was under investigation.
Attorney
General Dow and Director Taylor 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 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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