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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that former Essex County Superintendent
of Elections Carmine Casciano was sentenced
today for tampering with public records
in connection with a scheme to give unauthorized
paid days off to county employees who worked
on campaigns.
According
to Director Taylor, Casciano, 64, of West
Caldwell, was sentenced to a two-year term
of probation and ordered to serve 200 hours
of community service by Superior Court Judge
Michael A. Petrolle in Essex County. Casciano
is permanently barred from public employment
in New Jersey and from holding public office
in the state. Casciano pleaded guilty on
Sept. 23 to an accusation charging him with
third-degree tampering with public records
or information.
The
charge stemmed from a joint investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau and the Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office Corruption Unit. Deputy Attorney
General Vincent J. Militello prosecuted
the case for the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau and represented the state
at the sentencing.
As
a result of the investigation, Casciano
resigned from his position as the Essex
County Commissioner of Registration and
Superintendent of Elections on Jan. 15,
2010.
The
investigation revealed that between 2005
and 2008, Casciano used his county position
to orchestrate a scheme in which employees
of his office would be given unauthorized
paid days off to compensate them for vacation
days they used to work on political campaigns.
He instructed one or more county employees
to maintain an unauthorized log of vacation
days used by employees to work on campaigns
and paid days off owed to those employees
in return. In pleading guilty, Casciano
admitted that between January and March
2007, he altered or destroyed records related
to the scheme or instructed subordinates
to alter or destroy them.
The
investigation was conducted for the Division
of Criminal Justice by Deputy Attorney General
Militello, Sgt. James Scott, and Sgt. Lisa
Shea. It was conducted for the Essex County
Prosecutor’s Office Corruption Unit
by former Assistant Prosecutor Brandon Minde,
Detective David Sanabria and Detective Elizabeth
Bazan. Assistance was provided by Analyst
Kathleen Ratliff of the Division of Criminal
Justice and additional detectives in the
Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau North and Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office Corruption Unit.
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