TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a former employee of the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey was sentenced today for stealing
407 cell phones and two laptop computers
from the university.
According
to Director Taylor, Andres Santana, 35,
of Newark, was sentenced to one year of
probation by Superior Court Judge Michael
A. Petrolle in Essex County. He was ordered
to pay restitution of $19,402 to UMDNJ for
the stolen equipment and perform 50 hours
of community service. Santana pleaded guilty
to third-degree theft by unlawful taking
on Nov. 16. He forfeited his job at the
time of the plea and is permanently barred
from public employment in New Jersey. Under
New Jersey law, there is a presumption against
jail or prison time if a defendant is sentenced
for a third-degree crime and has no prior
felony record.
Deputy
Attorney General Perry Primavera represented
the state at the sentencing. Deputy Attorney
General Vincent J. Militello prosecuted
the case for the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau and took the guilty plea.
Verizon
Wireless alerted UMDNJ in January 2010 that
several cell phones registered to the university
had been located in Brooklyn, N.Y. UMDNJ
initially investigated the case and referred
it to the Division of Criminal Justice as
soon as criminal conduct was uncovered.
UMDNJ continued to assist the Division of
Criminal Justice in the investigation.
Santana
formerly was a senior technologist at UMDNJ.
His responsibilities, among others, included
managing the cell phone program for the
university. In pleading guilty, Santana
admitted that between December 2007 and
January 2010, he used his position to have
407 cell phones and two laptop computers
shipped to his personal residence on Morris
Avenue in Newark. The items were originally
destined for UMDNJ from Verizon. The state's
investigation revealed that Santana provided
the cell phones and laptops to another individual,
who was reselling the equipment. That individual
has not been found. The total value of the
cell phones and computers was approximately
$19,402.
Detective
Michael Behar conducted the investigation
for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau. Compliance Investigator Scott Strother
was the lead investigator for the UMDNJ
Investigations Group, under the supervision
of Interim Director of Investigations James
DiGiulio and Vice President for Investigations
Neil Schorr.
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