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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that former Perth Amboy Mayor
Joseph Vas and his longtime aide Melvin
Ramos were sentenced to prison today on
state corruption charges filed by the Attorney
General’s Office. Two contractors
who assisted them in a fraudulent scheme
were sentenced to probation.
According to Director Taylor, Vas, 56, of
Perth Amboy, who was also formerly a member
of the New Jersey Assembly, was sentenced
to eight years in prison, including five
years without possibility of parole, by
Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci
Jr. in Monmouth County. As a result of his
guilty plea, Vas is permanently barred from
public employment. Judge Mellaci ordered
Vas to pay $154,693 in restitution and a
public corruption profiteering penalty of
$250,000. Vas delivered a check to the court
for $404,693 in payment of those amounts.
Vas
pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2010 to two counts
of pattern of official misconduct and one
count each of theft by unlawful taking and
money laundering. Vas admitted that he engaged
in a series of corrupt schemes charged in
two indictments obtained by the Division
of Criminal Justice in early 2009, including
one scheme in which he and Ramos solicited
an illicit payment of $58,000 from a city
vendor, and a second in which they illegally
funneled money into Vas’ congressional
campaign via straw donors to evade campaign
funding and reporting rules.
“Time
after time, former Mayor Vas demonstrated
his propensity to engage in corrupt schemes,”
said Attorney General Dow. “He took
an oath to serve the public, but instead
he unlawfully exploited the power entrusted
to him.”
“This
prison sentence reflects the mandatory five-year
period of parole ineligibility for official
misconduct established in our enhanced state
corruption laws,” said Director Taylor.
“It also reflects our resolve to be
aggressive in prosecuting corrupt public
officials such as Joseph Vas.”
Ramos,
55, of Perth Amboy, was sentenced today
to seven years in prison by Judge Mellaci.
Ramos pleaded guilty on Nov. 18 to conspiracy
and money laundering. He is also permanently
barred from public employment. Deputy Attorney
General Dianne C. DiGiamber Deal represented
the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau at the sentencing. On Tuesday (April
12), Vas and Ramos were sentenced to federal
prison on corruption charges filed by the
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District
of New Jersey: Vas to 6 ½ years,
and Ramos to 37 months. Their state prison
terms will run concurrently with their terms
in federal prison.
Also
today, Judge Mellaci sentenced Frank Dominguez,
47, of Chester, and Richard Briggs, 50,
of Long Valley, to three years of probation.
Each man was also ordered to pay a $7,500
criminal fine and perform 200 hours of community
service. The two men pleaded guilty on Aug.
3, 2010, to misconduct by a corporate official.
Their company, Imperial Construction Group
Inc. of Pine Brook, pleaded guilty to submission
of false payment claims under a government
contract.
At
the direction of Vas and Ramos, Dominguez
and Briggs submitted a false invoice for
Imperial in order to obtain payment from
the City of Perth Amboy secretly reimbursing
them for a $58,006 catering bill that they
paid at Mayor Vas’ request. The bill,
which was not authorized, was for a ribbon
cutting ceremony on April 19, 2008 at the
new Perth Amboy Public Safety-Court-Community
Complex. Dominguez and Briggs paid $58,006
in restitution to Perth Amboy after pleading
guilty. The two men and Imperial were ordered
to be barred from public contracts in New
Jersey for five years.
Deputy
Attorney General Deal was assisted in prosecuting
the case by Deputy Attorneys General Susan
Kase and Pearl Minato. The investigation
was conducted by Deputy Attorney General
Deal, Sgt. Dino Dettorre and Detective Benjamin
Kukis, 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. Attorney General Dow also
credited Deputy Attorney General Asha Vaghela,
Assistant Attorney General Boris Moczula,
Deputy Director of the Division of Criminal
Justice, and Deputy Attorney General Christine
Hoffman, Corruption Bureau Chief.
In
addition to the scheme involving the catering
bill, Vas and Ramos pleaded guilty to other
criminal conduct charged in an indictment
obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice
on May 21, 2009. Vas and Ramos admitted
that between January and July 2006, they
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
admitted he paid cash to the people he solicited
to reimburse them for writing personal checks
payable to the campaign. They were guilty
of money laundering because by structuring
funds into the campaign through people who
falsely appeared to be making personal contributions,
they sought to avoid state and federal currency
transaction reporting requirements for deposits
into the campaign bank account.
In
addition, Vas admitted that between May
and November 2002, he accepted approximately
$25,000 in masonry and paving work at his
home, free of charge, from a city vendor,
Jenicar Builders Contractors Co., Inc. Jenicar
pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2010 to third-degree
conspiracy to commit official misconduct
and was ordered to pay a $45,000 fine.
Vas
also admitted illegally obtaining $5,926
from the city by 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
from LensCrafters.
In
connection with a separate indictment returned
on March 11, 2009, Vas admitted that he
conspired 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 admitted he rigged a public
lottery so that his driver, Anthony S. Jones,
50, won the opportunity to buy an affordable
home through the Perth Amboy Home Program.
Charges against Jones in the indictment
are pending, and he is presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
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