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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced the indictment of a suspended
senior engineer for the New Jersey Department
of Transportation (DOT) and an alleged accomplice
on charges that they solicited a railroad
company to fraudulently inflate the cost
of a state-funded railroad repair project
by more than $700,000 and pay them $325,000
in bribes.
According
to Director Taylor, the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau obtained a state
grand jury indictment charging Gaudner B.
Metellus, 32, of Philadelphia, Pa., a senior
engineer for DOT, and Ernest J. Dubose,
30, of Boston, Mass., with conspiracy, official
misconduct, bribery, attempted theft by
deception and false contract payment claims.
Each charge is a second-degree offense carrying
a maximum sentence of 10 years in state
prison. Each charge, except the conspiracy
count, also carries a mandatory five years
of parole ineligibility. The indictment
was voted yesterday, but filed with the
court today.
Metellus
and Dubose allegedly solicited representatives
of a company that operates a shortline freight
railroad in New Jersey to engage in a scheme
to fraudulently inflate the cost of a project
to rehabilitate the Eagle Rock Railroad
Bridge in Roseland from about $693,000 to
$1,421,510 in connection with an application
under the State Rail Freight Assistance
Grant Program. The two men allegedly proposed
that the company submit false invoices for
rehabilitation work that would never be
performed, and demanded that it split the
state grant funds with them. Metellus was
responsible for confirming the need for
repair work and inspecting completed work
in connection with the grant program. Officials
of the railroad company alerted the Division
of Criminal Justice about the alleged plot
and cooperated in the state’s investigation.
The two men were originally arrested and
charged in the scheme on Sept. 23, 2010.
“We
allege that Metellus was caught with his
hand in the till, attempting to steal more
than $700,000 from the state grant program
that he was entrusted with overseeing, including
$325,000 in bribes that he tried to collect
with his accomplice,” said Attorney
General Dow. “Fortunately, the rail
company that he allegedly tried to enlist
in his corrupt scheme blew the whistle on
him.”
“This
ranks as one of the largest bribery indictments
in state history, in terms of the money
involved,” said Director Taylor. “This
senior engineer tried to parlay his authority
over large grants into a corrupt deal to
secure a $325,000 bribe for himself and
his co-defendant.”
On
Aug. 12, 2010, company officials secretly
audiotaped a meeting that the CEO of the
railroad company and another employee held
with Metellus at the company’s offices
in Morristown, in which Metellus allegedly
described the fraudulent scheme. The company
contacted the Division of Criminal Justice
the following day. The company cooperated
in the state’s investigation, recording
additional conversations in which the two
defendants allegedly discussed the scheme.
The state also obtained emails allegedly
sent by Metellus about the scheme.
On
Aug. 23, 2010, Metellus and Dubose met with
representatives of the railroad company
in their offices in Morristown and allegedly
received two company checks made payable
to Dubose in the amounts of $10,000 and
$315,000. The defendants allegedly instructed
company representatives to make the checks
payable to Dubose as a purported “consultant”
on the project. In reality, Dubose had no
knowledge or skills that enabled him to
act in that capacity.
The
$10,000 check was subsequently deposited
into a bank account in Dubose’s name.
The $315,000 check was postdated to Nov.
5, 2010, allegedly at the direction of Metellus,
who indicated that the company would receive
state grant funds by that time.
Detective
Sgt. David Salzmann, Detective Michael Behar,
Deputy Attorney General Michael A. Monahan
and Deputy Attorney General Perry Primavera
conducted the investigation for the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Deputy
Attorney General Primavera presented the
case to the state grand jury.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Pedro J. Jimenez Jr. in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Morris County,
where the defendants will be ordered to
appear in court at a later date to answer
the charges. The charges are merely accusations
and the defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
Attorney
General Dow and Director Taylor noted that
the Division of Criminal Justice 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 site 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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