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For Immediate Release:
For Further Information:
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July 25, 2011

Office of The Attorney General
- Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Stephen J. Taylor, Director

Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925

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Two New Jersey Turnpike Toll Collectors Plead Guilty to Stealing Toll Funds from Their Booths on The Turnpike
Third collector faces theft charge in probe by State Police & Division of Criminal Justice

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TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that two former New Jersey Turnpike toll collectors pleaded guilty today to stealing thousands of dollars in toll funds in a scheme in which they improperly obtained multiple toll tickets from interchanges near their toll plazas and substituted them for tickets from motorists who paid large tolls, pocketing the difference between the toll amounts on the tickets.

According to Director Taylor, Glenn W. Huryan, 55, of Magnolia, and William L. Fagan III, 62, of Chews Landing, each pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by unlawful taking before Superior Court Judge Irvin J. Snyder in Camden County. They pleaded guilty to accusations filed by the Division of Criminal Justice as a result of an investigation by the State Police. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority referred the case to the State Police after uncovering suspected thefts.

Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Huryan and Fagan each be sentenced to 364 days in the county jail, along with a term of probation and fine to be set by the court. Both men will be permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. Huryan will be required to pay restitution to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority of $6,000, and Fagan will be required to pay restitution of $4,835, based on estimates of the amounts they stole.

Huryan and Fagan were arrested by the State Police on April 5, 2011, along with a third toll collector, John A. Filippine, 58, of Columbus. All three men were charged by complaint with third-degree theft by unlawful taking. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority terminated the employment of the three toll collectors after the charges were filed. The charge against Filippine is pending. He allegedly stole an estimated $2,282.

“We are sending a loud and clear message to government employees who steal public funds,” said Attorney General Dow. “We will catch you and we will prosecute you.”

“I commend the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for its vigilance,” said Director Taylor. “We will continue to partner with other government agencies and with the State Police to ensure that corrupt public employees are brought to justice.”

“While we believe the vast majority of our toll collectors are honest, we have rigorous systems in place to catch the ones who aren’t,” said Turnpike Authority Executive Director Ronnie Hakim. “The successful prosecution of these men is evidence that those systems work.”

The Internal Affairs Section of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (“NJTA”) initially uncovered the suspected thefts as the result of an internal audit and investigation. It referred the matter to the New Jersey State Police for further investigation.

Deputy Attorney General Anthony A. Picione, Deputy Chief of the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, prosecuted the case and took the guilty pleas. The investigation was led by Detective Mark Beardsley of the New Jersey State Police. Attorney General Dow thanked the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for its investigation and referral.

Both Huryan and Filippine worked at Interchange 5 of the Turnpike, while Fagan worked at Interchange 3. In pleading guilty, Huryan and Fagan admitted that they engaged in a scheme in which they stole toll funds from the NJTA by obtaining toll tickets from interchanges near where they worked, collecting tolls and tickets from drivers, replacing the tickets from the larger tolls paid by drivers with the tickets they had on hand from a closer interchange, remitting the lower toll to the NJTA, and keeping the difference.

For example, if a driver presented a ticket from Interchange 18W and paid the $6.95 toll at Interchange 5, Huryan would substitute a ticket he had obtained from Interchange 3 and then put the proper toll for the Interchange 3 ticket ($1.00) into the cash drawer. He would then keep the difference of $5.95 for himself. Huryan admitted that he was the individual who obtained the tickets from nearby interchanges that were used by all three of the defendants.

The NJTA became suspicious after routine auditing revealed that Huryan, Fagan and Filippine were processing an unusually large number of “excess time” tickets. Each NJTA ticket is stamped and electronically coded with the interchange or toll plaza, lane, date and time of issuance of the ticket. The NJTA’s computer system also records the interchange or toll plaza, lane, date and time of collection and payment of the ticket. An “excess time” ticket is one collected hours beyond the normal time it would take to travel from the toll plaza where it was obtained. While there are some legitimate reasons for “excess time” tickets, such as a driver taking a sleep break or a vehicle breaking down, the large number of these tickets handled by the defendants drew suspicion and caused the NJTA to commence an internal investigation. The NJTA subsequently reported the suspected thefts to the New Jersey State Police.

The complaint filed against Filippine is merely an accusation and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Third-degree charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a $15,000 fine.

Attorney General Dow and Director Taylor noted that the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau has established a toll-free Corruption Tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. 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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