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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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