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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a former New Jersey Turnpike
toll collector pleaded guilty today to participating
in a scheme in which he and two other toll
collectors obtained 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. The two
other men pleaded guilty in July.
According
to Director Taylor, John A. Filippine, 58,
of Columbus, pleaded guilty to third-degree
theft by unlawful taking before Superior
Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert in Burlington
County. He pleaded guilty to an accusation
filed by the Division of Criminal Justice
as a result of an investigation by the New
Jersey 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 Filippine be sentenced to 364 days
in the county jail, along with a term of
probation and a fine to be set by the court.
He must pay $2,282 in restitution to the
New Jersey Turnpike Authority, based on
the estimated amount that he stole, and
will be permanently barred from public employment
in New Jersey. Judge Covert scheduled sentencing
of Filippine for Oct. 7.
On
July 25, the two other toll collectors,
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. The state
will also recommend that each of them be
sentenced to 364 days in the county jail,
along with a term of probation and a fine
to be set by the court. They will be permanently
barred from public employment in New Jersey,
and must pay restitution to the Turpike
Authority, Huryan in the amount of $6,000,
and Fagan in the amount of $4,835. Huryan
and Fagan are scheduled for sentencing on
Sept. 23.
The
Internal Audit Department 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.
Filippine, Huryan and Fagan were arrested
by the State Police on April 5, 2011. The
New Jersey Turnpike Authority subsequently
terminated the employment of the three toll
collectors.
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, Filippine,
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.
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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