TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that the Division of Criminal Justice
today obtained an indictment charging a former
fiscal analyst for the New Jersey Department
of Labor and Workforce Development with stealing
approximately $18,525 in state funds by issuing
unauthorized government checks made payable
to her landlord to pay her rent. According
to Director Taylor, the state grand jury
indictment charges Sharon Caldwell, 57,
of Trenton, with second-degree official
misconduct and third-degree theft by deception.
In her former position as a fiscal analyst
for the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, Caldwell had responsibility
for the disbursement of checks from a checking
account for the State’s Disability
Insurance program. The indictment alleges
that she issued three checks from the account
made payable to her landlord, which she
provided to the landlord to pay rent she
owed for her apartment on West State Street
in Trenton: one check for $8,000 dated Jan.
28, 2009, one for $3,525.85 dated Aug. 15,
2009, and one for $7,000 dated July 23,
2010.
The
unauthorized checks were discovered in 2010
by the Office of Internal Audit of the Department
of Labor and Workforce Development, which
referred the case to the Division of Criminal
Justice. Deputy Attorney General Jim Ruberton
and Detective Lynn Patrick Fitzgerald presented
the case to the state grand jury for the
Division of Criminal Justice Specialized
Crimes Bureau.
“The
public must be able to trust that state
funds will be closely watched and used only
for authorized purposes,” said Attorney
General Dow. “In this case, I commend
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development
for its vigilance in detecting these improper
expenditures and alerting the Division of
Criminal Justice. We will aggressively prosecute
officials who steal public funds.”
“We
guard the public’s tax dollars carefully
in this administration, and my department
has a zero tolerance policy regarding anyone
found misappropriating that money. I have
been working closely with the Office of
the Attorney General to make sure that any
circumstance involving the misuse of the
public’s money is prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law,” said Harold
J. Wirths, Commissioner of the Department
of Labor and Workforce Development.
“This
defendant was entrusted with access to a
state checking account, but we allege that
she flagrantly breached that trust by stealing
from the account,” said Director Taylor.
The charge of second-degree official misconduct
carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in
state prison, including five years of parole
ineligibility, and a $150,000 fine. Third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five
years in state prison and a $15,000 fine.
The indictment is merely an accusation and
the defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
The
indictment is posted with this release at
www.njpublicsafety.com.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Pedro J. Jimenez Jr. in Mercer County,
where the defendant will be ordered to appear
in court at a later date for arraignment
on the charges.
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 will remain confidential.
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