| TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a former New Jersey Turnpike
toll collector was sentenced to jail today
for 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 were sentenced
to jail last month.
According
to Director Taylor, John A. Filippine, 58,
of Columbus, was sentenced to 364 days in
the county jail and two years of probation
by Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert
in Burlington County. He pleaded guilty
on Aug. 24 to an accusation charging him
with third-degree theft by unlawful taking.
Filippine was charged 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. Filippine must pay $2,282 in restitution
to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, based
on the estimated amount that he stole, and
he will be permanently barred from public
employment in New Jersey.
On
Sept. 22, two other toll collectors, Glenn
W. Huryan, 56, of Magnolia, and William
L. Fagan III, 62, of Chews Landing, were
sentenced to 364 days in jail and a term
of probation – four years for Huryan
and two years for Fagan – by Superior
Court Judge Irvin J. Snyder in Camden County,
after pleading guilty to third-degree theft.
Huryan was ordered to pay restitution of
$6,000, and Fagan, $4,835. Both are permanently
barred from public employment in New Jersey.
Deputy
Attorney General Anthony A. Picione, Deputy
Chief of the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau, prosecuted the cases
and represented the state at the sentencing
hearings. 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.
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.
The NJTA terminated the employment of the
three toll collectors after they were arrested
on April 5, 2011 in connection with the
thefts.
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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