Passaic County Vocational-Technical School

The Commission’s public hearing in September 1973 and report (contained in its 1973 Annual Report) included many recommendations for improving surplus property distribution and tightening school purchasing practices to prevent thefts and abuse.

The SCI referred its probe data to the Attorney General’s Criminal Justice Division, which in May 1974, obtained a State Grand Jury indictment charging the school’s business manager-purchasing agent with bribery and misconduct in office. The official was convicted of bribery, sentenced to one-to-nine years in prison and fined $9,000. The conviction was upheld by an appellate court in 1977. In March 1977, Passaic County Freeholders filed a civil suit against the official, resulting in a court order that he return all salary received while he was suspended from his job, as well as the bribe money. In February 1978, the official agreed under a court-approved settlement to repay the county more than $50,000 in 60 installments during a five-year period after his release from jail.