TRENTON
– Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
today announced charges against a Cherry
Hill man for allegedly falsifying New
Jersey School Construction Corporation
(SCC) and Division of Property Management
and Construction (DPMC) pre-bidding documents
in an attempt to win a school construction
contract from the Hamilton Township Board
of Education in Mercer County. The charges
were investigated by the Office
of Government Integrity (OGI).
“Our
office continues to aggressively investigate
persons who falsify school construction
documents with the purpose of defrauding
school districts,” said Attorney
General Harvey. “We will continue
to protect school districts and hard working
construction companies, from unscrupulous
businessmen.”
According
to John Kennedy, Director of the Office
of Government Integrity, a State Grand
Jury indictment charged Thomas Monahan,
50, of Cherry Hill and a vice president
for business development for CM3 Building
Solutions, Inc. of Trevose, Pennsylvania,
with two counts of third- degree forgery,
two counts of third-degree tampering with
public records and two counts fourth-degree
falsifying records. If convicted, he faces
up to 10 years in jail and fines of up
to $15,000.
“We
are committed to uncovering and prosecuting
frauds in the State’s school construction
program,” Kennedy said. This indictment
sends a strong message to anyone who violates
the public’s trust.”
According
to Attorney General Harvey, Monahan is
charged with knowingly altering a document,
namely an SCC Prequalification Notice,
on June 23, 2004. The Prequalification
Notice is a letter from the Schools Construction
Corporation advising the construction
company that it is eligible to participate
in the process and the date that eligibility
expires. In addition, the defendant is
charged with forging the New Jersey Department
of Treasury, DPMC’s Notification
of Classification form. The Notice of
Classification places a limit on the monetary
amount of uncompleted contracts a company
can have at one time and the trade specialties
a particular company can engage in, such
as plumbing, electrical or HVAC.
OGI
State Investigator Louis Taranto Jr.,
Supervising State Investigator Fred Weidman
and Deputy Attorney General James F. Flanagan
were assigned to the investigation. DAG
Flanagan represented the OGI before the
State Grand Jury.
The
defendant is presumed innocent of the
charges unless and until proven guilty
in a court of law.
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