TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that the former chief financial
officer for Bethlehem Township in Hunterdon
County and Washington Township in Warren
County was sentenced to jail today for stealing
municipal funds from both towns.
According
to Director Paw, Catherine Gangaware, 46,
of Milford, was sentenced to five years
probation, conditioned on her serving 364
days in the Warren County Jail. The sentence
was imposed by Superior Court Judge John
H. Pursel in Warren County pursuant to Gangaware’s
June 22 guilty plea to a third-degree charge
of pattern of official misconduct.
As
a result of the plea, Gangaware was required
to forfeit her municipal jobs and is permanently
barred from holding any public employment
in New Jersey. Gangaware also had been employed
as chief financial officer in Belvidere.
She was required to surrender her state
licenses as a municipal chief finance officer
and certified tax collector. Gangaware,
who previously paid restitution to Washington
Township, must pay $6,500 in restitution
to Bethlehem Township.
“By
using public funds to provide herself with
unauthorized bonuses and dental insurance,
this defendant violated the trust placed
in her as a public official,” said
Attorney General Milgram. “We urge
members of the public to join our fight
against public corruption by contacting
us if they have any information about suspected
misconduct by government officials.”
In
pleading guilty, Gangaware admitted that
between January 2001 and July 2005, she
paid herself unauthorized salary and longevity
bonuses totaling more than $6,500 while
serving as chief financial officer for Bethlehem
Township. She admitted that in 2003, she
also paid herself an unauthorized longevity
bonus of more than $400 as chief financial
officer in Washington Township. In addition,
Gangaware admitted that she used Washington
Township funds to provide dental insurance
for herself and her family to which they
were not entitled. The public funds used
to cover her dental insurance premiums from
2000 to 2005 totaled approximately $5,000.
Both Washington Township and Bethlehem Township
uncovered Gangaware’s conduct through
audits performed by outside accountants.
Attorney
General Milgram credited the Warren County
Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction
of Prosecutor Thomas S. Ferguson, and the
Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office,
under the direction of Prosecutor J. Patrick
Barnes, for assisting in the investigation
and referring the case to the Division of
Criminal Justice.
State
Investigator Kiersten Pentony of the Division
of Criminal Justice - Corruption Bureau
and Detective Sgt. First Class Joseph Celli
of the New Jersey State Police Official
Corruption Unit coordinated the investigation
for the Attorney General. Deputy Attorneys
General Anthony Picione and Robert Czepiel
handled the case.
Attorney
General Milgram and Director Paw noted that
the Division of Criminal Justice - Corruption
Bureau has established a toll-free Corruption
Tipline for the public to report corruption,
financial crime and other illegal activities.
The statewide Corruption Tipline is 1-866-TIPS-4CJ.
Additionally, the public can log on to the
Division of Criminal Justice Web site at
www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Tipline or Web site will
remain confidential.
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