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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that former Camden Education Association
(CEA) president Claraliene Gordon has been
indicted for allegedly stealing thousands
of dollars in funds of the teachers union
by using a CEA-funded credit/debit card
for personal expenses.
It
is alleged that Gordon, who served as CEA
president from September 2000 to August
2006, used the CEA-funded card at various
Atlantic City casinos on approximately 26
occasions to help finance her gambling habit.
According
to Director Paw, Gordon, 66, of Fayetteville,
North Carolina, was indicted by a state
grand jury on third-degree charges of theft
by unlawful taking and misapplication of
entrusted property. Third-degree crimes
carry a sentence of up to five years in
prison and a $15,000 fine.
During
her tenure as president, Gordon allegedly
used her CEA-issued credit/debit card for
$14,974 in personal expenses. After being
confronted by union officials on a number
of occasions about the misappropriated funds,
Gordon repaid $7,467, but she has failed
to repay the rest. Gordon claimed that some
of the withdrawals made at Atlantic City
casinos were for official business. For
example, on one occasion, after making three
withdrawals totaling $2,046 at the Showboat
Casino, she claimed she needed the cash
to place a deposit for rooms for an upcoming
education convention. Another time, she
claimed $1,789 withdrawn at Harrah’s
was actually a buy back of vacation days
she had coming. It is alleged that those
claims were false. On other occasions she
used the CEA card to pay for hotels for
personal travel or charged for hotel rooms
on official trips when she had already received
expense checks from the union to cover the
hotel expenses.
The
case was investigated by Detective Sgt.
Dawn Heltzman and Detective Rachel Vogel
of the New Jersey State Police and State
Investigator Kim Husband of the Division
of Criminal Justice. It was presented to
the state grand jury by Deputy Attorney
General Vincent J. Militello.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
>>
View
Indictment
(101k pdf) plug-in
The
indictment was handed up this afternoon
to Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg
in Mercer County. Judge Feinberg assigned
the case to Superior Court in Camden County,
where Gordon will be ordered to appear at
a later date.
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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