TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that a state grand jury today returned separate
indictments charging former Chief Judge
Wanda Molina and former Court Administrator
Virginia Pagan of the Jersey City Municipal
Court with official misconduct for allegedly
fixing parking tickets.
According
to Criminal Justice Director Deborah Gramiccioni,
Molina, 49, of Jersey City, was charged
with two counts of second-degree official
misconduct, one count of second-degree pattern
of official misconduct, one count of third-degree
tampering with public records or information,
and one count of fourth-degree falsifying
records.
Pagan,
53, of Jersey City, was charged in a separate
indictment with second-degree official misconduct,
third-degree pattern of official misconduct,
third-degree tampering with public records
or information, and fourth-degree falsifying
records.
“When
court officials engage in ticket fixing,
it shakes the faith of average citizens
who pay up when they get a ticket,”
said Attorney General Milgram. “Today’s
indictments send a message that these defendants
are not above the law and there is indeed
one system of justice to which all must
answer.”
The
indictment against Molina alleges that between
September 2006 and August 2007, she took
judicial action to dismiss eight parking
tickets that were issued to a close personal
companion. The Court Rules and the Code
of Judicial Conduct strictly prohibit judges
from hearing cases if they have any personal
interest in them or if anyone close to them
does. It is further alleged that Molina
wrote the word “emergency” on
three of the tickets, falsely indicating
that there were compelling circumstances
to justify the illegal parking, when in
fact there were not.
The
second indictment alleges that between November
1999 and July 2007, Pagan used her official
position as municipal court administrator
to access the court’s computer record
system and make entries dismissing 215 parking
tickets that had been issued to her and
her daughter. Pagan’s duties included
entering dispositions on tickets after they
had been adjudicated by a judge. No judicial
determinations had been made on the tickets
she dismissed for herself and her daughter.
The state’s investigation found that
the potential fines on the tickets exceeded
$5,000.
The
second-degree official misconduct counts
against Molina and Pagan carry a maximum
sentence of 10 years in state prison and
a criminal fine of $150,000.
Because
both defendants are charged with counts
of second-degree official misconduct that
allege criminal conduct that occurred, in
part, after April 14, 2007 – the effective
date of the state’s new public corruption
sentencing enhancement law – they
face a mandatory minimum of five years in
prison if convicted of that conduct. Governor
Jon S. Corzine signed the law in March 2007
to significantly enhance the punishment
of government officials who are convicted
of abusing their office and violating the
public trust.
“We
charge that these defendants repeatedly
violated the law in order to benefit themselves
and those close to them,” said Director
Gramiccioni. “Fortunately, a tip put
an end to their alleged abuses. We encourage
anyone who suspects public corruption to
report it to us.”
Hudson
County Assignment Judge Maurice J. Gallipoli
initially investigated allegations regarding
irregularities in the disposition of tickets
in Jersey City Municipal Court. He referred
the matter to the Attorney General’s
Office.
Molina
and Pagan resigned from their court positions
in September 2007 after their alleged misconduct
came to light.
The
case was investigated by Detective Lisa
Cawley and Sgt. Lisa A. Shea of the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Deputy
Attorney General Asha Vaghela is handling
the case for the Attorney General and presented
it to the state grand jury.
Third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five
years in prison and a $15,000 fine, while
fourth-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
The
indictments were handed up to Superior Court
Judge Maria Marinari Sypek in Mercer County.
Molina’s case was assigned to Bergen
County, and Pagan’s was assigned to
Hudson County. They will be ordered to appear
in court at a later date to answer the charges.
Copies
of the indictments are available with this
press release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
Attorney
General Milgram 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 page will remain confidential.
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