|
TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced
that two contractors and their company pleaded
guilty today to submitting a false invoice
to the City of Perth Amboy. The invoice
allegedly was submitted at the direction
of former Mayor Joseph Vas so that the defendants
could obtain payment from the city that
secretly reimbursed them for a catering
bill they paid at the mayor’s request.
Frank
Dominguez, 46, of Chester, and Richard Briggs,
50, of Long Valley, pleaded guilty today
to third-degree misconduct by a corporate
official before Superior Court Judge Anthony
J. Mellaci Jr. in Monmouth County. The company
they own and operate, Imperial Construction
Group Inc. of Pine Brook, pleaded guilty
today to third-degree submission of false
payment claims under a government contract.
The charges were contained in a May 21,
2009 indictment obtained by the Division
of Criminal Justice, which also charged
Vas and his longtime aide, Melvin Ramos.
The company pleaded guilty to an amended
charge.
Imperial
Construction was contracted as a city vendor
for the City of Perth Amboy under Mayor
Vas, who also is a former New Jersey Assemblyman.
In pleading guilty, Dominguez, who is company
president, and Briggs, who is vice president,
admitted that, at the request of Vas and
Ramos, they had Imperial Construction pay
a $58,006 catering bill for a ribbon cutting
ceremony on April 19, 2008 at the new Perth
Amboy Public Safety-Court-Community Complex.
Dominguez
and Briggs admitted that they added the
cost of the catering bill to an invoice
that Imperial Construction submitted to
the city under its contract to provide project
management services for the construction
of the new complex. Vas and Ramos allegedly
approved the invoice, concealing the city’s
payment for the catering services, which
were not bid and authorized in compliance
with state law on local contracts.
The
state will recommend that Dominguez and
Briggs each be sentenced to five years of
probation. The two men and Imperial Construction
will be barred from public contracts in
New Jersey for five years. The defendants
will be jointly and severally liable for
paying restitution to the City of Perth
Amboy of $58,006. They must cooperate fully
in the ongoing prosecution.
Deputy
Attorney General Dianne C. DiGiamber Deal
took the guilty plea for the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Judge
Mellaci scheduled sentencing for Feb. 18,
2011.
The
charges are pending against Vas, Ramos and
the other corporate defendant named in the
19-count state grand jury indictment, Jenicar
Builders Contractors Co., Inc. Vas faces
multiple second-degree counts of conspiracy
and official misconduct, among other charges.
The
indictment, which is posted with the May
21, 2009 press release at www.njpublicsafety.com,
charges Vas with four distinct criminal
schemes. In addition to the scheme involving
Dominguez, Briggs and Imperial, the following
three schemes are alleged:
Free
Home Improvements - Between May
and November 2002, Vas allegedly had city
vendor Jenicar Builders Contractors Co.,
Inc., which is based in Newark and Kearny,
perform approximately $25,000 in work
at his home in the city, free of charge,
including constructing paver walkways,
a paver driveway, a paver patio, a concrete
foundation for a shed, brick columns,
a cement sidewalk, and a cut-stone window
border.
Fraudulent
Campaign Contributions - Between
January and July 2006, Vas and Ramos allegedly
solicited city employees and others to
make fraudulent contributions to Vas’
2006 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives
for the 13th Congressional District. Ramos
allegedly paid cash to the people he solicited
to reimburse them for writing personal
checks payable to “Vas for Congress.”
Vas
and Ramos are charged with money laundering
because by structuring funds into the
campaign through people who falsely appeared
to be making personal contributions, they
allegedly sought to avoid applicable state
and federal currency transaction reporting
requirements in connection with deposits
into the campaign’s account at Commerce
Bank. Banks are required to report cash
deposits of $10,000 or more under federal
reporting requirements.
They
allegedly requested city employees to
solicit contributions during work hours,
solicited city employees and others during
work hours, and used city facilities and
property for campaign activities.
Medical
and Eyecare Bills - Between November
2004 and July 2005, Vas allegedly stole
$5,926 from the city by unlawfully authorizing
the submission to the city and approval
of payment of a personal medical bill
for $5,322 he received from the Mayo Clinic
of Jacksonville, Fla., and a personal
eyeglasses bill for $604 he received from
Lenscrafters.
The
investigation was conducted for the Division
of Criminal Justice by Deputy Attorneys
General Deal and Pearl Minato, Sgt. Dino
Dettorre and Detective Benjamin Kukis. They
were assisted by Lt. Daniel O'Brien, Sgt.
Robert McGrath, Detective Lee Bailey, Detective
Melissa Calkin, Detective Lisa Cawley, Detective
Shaun Egan, Detective Kiersten Pentony,
Detective Robert Stemmer and Civil Investigator
Joseph Salvatore.
In
March 2009, the Division of Criminal Justice
obtained an indictment charging Vas with
conspiring with city employees from 2003
to 2007 to fraudulently obtain payment of
approximately $5,000 from the Perth Amboy
Recreation Department for his personal expenses.
In addition, Vas and his driver, Anthony
S. Jones, 49, were charged in a scheme in
which Vas allegedly rigged a public lottery
so Jones won the opportunity to buy an affordable
home through the Perth Amboy Home Program.
Those charges are also pending. The indictments
are merely accusations and the defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
### |
