Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Tags
Former Perth Amboy mayor already under state and federal indictment for corruption
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Already under state and federal corruption indictments, Assemblyman Joseph Vas (D-Middlesex) was slammed Thursday with a 19-count state grand jury indictment for accepting when he was mayor of Perth Amboy $25,000 in free home improvements from a city contractor, having a contractor cover a $58,006 catering bill for a reception at the opening of at the city's police and courts building, billing the city for $5,926 in medical bills and accepting fraudulent campaign contributions during his 2006 bid for Congress.
Vas, 54, is charged along with his longtime aide Melvin Ramos, 53, of Perth Amboy, two corporations that were city vendors, and two owners of one of the firms. Vas faces multiple counts of conspiracy and official misconduct, among other charges, according to state Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni.
The Attorney General's office indicted Vas in March for allegedly stealing city funds as mayor.
"Time after time, Vas exploited the trust placed in him as mayor for his illicit gain, stealing from his city," Milgram said. "This indictment details a variety of corrupt schemes, but a common thread of arrogance and greed runs through all of them. We will not tolerate public officials who view tax dollars as the spoils of their ascent to power."Gramiccioni said, "Prosecuting public corruption is a top priority for the Division of Criminal Justice, and we will continue to aggressively pursue any leads we get regarding misconduct by government officials. In this case, the thorough work of our investigators has caused our leads to multiply, resulting in more charges."
Wednesday, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra Jr. announced an 11-count federal indictment charging Vas and Ramos with, among other things, committing mail fraud in connection with a scheme to misuse Vas' position as mayor to misappropriate state affordable housing funds in connection with V as' sale of a multi-unit apartment building to a contractor in 2006.
In March, the Division of Criminal Justice charged Vas with conspiring with city employees to steal approximately $5,000 in city funds. The indictment charges that from 2003 to 2007, Vas fraudulently obtained payment from the city's Recreation Department for personal expenses, including fees for basketball camps for his son, refreshments for his father's funeral, and hundreds of dollars for sportswear, sneakers, beachwear and other personal items for himself. In addition, Vas and his driver, Anthony S. Jones, 48, 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.
Vas has pleased not guilty to the earlier state charges.
Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) has called on Vas to resign his Assembly post, but he has not moved to do so.
While opting to keep his seat, Vas has not appeared in Trenton since he was indicted two months ago.
The new state indictment charges Vas with four criminal schemes:
Between May and November 2002, Vas allegedly had city vendor Jenicar Builders Contractors Co. Inc. of New ark and Kearny perform free of charge approximately $25,000 in work at his home in the city, including providing paver walkways, a driveway and patio, a concrete foundation for a shed, brick columns, a cement sidewalk, and a cut-stone window border. Vas and Jenicar face second-degree charges of conspiracy and official misconduct in connection with the improvements.
Between April 2008 and September, Vas and Ramos allegedly conspired with city vendor Imperial Construction Group Inc. of Pine Brook and two of its owners - Frank Dominguez, 45, of Chester, who=2 0is president, and Richard Briggs, 48, of Long Valley, the vice president - to have the company pay a $58,006 catering bill for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the city's new Public Safety-Court-Community Complex on April 19, 2008.
Vas and Ramos allegedly had Dominguez and Briggs add the cost of the catering to invoices Imperial Construction submitted to the city under its contract to provide project management services for the construction of the complex. Vas and Ramos allegedly approved the invoices in violation of state and local contract laws.
Vas, Ramos, Imperial Construction, Dominguez and Briggs were each charged with conspiracy and official misconduct, theft by deception, false swearing, false government contract payment claims, false representations for a government contract, tampering with public records or information, falsifying or tampering with records, and misapplication of entrusted property and property of government.
In addition, Vas and Ramos are charged with a pattern of official misconduct, and Dominguez and Briggs are charged with misconduct by a corporate official.
Between January and July 2006, Vas and Ramos allegedly solicited city employees and others to make fraudulent contributions to Vas' 2006 campaign for the
Congress in the 13th 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 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.
Vas and Ramos are each charged with conspiracy and money laundering. They are also charged with official misconduct for the scheme. 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.
Between November 2004 and July 2005, Vas allegedly stole $5,926 from the city by authorizing the approval of a personal medical bill for $5,322 he received from the Mayo Clinic of Jacksonville, Fla., and an eyeglasses bill for $604 from Lenscrafters.
Vas is charged with official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, and misapplication of entrusted property and property of government.
The accused men face arraignment in state Superior Court in New Brunswick.
The investigation w as led by Sgt. Dino Dettorre and Det. Benjamin Kukis who were assisted by Lt. Daniel O'Brien, Sgt. Robert McGrath, Det. Lee Bailey, Det. Melissa Calkin, Det. Lisa Cawley, Det. Shaun Egan, Det. Kiersten Pentony, Det . Robert Stemmer and Civil Investigator Joseph Salvatore.
