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TagsCalled one of largest bribe attempts in state government history
A senior state Department of Transportation engineer and an alleged accomplice have been arrested on charges that they solicited a railroad company to fraudulently inflate the cost of a state-funded rail bridge repair project in Roseland by approximately $700,000 and pay them $325,000 in bribes, state Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced Friday.
The $325,000 bribe demand is described by state Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor as one of the largest alleged bribes in New Jersey state government history.
Gaudner B. Metellus, 31, of Philadelphia, the DOT engineer, and Ernest J. Dubose, 30, of Boston, were arrested late Thursday by detectives from the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. They are charged with official misconduct and attempted theft by deception, both second-degree crimes. Metellus and Dubose are being held in the Morris County jail in Morristown with bail set for each at $100,000.
Officials with the railroad, Morristown & Erie Railway Inc. alerted the state Division of Criminal Justice about the alleged scheme and cooperated in the investigation."We charge that this senior engineer for DOT brazenly violated the public trust," Dow said. "He and his co-defendant allegedly solicited a railroad company to conspire in a scheme to bill the state hundreds of thousands of dollars for fictitious rail repairs. This was a case of the fox minding the henhouse, because Metellus was responsible for monitoring rail projects to ensure that grant funds were properly spent."
"The conduct of this public official was outrageous," state Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor said. "We charge that he and his accomplice took $325,000 in bribes as their cut in this fraudulent scheme. That is one of the largest bribes alleged in state history. Our investigation is ongoing."
The Morristown & Erie is a shortline freight railroad operating in Morris and Essex counties. Metellus and Dubose allegedly solicited railroad representatives to engage in a conspiracy to inflate an existing application for state grant funds from approximately $700,000 to $1.4 million in connection with a project to rehabilitate the railroad bridge in Roseland.
Metellus and Dubose allegedly proposed that the company submit false invoices to the state for rehabilitation work that would never be performed. They allegedly demanded that the company split the fraudulently obtained grant funds with them. Metellus was responsible for confirming the need for repair work and inspecting completed work in connection with certain DOT grants.
On Aug. 12, company officials secretly audiotaped a meeting that the CEO of Morristown & Erie and another employee held with Metellus at the company's offices in Morristown, in which the DOT engineer allegedly described the fraudulent scheme. The company contacted the Division of Criminal Justice the following day. The company cooperated in the investigation, recording additional conversations in which Metellus and Dubose allegedly discussed the scheme. The state also obtained emails allegedly sent by Metellus about the scheme.
On Aug. 23, Metellus and Dubose met with representatives of the railroad in their offices in Morristown and allegedly received two company checks made payable to Dubose in the amounts of $10,000 and $315,000. Metellus and Dubose allegedly instructed company representatives to make the checks payable to Dubose as a purported "consultant" on the project. In reality, Dubose had no knowledge or skills that would enable him to act as a consultant.
The $10,000 check was subsequently deposited into a bank account in Dubose's name. The $315,000 check was postdated to Nov. 5, allegedly at the direction of Metellus, who indicated that the company would receive state grant funds by that time.
Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000. If convicted of the official misconduct charge, Metellus would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, including five years without possibility of parole.
Det. Sgt. David Salzmann, Det. Michael Behar, Deputy Attorney General Michael A. Monahan and Deputy Attorney General Perry Primavera conducted the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Det. Nicole Leo of the Morris County Sheriff's Office provided assistance in filing the charges.
Because the charges are indictable offenses they will be presented to a state grand jury for potential indictment.
Dow reminded New Jerseyans that the Division of Criminal Justice 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 to report suspected wrongdoing. All information received through the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Tipline or Web page will remain confidential.
– TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
