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Vince Price of Roselle, Stephen Valenzano of Hazlet, another, must reimburse agency
A former supervisor and two other former employees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey training academy in Morris County were sentenced Friday for collecting pay and reimbursement based on false attendance, mileage and meal records.
State Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor said Cotea Jones, 46, of Palmer, Pa., the former supervisor of the Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals Training Academy, was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $7,922 in restitution to the Port Authority by Superior Court Judge Kevin G. Callahan in Jersey City.
In addition, former academy employee Vincent Price, 50, of Roselle was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $2,103, and former employee Stephen Valenzano, 43, of Hazlet was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $2,544 in restitution.
Jones, Price and Valenzano pleaded guilty to accusations charging them with third-degree theft by deception. Jones and Price pleaded on Nov. 9, and Valenzano, on Nov. 17. All are permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.
They had no prior criminal records, and under New Jersey law, there is a presumption against jail or prison time if a defendant is sentenced for a third-degree crime and has no prior felony record.
The charges resulted from an investigation by the Port Authority's Office of Inspector General, which began when a routine audit uncovered irregularities in the records submitted by the three. Det. Danny DiPrimo and Det. John Fitzgerald conducted the investigation for the office. The matter was referred to the Division of Criminal Justice for prosecution and Det. Laura Clarke was assigned to the probe.
Valenzano, Jones and Price admitted that, for various dates from September 2009 through January, they submitted attendance sheets indicating they worked a full day at the training academy or at other training locations, when, in fact, they had arrived late, left early, or had not reported to work at all. As a result, they were paid for a full day of work. In addition, they admitted that they submitted false forms regarding mileage and meals that resulted in them receiving reimbursements to which they were not entitled.
Deputy Attorney General Vincent J. Militello prosecuted the case.
— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
