11 N.J. public officials caught in FBI insurance sting

Federal agents arrested and charged 11 New Jersey local public officials with taking bribes in exchange for giving public contracts to a fake insurance brokerage set up by investigators.

The investigation netted five members of the same local Atlantic County school board, two state Assemblymen, the mayor of Passaic and one current and one former Passaic city council member, and the chief of staff to Newark’s city council president.

They were all arrested and charged with taking bribes to influence the award of public contracts, according to U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and FBI Special Agent Weysan Dun.

The investigation began in mid-2006 amid evidence of corruption in the Pleasantville School District. In response, the FBI established an undercover insurance brokerage called Coastal Solutions LLC. An Atlantic County man, John D’Angelo, served as the FBI’s fake insurance agent, according to reports.

Each of the 11 public officials and one associate accepted the payments from companies that offered insurance brokerage or roofing services to school districts and municipalities, according to criminal complaints.

Pleasantville School Board members allegedly took thousands of dollars in bribes. The circle of corruption widened when school board members referred the cooperating witnesses to officials in northern New Jersey, who also took bribes and, in turn, put them in touch with still other corrupt officials, the complaints said.

The investigation included hundreds of taped encounters during which the officials expressed their desire to enrich themselves using their public positions. The defendants accepted corrupt payments ranging from $1,500 to $17,500 at any one time.

“The brazen greed and callous disregard of their oaths of office displayed by these defendants as alleged in the criminal complaints is breathtaking,” said Christie.

Topics Agencies New Jersey