COUNTY BY COUNTY, HERE’S THE INSIDE SCOOP ON NJ’S 44 DOUBLE-DIPPING COPS – by Mark Lagerkvist
Forty-four top county cops – 16 sheriffs and 28 undersheriffs from 20 counties – are collecting $3.25 million a year in police pension checks on top of their current salaries. Here is a county-by-county summary of New Jersey Watchdog’s statewide investigation:
ATLANTIC COUNTY
$173,000 is the magic number for Undersheriff Theodore J. “Ted” Kammer. He gets $77,000 a year in pension pay plus his $96,000 annual salary.
Kammer, 54, retired from Egg Harbor Twp. police, effective Jan. 1, 2009. He was hired as undersheriff in early 2009, but there is discrepancy on exactly when he took office. County personnel records list his date of hire as March 11. However, a press release issued on behalf of Sheriff Frank Balles indicates he was sworn into office on Jan. 1 – the same day he retired from Egg Harbor Twp.
BERGEN COUNTY
Bergen County leads New Jersey in double-dipping by county cops. The sheriff and four of his undersheriffs collectively reap a half-milliion dollars a year in pension pay on top of their six-figure salaries.
Sheriff Saudino
First-year Sheriff Michael Saudino ranks first among all double-dippers, raking in a whopping $268,000 a year. Saudino, 59, gets a $130,000 pension for retiring as Emerson Borough police chief on Dec. 31, plus a $138,000 salary since taking office as sheriff the following day.
Undersheriff Steven Librie gleans $219,000 a year – $115,000 in salary and $104,000 in pension. Librie, 50, retired as deputy police chief of Teaneck Twp. in August 2010, then was hired as undersheriff in January.
Undersheriff Brian P. Smith hauls in $218,000 a year – his $110,000 salary plus a $108,000 pension. He retired at age 50 from the Paramus Police Dept. in 2005, then he was hired as undersheriff this year.
Undersheriff Robert A. Colaneri receives in $204,000 a year – a $110,000 salary plus $94,000 in pension. Colaneri, 56, was hired as undersheriff in January 2011 after retiring from Carlstadt Borough in 2006.
Undersheriff Harry Shortway Jr. gets $186,000 a year – his $110,000 salary plus $76,000 in pension. Shortway, 72, retired from Ridgewood Village in 2001, then was hired by Bergen County as undersheriff in January 2011.
CAMDEN COUNTY
William Fontanez, 55, retired as a Camden County sheriff’s officer in April 2003 to start cashing $51,000 a year in retirement checks. One month later, he went back to work for the sheriff as chief warrant officer . Now as undersheriff with a $109,000 salary, his annual double-take is $160,000.
Sheriff Billingham
Such double-dipping shouldn’t shock his boss, Sheriff Charles J. Billingham. He also draws dual checks. Billingham, 52, retired from the Washington Twp. police in June 2006, then took office as sheriff in January 2007. He culls $219,000 a year – $145,000 a year in salary plus a $74,000 pension.
CAPE MAY COUNTY
In Cape May, two double-dipping officers started their new county positions before they actually retired from their old jobs.
Sheriff Gary Schaffer officially retired from the Ocean City Police Dept. on Jan. 1, 1999. But three months earlier – on Aug. 19, 1998 – he had already started work as Cape May County’s new director of public safety. Elected sheriff in 2008, Schaffer, 58, pockets $162,000 a year – $108,000 in salary plus a $54,000 pension.
Similarly, John D. Maher was hired as undersheriff in April 2005 – three months before he officially retired from the Lower Twp. Police Dept. Maher, 57, hauls in $160,000 a year – $89,000 in salary plus a $71,000 pension.
Robert A. Nolan retired as a captain in the Cape May Sheriff’s Dept. in May 2010, only to return as undersheriff six months later. Nolan ,52, receives $153,000 a year – $89,000 in salary plus a $64,000 pension.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Sheriff Robert Austino retired from the Vineland City Police Dept. in June 2003. He became Cumberland County sheriff in 2009. Austino, 61, receives $134,000 a year – $75,000 in salary plus a $59,000 pension.
Undersheriff Norman Franckle retired from the Millville City Police Dept. in March 1999. Austino hired him as undersheriff in 2009. Franckel, 58, gets $110,000 a year – his $63,000 salary plus a $47,000 in pension.
ESSEX COUNTY
Sheriff Fontoura
Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura has gamed $1.1 million from a state pension fund. At age 47, Fontoura “retired” as undersheriff in September 1990 when Essex County changed his job title to sheriff’s officer chief. He never left the county’s employ, but he’s been getting two sets of checks ever since.
Appointed sheriff in 1991, Fontoura has been elected by voters seven times. He now bags $200,000 a year from public coffers – a $62,000 pension plus a $138,000 salary.
Undersheriff Jesus A. Padilla retired from the Newark Police Dept. in June 1994. He was hired by Fontoura in January 2003. Padilla, 69, receives $139,000 a year – a $93,000 salary plus his $46,000 pension.
GLOUCESTER COUNTY
Sheriff Carmel M. Morina retired as Greenwich Twp. police chief in December 2006 –one month before he took office as Gloucester County sheriff. Morina, 54, rakes in $192,000 a year with a $63,000 pension on top of his $129,000 salary.
Sheriff Morina
Joseph O’Leary retired as Gloucester County undersheriff in September 2006. Four months later, O’Leary was rehired as undersheriff. Although he returned to his former position with his former employer, Undersheriff O’Leary, 54, still grabs $57,000 a year in pension checks. With a $96,000 salary, his annual double-dip totals $153,000.
Morina also hired Undersheriff Glenn S. Hammell, who retired from Monroe Township in November 2006. Hammell, 56, receives $151,000 a year – $96,000 in salary and $55,000 from his pension.
HUDSON COUNTY
One month after retiring from Jersey City as a police lieutenant in March 2000, James A. Sharrock was hired as Hudson County undersheriff. Sharrock, 64, gets $173,000 a year – his $102,000 salary plus a $71,000 pension.
- Sheriff Brown
HUNTERDON COUNTY
Sheriff Frederick W. Brown retired from Raritan Twp. in April 2007. He was elected sheriff last year, taking office in January 2011. Brown, 58, receives $189,000 a year – a $107,000 salary plus an $82,000 pension.
MERCER COUNTY
Mercer County is a revolving door for police employees who leave to collect pensions, then return to wring more cash from the public payroll.
Acting Sheriff Kemler
Acting Sheriff John A. Kemler retired as undersheriff in January 2009. One month later, the Sheriff’s Dept. rehired Kemler as its chief warrant officer. In October 2010, he was named acting sheriff. Kemler, 55, pockets $214,000 a year – a $129,000 salary plus a pension of nearly $85,000.
Undersheriff Carolyn E. Walton retired as a sheriff’s officer in January 2002. She was rehired as undersheriff in September 2007. Walton, 58, collects $168,000 a year – a $122,000 salary plus her $46,000 pension.
Undersheriff Dennis R. McManimon retired from the Princeton Borough police effective Feb. 1. Three days earlier, he was hired by Kemler. McManimon, 52, rakes in $207,000 a year – $122,000 in salary plus an $85,000 pension.
MIDDLESEX COUNTY
Middlesex County Sheriff Mildred S. Scott retired as sheriff’s chief officer in July 1995. She returned to Middlesex County’s employ in 2009 as an elected freeholder. Two years later, she was elected sheriff, taking office in January 2011. Scott, 64, receives $188,000 a year – a salary of $127,000 plus her $61,000 pension.
Undersheriff Donovan
MONMOUTH COUNTY
Undersheriff Michael W. Donovan Jr. retired as an investigator for the County Prosecutor’s Office in May 2005. In September 2008, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno – then-sheriff of Monmouth County – hired Donovan as her chief officer in charge of law enforcement, according to her signed memo and her organization chart.
Lt. Gov. Guadagno
Under pension rules, Donovan would lose his pension pay if the state found out he returned to work as the sheriff’s chief officer. So Guadagno informed other county officials Donovan was chief warrant officer – a similar sounding, but different position not covered under pension rules.
Using that guise, Donovan collected $218,000 in pension checks and avoided paying $27,000 he should have contributed to the pension fund. The details were first revealed in a New Jersey Watchdog investigative report last year.
Faced with a state inquiry, Sheriff Shaun Golden – Guadagno’s successor – employed a different tactic. In February he promoted Donovan to undersheriff, another position deemed exempt from pension rules. So Donovan, 55, continues his double-dipping ways. His take is $178,000 a year – his $92,000 salary plus an $86,000 pension.
There are two other double-dipping undersheriffs on Golden’s staff. Theodore Freeman retired from Monmouth County in January 1996 and was rehired as undersheriff in June 2002. Freeman, 65, receives $151,000 a year – his $92,000 salary plus $59,000 in pension.
Undersheriff Robert J. Dawson gets $184,000 a year – his $88,000 salary plus a $96,000 pension. Dawson, 47, retired from the Spring Lake police on Feb. 1. Two weeks later, he was sworn into office as a Monmouth County undersheriff.
Sheriff Rochford
MORRIS COUNTY
- Morris County boasts two of the all-time leading double-dippers – Sheriff Edward V. Rochford and Undersheriff John F. Dempsey. Together they have pocketed more than $2 million in pension cash without missing a paycheck.
Sheriff Rochford has collected nearly $1 million in pension checks – $994,273 as of August, to be exact. He retired from Morris Twp. as deputy police chief on Dec. 31, 1992, then took office as sheriff the following day. Rochford, 66, collects $191,000 a year – $130,000 in salary plus his $61,000 pension.
Undersheriff Dempsey
Undersheriff Dempsey has surpassed his boss with a pension take of $1.02 million. He retired as Morris County prosecutor’s deputy chief Jan. 1, 2004, the same day he started a new job as undersheriff. According to officials, Dempsey “went directly into the Morris County Sheriff’s Office with no break in service.” Dempsey, 65, gets $191,000 a year – his $128,000 salary plus a $63,000 pension.
Sheriff Polhemus
OCEAN COUNTY
Sheriff William Polhemus took office in January 1986, though he didn’t officially retire from the Seaside Heights Police Dept. until five months later. Without any lapse in salary, he has raked in $883,000 in retirement pay. Polheumus, 82, receives $166,000 a year – his $123,000 salary plus a $43,000 pension.
Undersheriff Wayne R. Rupert retired as a sheriff’s captain on Feb. 1, 2001. Before leaving, he accepted a new job as undersheriff, effective Jan. 18, 2001. Without any loss of county pay, Rupert, 67, has cashed $670,000 in pension checks. He gets $187,000 a year – $119,000 in salary plus a $68,000 pension.
PASSAIC COUNTY
Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik is a quarter-million-dollar-a-year cop, boasting a six-figure salary and a six-figure pension. Berdnik, 51, retired from Clifton City on Jan. 1, 2011, the same day he took office as Passaic County sheriff. His $149,000 salary and $102,000 pension add up to $251,000 a year.
Undersheriff Joseph C. Dennis retired from Clifton City in December 2004, then he was hired by Passaic County in May 2011. Dennis, 55, gets $174,000 a year – his $97,000 salary plus a $77,000 pension.
Sheriff Miller
SALEM COUNTY
At age 45, Sheriff Charles M. Miller retired as chief county investigator on Dec. 31, 2004. The next day, he started his new job as county domestic preparedness coordinator – a position he kept until he resigned in April 2006. He was elected sheriff that fall , taking office in 2007. Miller, 51, receives $183,000 a year – $107,000 in salary plus his $76,000 pension.
Undersheriff Warren K. Mabey retired from the State Police in November 2004. He was hired by the county in October 2010. Mabey, 56, collects $170,000 a year – a salary of $83,000 plus his $87,000 pension.
SOMERSET COUNTY
Sheriff Provenzano
Sheriff Frank Provenzano retired from the Bridgewater Twp. police in June 2001. He was elected sheriff later that year, taking office in January 2002. Provenzano, 67, reaps $199,000 a year – $123,000 in salary plus a $76,000 pension.
Undersheriff Charles M. O’Neill retired from Bridgewater Twp. in February 2001. Provenzano hired him as undersheriff in March 2002. O’Neill, 57. gets $162,000 a year – $100,000 in salary and $62,000 in pension pay.
SUSSEX COUNTY
Sussex County Sheriff Michael Strada’s top staff is stacked with three double-dippers who collect more than $230,000 a year in pensions, plus their near-six-figure salaries.
Undersheriff Kenneth Kuzicki rakes in $185,000 a year – his $96,000 salary plus a $89,000 pension. Kuzicki, 57, retired from Vernon Township in October 2010. In April 2011, he was hired by Strada.
Undersheriff Keith A. Armstrong, 54, draws $173,000 a year – a salary of $97,000 plus a $76,000 pension. He retired from Hardyston Twp. in January 2007, then . Strada hired him in January 2011.Undersheriff George R. DeOld, 62, collects $163,000 a year – $97,000 in salary and a $66,000 pension. He retired from Paterson City in February 1998. He was hired by Strada in January 2011.
UNION COUNTY
Ralph Froehlich is the longest-serving sheriff in New Jersey history. He has been Union County sheriff since 1977 – thirty-four years and counting.
In 1999, Froehlich managed to retire as sheriff while still remaining sheriff. Using little-known statutes – N.J.S.A. 43:16A-5.1 & 43:15A-47.2 – Froehlich and a few other elected officials were able to “retire” without leaving office, as long as they had previously earned pension credits in other public jobs.
This was the only double-dipping loophole plugged by the state pension overhaul championed by Gov. Christie and enacted in June. However, that reform was weakened by a grandfather clause that allows Froehlich and the others to continue double-dipping indefinitely.
Froehlich, 80, has amassed $951,000 in pension pay in addition to his regular salary. He collects $228,000 a year – a salary of $143,000 plus an $85,000 pension.
- Sheriff Gallant
WARREN COUNTY
Sheriff David P. Gallant retired from the State Police in July 2004. Elected sheriff, he took office in January 2011. Gallant, 54, hauls in $204,000 a year – his salary of $122,000 plus an $82,000 pension.
Undersheriff Kenneth J. McCarthy retired from the State Police in November 2008, then was hired by Gallant in January 2011. McCarthy, 52, receives $166,000 a year – an $80,000 salary and his $86,000 pension.
Undersheriff William Lundon retired from the State Police in January 2011. He was hired as undersheriff in June. Lundon, 50, gets $160,000 a year – his $77,000 salary plus an $83,000 pension.
# # #
This report is based on pension, payroll and personnel documents obtained from the New Jersey Department of Treasury and individual county governments under the state Open Public Records Act. It was supplemented with information from governmental online databases and official web sites. To view key documents, click on the links in the story.
Pension amounts, annual and cumulative, are current as of August 2011. Dollar amounts in this report have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
The ages of the “retired” sheriffs and undersheriffs were accurate as of Dec. 31, 2010. State and local government agencies consider release of exact birth dates as an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of public employees.
The records examined by New Jersey Watchdog did not indicate double-dipping by the current sheriff or undersheriffs of one of New Jersey’s 21 counties – Burlington County.
This report was originally posted Sept. 14, 2011 and was most recently updated Oct. 17, 2011.
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Tags: county cops, double dipping, New Jersey, pension fraud, sheriff, Watchdog
