The New Jersey agency entrusted with ensuring access to public records may be Gov. Chris Christie’s biggest ally for keeping a pension scandal secret in an election year.

After a sudden decision last year not to review state Treasury documents that could incriminate Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the Government Records Council sat on the case five months before transferring it to the Office of Administrative Law.

The council voted in December to punt the case to OAL. Yet GRC staff waited until this month to send the file, despite an assurance the referral would only take a week or two.  

“The delay was due to a work backlog in the Government Records Council,” said spokeswoman Lisa Ryan. She would not elaborate.

As a result, a 2-year-old appeal by New Jersey Watchdog returns to Square One. It now appears unlikely the case will decided – or documents released – until after the November gubernatorial election. 

The circumstances raise doubt on whether GRC can be trusted with disputes over executive branch records. All members of the council are either Christie cabinet members or public members appointed by the governor. GRC’s executive director, Brandon Minde, is Christie’s former assistant legal counsel.

Ironically, Christie campaigned on a platform of reform and open government when he was elected governor in 2009.

The contested records involve an alleged pension scheme while Guadagno was Monmouth County sheriff. The story was first reported by New Jersey Watchdog in 2010.

Treasury officials gathered the documents during an inquiry of whether Guadagno’s chief officer, Michael W. Donovan Jr., improperly collected nearly $85,000 a year in state retirement pay in addition to his $87,500 annual salary.

In 2008, Guadagno hired Donovan, a retired investigator for the county prosecutor, as the sheriff’s “chief of law enforcement division.” She announced the appointment in a memo to her staff. The sheriff’s official website subsequently identified Donovan as “sheriff’s officer chief,” supervising 115 subordinate officers and 30 civilian employees.

But Donovan faced a legal problem. As a sheriff’s officer chief — a position covered by the pension system — Donovan should have been required to stop receiving pension checks, plus resume his contributions to the state retirement fund.

So Guadagno lied about Donovan’s job title, enabling her chief officer to double-dip.

In county payroll records, the oath of office and a news release, Donovan was listed as the sheriff’s “chief warrant officer” — a similar sounding, but low-ranking position that’s exempt from the pension system. A chief warrant officer is responsible for serving warrants and other legal documents.

On Guadagno’s organizational chart, Donovan was listed as chief of law enforcement. The position of chief warrant officer cannot be found on the chart.

The following year, Donovan campaigned for Guadagno and Gov. Chris Christie as Monmouth County chairman of the “Law Enforcement for Christie-Guadagno” team in the gubernatorial election. (Click here for New Jersey Watchdog’s story on LECG’s 12 double-dippers.)

While sheriff’s chief, Donovan pocketed $227,000 in checks from the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System. Since he did not re-enroll in PFRS, he avoided another $18,000 in contributions. If the state decides Donovan violated pension law, he could be forced to repay $245,000.

The stakes are also high for Guadagno. Under state statute, “Any person who shall knowingly make any false statement or shall falsify or permit to be falsified any record or records of this retirement system … shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

The Treasury failed to take conclusive action after its review. Not satisfied with the result, the PFRS Board of Trustees voted in May 2011 to call for a criminal investigation of Donovan — plus parallel instances involving John Dough, of Essex County, and Harold Gibson, of Union County.

The case was referred to the Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice. However, the DCJ investigation is riddled with potential conflicts of interest. Guadagno is DCJ’s former deputy director; she held the post from 1998 to 2001.

Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa, a Christie appointee, is ultimately in charge of the probe of fellow cabinet member Guadagno. Chiesa is former chief legal counsel to Christie.

Christie has not publicly addressed the issue of whether an independent prosecutor should be appointed to handle the case. Spokespeople for Christie and Guadagno have declined to comment. Representatives for Chiesa have not responded to questions about the investigation.

The records battle began in March 2011 with an OPRA request by New Jersey Watchdog. When Treasury officials refused to release the documents, New Jersey Watchdog filed its complaint with GRC.

In its July 2012 decision, GRC ordered Treasury to produce the records for an in-camera review to determine which records, if any, should be released to New Jersey Watchdog.

Treasury appealed to the Appellate Division of Superior Court. The motion by the Attorney General on behalf of Treasury was opposed by briefs from New Jersey Watchdog and GRC.

In November, the court upheld the GRC’s authority to review the records.  But rather than proceed with the case, the council suddenly quit.

“Because of the nature of the subject of this complaint, this complaint should be referred to the Office of Administrative Law…” according to a draft of the GRC staff recommendation released just before the Dec. 18 meeting.

But as soon as the meeting began, the council went into executive session to discuss the case in private – and change the wording of the resolution it would adopt.

When the public was invited to return, the reference to “the nature of the subject of this complaint” and its political inference had disappeared. The council claimed GRC did not have the resources or staff to finish the case it had been working on for a year-and-a-half.

Nearly five months later, GRC finally sent the file with a two-paragraph transmittal letter to OAL, an agency that rarely handles public records disputes. 

“We ask that you consider scheduling this case for a hearing as expeditiously as possible,” wrote GRC’s Minde.

At OAL, the administrative law judges are also gubernatorial appointees. The chief judge presides over the office and reports directly to Christie. 

Any decision by OAL is subject to appeal in the courts.

New Jersey Watchdog has won a New York Press Club Award for its investigative reporting on “retired” public officials who collect both pensions and paychecks from the state.

In the category of political coverage, judges selected “60 NJ State ‘Double-Dippers’ Collect $10 Million Per Year” as the winner. The story by investigative reporter Mark Lagerkvist was published last August on the eve of Gov. Chris Christie’s keynote speech at the GOP National Convention. 

Lagerkvist found that five-dozen retired state employees were back on New Jersey’s payroll – one-third hired under a governor who boasts about his efforts to reform government.  Click here for the full story.

The New York Press Club Awards will be presented at a ceremony on June 10.  Click here for the news release listing all winners.

A New Jersey lawmaker is pushing a bill to stop retired school administrators from double-dipping by collecting both pensions and salaries from post-retirement school jobs.

Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-Essex, cited an investigation by New Jersey Watchdog and NBC 4 New York that found 45 retired superintendents employed as interim school administrators, collecting $4 million a year in pension pay plus their executive salaries.  

“There are retirees who are earning generous salaries while collecting pensions, and the worst part is that they are not breaking any laws because the current system allows this to happen,” said Caputo. “The state is in no position to just be giving away money.”

For example, Ralph E. Ross collected $292,272 last year – $149,256 in salary as interim superintendent of Deptford Township schools in Gloucester County, plus $143,016 from pension as retired superintendent of Black Horse Pike Regional schools in Camden County.

“I don’t apologize for any money I get,” said Ross, who now pockets his pension plus $136,500 in salary as interim chief at Monroe Township schools in Gloucester County. “My services are worthwhile and appreciated.”

The current law allows retired administrators to work for up to two years in an interim positions without losing any benefits. There is no limit on the number of times they can hold interim jobs.

“As the New Jersey Watchdog and NBC 4 New York investigation revealed, these individuals are taking advantage and profiting from an opportunity that the state created,” said Caputo. “The state is no financial shape to allow this to continue. Sorry folks, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

Caputo’s bill, A-3523, would require retired administrators to quit collecting retirement pay when they return to public school jobs, plus resume contributions to the state Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund.

The existing statute was intended to help districts fill key openings with experienced administrators as they search for permanent replacements. But some districts wind up with revolving doors of well-connected temporary chiefs who get two public paychecks, not just one.

Perhaps no one has passed through those doors as frequently as Thomas Butler.

At age 56, Butler retired in 1994 as superintendent of Chester Township schools in Morris County. Since then he has held 23 jobs as an interim or temporary chief at public school districts in eight different counties, according to his resume.

While continuing to draw six-figure salaries from taxpayers, he has pocketed $1.4 million in state pension checks.

“I’m in this just to help the district out,” said Butler, who currently gets $212,340 a year – $135,000 as interim superintendent of Mendham Borough schools and $77,340 from pension.

The brunt of double-dipping falls on the state’s troubled pension system, which faces a shortfall of nearly $42 billion.

Caputo said the salary cap Gov. Chris Christie imposed on school superintendents contributes to the problem because it creates an incentive for administrators to retire, then start double-dipping.

“They are earning more as retirees than they would if they were not retired,” said the assemblyman. “That makes no sense.” 

Click here to read the original investigative report published by New Jersey Watchdog.  Click here to watch the report aired by NBC 4 New York. Below is New Jersey Watchdog’s full list of the 45 double-dipping retired school superintendents.

# # #

As of Feb. 1, 2013, there were 37 interim superintendents working in state public schools who were also drawing New Jersey pensions as retired school administrators. Here’s in New Jersey Watchdog’s list, sorted alphabetically by county:

At least eight other retirees worked as interim superintendents earlier in the 2012-2013 school year. (The number does not include Ralph E. Ross Sr., who left Deptford Twp. schools to take a job in Monroe Twp. schools.) Here is that list:

SOURCES: New Jersey Watchdog gathered the data from state pension records and employee records obtained from individual school districts through Open Public Records Act requests.

Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini has three strikes against him in the controversy surrounding Joe Derrico – the ”disabled’ Hamilton cop turned roughhousing repo man on reality TV.

A continuing investigation by New Jersey Watchdog delivered:

• Strike one: Bocchini disobeyed the law by failing to inform state authorities when Derrico was indicted on a felony theft charge in 2010. The omission was confirmed by the state Division of Criminal Justice.
• Strike two: Derrico’s ex-wife, Brit Olsen, worked as a detective on Bocchini’s staff. In spite of the conflict of interest, Bocchini did not turn the case over to other authorities for prosecution.
• Strike three: Bocchini claims not to have records of the case, including the indictment and dismissal. If true, he is violating state rules that govern record retention by county prosecutors.

The prosecutor is out of explanations.

“We are prohibited from making any additional comment on the matter,” said Casey DeBlasio, Bocchini’s spokeswoman, in a written response to New Jersey Watchdog’s findings.

Bocchini’s decisions to not report the indictment and then drop the charge against Derrico enabled the Hamilton patrolman to receive a $70,000 a year state disability pension – instead of a possible prison sentence of up to five years for theft by receiving stolen property, plus loss of retirement benefits for dishonorable service.

The story was first reported by New Jersey Watchdog and NBC 4 New York last week.

“We had no idea he was under indictment,” said John Sierchio, chair of the police pension board when it approved Derrico’s disability retirement. Sierchio said the pension would not have been granted if the board had known.

The year after Derrico started collecting state disability pay for an injured leg, he joined the cast of “Bear Swamp Recovery,” a truTV series on the exploits of the “baddest towing team in Jersey.”

During “The Monster Truck Showdown” episode (see below), Derrico runs after a truck, pulls a man down from the driver’s seat, throws him to the ground and climbs into the cab. In another scene, Derrico is brawling with opponents in a repo showdown.

“We’re going to have him re-evaluated to see if he’s really disabled,” said Sierchio. “And we’re going to send the doctor that video.”

Derrico has not responded to interview requests.

“Everything that you saw was all fake – it was all staged,” said fellow cast member P.J. Vinch in Derrico’s defense. “He can’t run, he can’t walk, he can’t play golf, he can’t go to the bathroom. Could Joey perform his duties as a police officer? No way.”

Strike One

Vinch was also Derrico’s associate in Hiram’s Gold & Coin Exchange, a Ewing enterprise dealing in precious metals and gems.

In April 2010, three youths stole jewelry valued at several thousand dollars. Their first stop was Hiram’s, where Derrico paid them $800 for the whole bag of jewelry, one of the youths later told police. When police arrived at Hiram’s next day, Derrico denied they had been at his store and that he bought anything from them.

Unknown to Derrico, the store had been under surveillance by Ewing police who suspected burglars were using Hiram’s to fence stolen property. Confronted by photos of the youths entering the store, Derrico changed his story.

A Mercer County grand jury indicted Derrico in July 2010 on a charge of theft by receiving stolen property – but Bocchini did not notify the Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice, as required by state statute.

The law required the county prosecutor to notify the DCJ in writing. DCJ, in turn, has a statutory duty to warn state pension officials.

“We did not receive any notification of an indictment on Derrico,” confirmed DCJ spokesman Peter Aseltine.  “If we had received it, we would still have it on file.”

Unaware of the charge, the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System’s board of trustees approved Derrico’s disability retirement in September 2010. Two weeks later, Bocchini dropped the case.

“No useful purpose would be served by further prosecution of this matter,” wrote the prosecutor in his motion to dismiss.

So far, Derrico has collected $180,000 in tax-free disability pay. If he reaches his life expectancy of age 80, Derrico’s bad leg and behavior will be good for $2.5 million.

Strike Two

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office faced a conflict of interest when it handled the investigation and prosecution of Derrico.

Brit Olsen – Derrico’s ex-wife – was a detective on Bocchini’s staff. The couple was divorced in 2006. They share financial responsibility for a child.

Bocchini had the option of asking the Attorney General to supersede and take over the case – an option other county prosecutors have used to avoid problematic situations. The protocol was noted in the report of the state County Prosecutor Study Commission ordered by Gov. Chris Christie.

“The Attorney General’s supersession authority is exercised infrequently, and in most instances, at the request of a county prosecutor to avoid a conflict of interest,” the report stated.

Instead Bocchini kept control of the case, which he eventually dropped.

Olsen still works for the prosecutor as an investigator. Her current salary is $97,309 a year, according to county records.

Strike Three

Prosecutor Bocchini claims he has no records of the indictment, dismissal or any related correspondence.

“The records of MCPO were thoroughly searched with regard to Joseph Derrico,” replied Bocchini in a letter to New Jersey Watchdog. “The search failed to reveal any documents which are responsive to your request.”

If so, Bocchini may running afoul of state rules. The prosecutor is required to keep the Derrico case files for at least 10 years, according to the Records Retention Schedule for county prosecutors.

The file is also missing from court records. Clerks told New Jersey Watchdog the indictment number for Derrico is “no longer valid.”

One possible explanation is the case may have been legally expunged or removed from the public record. A record of such a proceeding was not found in Mercer County court indexes.

Even if the case had been expunged, Bocchini would still be required to keep a copy of the Derrico case files until 2020 under the retention rules.

The prosecutor also may be violating the state Open Public Records Act, depending on whether or not the prosecutor has the files.

New Jersey Watchdog is suing Bocchini and the prosecutor’s office in Mercer County Superior Court for access to the Derrico records or an explanation of why they don’t exist. A court hearing is scheduled for next month.

AND, if anyone helped cover it up (prosecutor or otherwise) they should also be prosecuted (and lose their job as well).

Another article on this here: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20130503/OPINION02/305030001/BOB-INGLE-Disability-pension-reform-needed.

New Jersey Watchdog’s investigations of disability pension abuse were hot topics on Fox Business News.

Investigative reporter Mark Lagerkvist was a guest on the “Varney & Co.” program.

The discussion began with NJ Watchdog’s report on a Morris County sheriff’s deputy who received a disability pension after claiming he was traumatized by what he saw at crime scenes.  After he started collecting the pension, the disabled officer started a business devoted to cleaning up messy crime scenes.

Click here to read NJ Watchdog’s original story.

Lagerkvist and host Stuart Varney also reviewed NJ Watchdog’s investigation of a Hamilton cop who retired on disability from a leg injury, then became a rumbling repo man on reality TV.  Click here for that report.

Click here to view the segment that aired on Fox Business News.

]]> http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/05/02/nj-watchdog-appears-on-fox-to-discuss-disability-pension-abuse/feed/ 0 http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/05/01/tough-love-12/ http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/05/01/tough-love-12/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 12:26:20 +0000 Mark Lagerkvist http://newjersey.watchdog.org/?p=8325 So…any NJ “politician” out there with the GUTS and STRENGTH OF CHARACTER  to demand the review necessary to take this (very likely PHONY)  disability pension away?  Or are you ALL cowards?