49Th ANNUAL REPORT 2017

STATE OF NEW JERSEY COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION

SCI 49th ANNUAL REPORT 2017

State of New Jersey

Commission of Investigation

SCI 28 West State St. P.O. Box 045 Trenton, N.J. 08625-0045

609.292.6767

www.state.nj.us/sci

State of New Jersey Joseph F. Scancarella COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION Chair 28 WEST STATE STREET Lee C. Seglem Robert J. Burzichelli PO Box - 045 Executive Director Frank M. Leanza TRENTON, NEW JERSEY 08625-0045 Rosemary Iannacone Telephone (609) 292-6767 Commissioners Fax (609) 633-7366

February 2018

Governor Phil Murphy President Stephen M. Sweeney and Members of the Senate Speaker Craig J. Coughlin and Members of the General Assembly

The State Commission of Investigation, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:9M, herewith formally submits its 49th annual report for the year 2017.

Respectfully,

Joseph F. Scancarella Robert J. Burzichelli Chair Commissioner

Frank M. Leanza Rosemary Iannacone Commissioner Commissioner

New Jersey Is An Equal Opportunity Employer ~ Printed on Recyclable Paper

Members of the Commission

Joseph F. Scancarella Chair Robert J. Burzichelli Commissioner Mr. Scancarella was appointed to the Commission in November Mr. Burzichelli was appointed to the 2012 by Governor Chris Commission in June 2014 by the Senate Christie. He currently handles President Stephen M. Sweeney. A arbitration and mediation matters for several North founding partner of the New York law Jersey law firms. Mr. Scancarella retired in 2004 after firm Greenberg Burzichelli Greenberg P.C., Mr. Burzichelli serving as a Superior Court Judge in Passaic County for specializes in employment and labor law where he represents more than 21 years. He was appointed to the court by a broad spectrum of labor unions. Prior to launching his own Governor Thomas H. Kean with whom he had firm in 2005, Mr. Burzichelli was a partner at Solomon previously served in the Legislature. During his tenure, Richman Greenberg, P.C. Mr. Burzichelli began his legal he oversaw cases in the Family Part, the Special Civil career as an associate with Coudert Brothers LLP, an Part and the Criminal Division. During the latter part international law firm, where he worked in the firm’s litigation of his judicial career, he sat in the Civil Division and, and antitrust departments. Mr. Burzichelli received his B.A. beginning in 1996, served as its Presiding Judge until from Rutgers College, a Masters Degree in Public retirement. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he Administration from New York University and a law degree was an attorney in private practice in partnership with from Rutgers School of Law in Newark. the late Sidney Reiss, former Criminal Presiding Judge in Passaic County. A former member of the New Jersey Legislature, Mr. Scancarella was elected to the General Assembly, representing Passaic County, in 1967 and Frank M. Leanza served in the position until 1972. He served as Passaic Commissioner City Attorney from 1971 to 1976, as Little Falls Planning Board Attorney from 1975 to 1982 and as Mr. Leanza was appointed to the Assistant Passaic County Counsel from 1977 to 1982. In Commission in July 2014 by Assembly 2012, he served on the Victim of Violent Crimes Speaker Vincent Prieto. A founding Commission, also having been appointed by Governor partner of the Hasbrouck Heights and Christie. Mr. Scancarella is a graduate of Clifton High Jersey City law firm, Leanza & School, Villanova University and earned his law degree Agrapidis P.C., from which he is retired, Mr. Leanza from Fordham Law School. specialized in governmental, tax and development issues. Before attending law school, Mr. Leanza was employed by New Jersey Bell Telephone Company as an engineer and construction supervisor. Prior to launching his own firm in 1984, he worked for a major Bergen County law firm. Mr. Rosemary T. Iannacone Leanza has served as counsel for the North Hudson Sewerage Commissioner Authority since 1988 and as counsel for the West New York Housing Authority Counsel since 1996. He served as Mrs. Iannacone was appointed to Municipal Judge in Guttenberg from 1990 to 2013 and as the Commission in February 2015 Town Attorney in Secaucus from 2000 to 2010. Mr. Leanza by Governor Chris Christie. graduated from Newark College of Engineering, summa cum Formerly Chief Administrator at laude, with distinction in humanities in 1972 and graduated the Office of the United States Attorney for New Jersey, from Rutgers Law School, Newark, with honors, in 1978. Mr. she served there from June 2000 until December 2009. Leanza also earned a Masters Degree in management science Prior to that, she held the same position at the United from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1979 and an States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New advanced law degree in taxation from New York University in York in Brooklyn. As Chief Administrator at the U.S. 1984. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey, Mrs. Iannacone was the primary advisor for planning and managed all resources for the Office, including a budget of more than $30 million. Among her duties was management of all personnel resources, including approximately 270 attorneys and staff; budget administration; procurement; information technology management and facilities management. Before becoming Chief Administrator of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, Mrs. Iannacone rose from Assistant Systems Manager to Budget Officer to Deputy Administrative Officer.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION …………………………………….………………...... 1S

PUBLIC RESULTS ……...... …………………………...... 777 ORGANIZED CRIME The Corrupt Recycling of Contaminated Soil and Debris ……..…...... 7

WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing – New Jersey’s SPCAs 17 Years Later……………….…...... 11s

HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS ………………...... ………….. 14s

HISTORY ………………………………….……...... ….…….…...... 18S

OPERATIONS …………………………….…...... …..….….………...... 21

PRIOR INVESTIGATIONS ……………...... …………..……....……. 26

COMMISSION MEMBERS, 1969-2018 ……...... ………..…….…...... 5 7

INTRODUCTION

This year marks a major milestone for the State Commission of Investigation: the 50th

anniversary of its founding. The SCI was established in 1968 for the same reasons it has been successfully utilized and sustained over the course of the past five decades – because responsible, reform-minded citizens and government officials recognized the need for an independent, non- prosecutorial fact-finding agency to:

• Identify and expose public corruption, mismanagement, ethics irregularities and governmental laxity

• Shed light on waste, fraud and abuse, and promote taxpayer savings

• Monitor and assess the threat posed by organized crime, and

• Recommend new laws and other systemic remedies to protect the integrity of the governmental process on behalf of the citizens of New Jersey.

The framers of the SCI’s enabling statute recognized a critical distinction in the landscape

of unscrupulous activity in our society. They understood that malfeasance, misconduct and wrongdoing do not always rise to the level of criminality, that the public interest and the public trust frequently fall victim to behavior and events outside the realm and reach of traditional law enforcement. In short, they saw that the battle against organized crime and corruption had to be waged as comprehensively as possible with every tool imaginable. The special Joint Legislative

Committee that proposed the SCI’s creation intended it to be more than

a “crime commission” alone. There are many occasions when hard-hitting, expert fact-finding is needed without involving the criminal process or implying criminal violations are under investigation. . . .This commission will provide a significant, independent “watchdog” for the entire system.

Thus, in order to fulfill its vital mission with fundamental clarity, credibility, transparency and effectiveness, the Commission was invested with an extraordinary statutory mandate: to pursue its

work within a framework untainted by political interference or self-interest.

By virtue of a unique structure anchored in two constitutional branches of State government

– it is “in but not of” the Legislature with Commissioners appointed jointly by the Legislative Leaders and by the Governor – the Commission is an independent fact-finding agency and a tested, result- oriented leader among the few full-time watchdogs and sentinels of New Jersey government.

Over the course of 50 years, the SCI has earned a stellar reputation based upon a record of performance that includes approximately 130 completed and publicly-reported investigations. Most importantly, since its inception, the Commission’s work has saved taxpayers millions of dollars, and it has been the catalyst for numerous important statutory, regulatory and administrative reforms bolstering the integrity of government at all levels.

During 2017, the Commission bolstered its record of exemplary public service with two important investigations completed over the past 12 months collectively forming the centerpiece of its public activities, highlighted as follows:

• DIRTY DIRT: THE CORRUPT RECYCLING OF CONTAMINATED SOIL AND DEBRIS

The Commission issued the final report of an investigation that revealed how corrupt recyclers conspired with unscrupulous “dirt brokers” to haul contaminated material from demolition sites and to improperly dump it near waterways and residential areas in New Jersey. Widespread and carried out with impunity, this activity was enabled by gaping loopholes in the State’s regulation of the solid waste industry. The Commission recommended subjecting certain elements of the recycling industry to the same background checks and licensing standards required for solid waste operators.

As a direct result of this investigation, legislation was introduced to enact the Commission’s core reform recommendations.

• FOLLOW-UP: NEW JERSEY’S SPCAs 17 YEARS LATER

Revisiting an investigation conducted in 2000 into the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New Jersey, the Commission found that the NJSPCA remained incapable of fulfilling its primary mission – the enforcement of the State’s animal cruelty laws. The inquiry revealed that the organization’s personnel lacked the ability to consistently respond to animal cruelty complaints in a timely fashion, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees and remained a haven for “wannabe cops.” The Commission also found that the NJSPCA awarded questionable perks to select personnel and tolerated blatant conflicts of interest by its top officials.

With the report’s October release, legislators quickly responded by introducing legislation to remove law enforcement authority from the NJSPCA and to place responsibility for that function within the professional confines of government. Governor Christie signed that legislation into law in January 2018.

With respect to administrative matters, during the course of the past year the agency took steps to strengthen its personnel ranks by appointing two longtime employees to top leadership positions. In July, Lee C. Seglem, who had served as Acting Director since October 2015, was appointed Executive Director. A member of the Commission staff since 1994, Mr. Seglem most recently served as Assistant Director for Operations, supervising investigative teams, administering the production and completion of investigative reports and handling agency communications. Prior to joining government, he was an investigative reporter and editor, highlighted by service as managing editor of the former New Jersey Reporter magazine and

Statehouse Bureau Chief in Trenton for Gannett News Service. He is a graduate of Georgetown

University School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C.

At the same time the four-member Commission named SCI Chief Counsel Chadd W.

Lackey to the position of Deputy Director/General Counsel. Mr. Lackey serves as the agency’s top legal officer, supervisor and advisor across a wide range of important responsibilities. A

former prosecutor, Mr. Lackey joined the SCI as an investigative counsel in 2005. He is a graduate of Temple University School of Law.

A BROADER MISSION

The true measure of the Commission’s overall performance far exceeds the findings and

results of investigations completed in any given year. Beyond the activities detailed in this annual

report, the Commission and its staff currently are engaged at various stages in a range of significant

and active inquiries related to all elements of its statutory purview, including organized crime, official

corruption, mismanagement and waste and abuse of government funds.

Considering that state, county and local governments in New Jersey today comprise a taxpayer enterprise that carries a combined annual cost approaching $100 billion, the SCI’s

independent, investigative fact-finding and problem-solving expertise is more crucial than ever to the challenge of safeguarding the systemic integrity of this vast public trust.

Given the Commission’s unique status as the only non-prosecutorial government watchdog

agency authorized by law to conduct investigations involving matters that impinge upon the criminal

justice system, it serves as a valuable partner to law enforcement. Over the years, the SCI has

provided multiple forms of assistance, including referrals, investigative expertise and intelligence-

sharing, that have proved instrumental in the successful outcome of numerous criminal cases.

In that context, the Commission stands ready to address specific concerns raised by average

New Jersey taxpayers, and they routinely avail themselves of this service. During 2017, as in years

past, barely a week went by that the Commission did not receive requests for investigative action,

assistance or advice from citizens. Throughout the year, the Commission received more than 70

citizen contacts by regular mail, e-mail and telephone requiring evaluation and response. In order to

facilitate public access, the Commission has established a Tip Hotline on its website for citizens to

file complaints or otherwise communicate confidentially with investigators. It can be accessed

at [email protected].

In sum, 2017 was a productive year for the Commission in its service to the citizens of New

Jersey. Above all, given the fact that savings generated by reforms, efficiencies and improvements resulting from the Commission’s work far outweigh its overall operating costs, this agency once again has proved itself to be an effective and worthwhile public investment.

The Commission’s confidential e-mail hotline, as well as its public documents, including the full text of reports of prior investigations, are available at www.state.nj.us/sci.

PUBLIC RESULTS – 2017

٭ ٭ ٭ Organized Crime

Final Report: DIRTY DIRT The Corrupt Recycling of Contaminated Soil and Debris

Summary

The Commission found that glaring loopholes in New Jersey’s solid-waste regulatory and oversight system enabled corrupt recyclers to develop a lucrative underground economy that profited from the hauling and disposal of toxic materials into environmentally inappropriate areas.

Not only did this indiscriminate dumping undermine the industry and its legitimate elements, it also left a legacy of costly environmental damage that needlessly put public health and safety in jeopardy.

Those were among the key findings made by the Commission in a final report – issued in

March – of an extensive investigation that revealed how the lack of background checks and other rudimentary licensing requirements allowed unscrupulous individuals and entities to operate inside the recycling business with impunity under the radar of state regulators.

Exploiting this gap in oversight, rogue recyclers profited from this illicit commerce in contaminated materials – much of it from out-of-state – stealthily dumping it by the truckload into

unsuitable and unregulated venues in New Jersey. According to sworn testimony and documentary

evidence obtained by the Commission, some of these corrupt recyclers were convicted felons

and/or organized crime associates.

The Commission had most recently reported on deficiencies in New Jersey’s solid waste

and recycling regulatory scheme in a 2011 investigation. Among other things, that probe revealed

how New Jersey had become a haven for criminally tainted garbage and recycling entrepreneurs

who were banned from the industry in other more tightly regulated states, most notably

neighboring New York. During that inquiry, Commission investigators identified 30 individuals

who were debarred by New York but nonetheless were actively engaged in commercial solid waste and/or recycling in New Jersey.

Following that inquiry, in an effort to underscore the need for reform, the Commission

focused specifically on questionable and patently improper activity in the hauling, brokering, storage and disposal of construction/demolition debris and soil targeted for recycling. Once again,

investigators found that the absence of any meaningful licensing scheme, regulatory bar or

background check for those operating in New Jersey’s recycling industry had allowed criminal

elements to thrive. Further, the Commission found that left unchecked significant operations in

this arena have resulted in the improper disposal of hundreds of tons of tainted dirt and debris at

various locations around the State – including some near waterways and homes.

The Commission’s initial findings were first aired in May 2016 during a public hearing that exposed how rogue dirt brokers, truckers and recyclers orchestrated schemes in which demolition debris was hauled from contaminated sites and dumped near environmentally-sensitive locations. During the hearing, SCI investigators testified about toxic debris dumped adjacent to a residential area in the Cliffwood Beach section of Old Bridge Township along Raritan Bay in

Middlesex County and used to replace a hillside devastated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Another inappropriate dumping venue exposed by the Commission was the former Jersey Recycling

Services site in Palmyra in Burlington County where investigators found tons upon tons of construction material stacked nearly 15 feet high in every direction. The Palmyra location contained an estimated 380,000 cubic yards of contaminated dirt – more than 19 times the amount of organic material the site was approved to receive. In both examples, the Commission found that individuals who were convicted felons and organized crime associates had orchestrated the carting and dumping schemes.

“Aside from the obvious environmental concerns arising from this activity, efforts to contain and/or remove this polluted material are fraught with difficult technical and logistical challenges and carry substantial cost implications for taxpayers,” the report states. “Moreover, these flagrant and continuing abuses have tarnished and undercut the economic viability of legitimate elements of the industry.”

The Commission recommended that the Legislature and Governor act on recommendations that were pending throughout the inquiry and that were incorporated into Senate Bill S-2306. 1

That legislation integrated every major recommendation made by the Commission as an outgrowth

of its 2011 report on solid waste and recycling, with the primary provision to include the recycling

industry in A-901 licensing scheme for solid waste. The measure was recently re-introduced as

Senate Bill S-1683 for the 2018-19 Legislative Session. 2

While State regulators have adopted some administrative and regulatory improvements,

the Commission concluded that nothing short of including the recycling industry in the A-901

1 Former Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, and Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-Mercer sponsored Senate Bill S-2306 during the 2016-17 Legislative Session. 2 Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, is the primary sponsor of S-1683. 9

licensing scheme for solid waste will properly address the problem. It is the position of the

Commission that none of the recycling operators and dirt brokers identified during the inquiry would have been eligible for a A-901-type license had they been required to apply for one.

At the very least, the Commission recommended that some form of background check requirement should be mandated for any individual or entity seeking to participate in the Class B recycling arena, particularly as it applies to construction and demolition debris and related materials.

Waste, Fraud and Abuse

Follow-Up Report: WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING – New Jersey’s SPCAs 17 Years Later

Summary

Nearly two decades ago, the Commission completed an investigation into the various

Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New Jersey and found waste, abuse and malfeasance so widespread it left many of these entities incapable of fulfilling their primary statutory obligation: the enforcement of state laws designed to prevent cruelty to animals.

Along with uncovering substantial – in some cases criminal – wrongdoing, the investigation revealed that New Jersey was mired in an archaic legislative scheme that allowed unsupervised groups of private citizens to enforce animal cruelty laws. These volunteers were empowered to carry weapons, issue summonses and effect arrests. The Commission found that some SPCAs became havens for gun-carrying wannabe cops motivated by personal gain, or the private domain of a few who discarded rules on a whim.

Legislation to enact the Commission’s recommendation to modernize the outdated enforcement system and to assign that role to government did not advance. Instead, legislation adopted in 2006, while providing much needed state-certified police and firearms training for humane law enforcement officers, nonetheless permitted the volunteer-led SPCAs to remain autonomous with next to no state oversight.

In the years after publication its initial findings, the Commission periodically received

complaints about ongoing abuses at some of the SPCAs, particularly the NJSPCA, the non-profit

parent organization of the county societies. Prompted by a new round of allegations from various

sources about mismanagement and abuse of power inside the NJSPCA, combined with news media

reports in November 2016 that the organization had lost its federal tax-exempt status from the

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for failing to file federal tax forms for three consecutive years, the

Commission launched a follow-up inquiry.

It soon became clear to SCI investigators that the allegations were merely a snapshot of

broader dysfunction within the SPCA system, and that many of the issues first identified by the

Commission in 2000 persisted, and, in fact, may have even gotten worse.

The SCI’s new findings, made in an October follow-up report, revealed that the NJSPCA failed to consistently respond to animal cruelty complaints in a timely manner, spent more money on legal billings than it did for direct animal care services and remained a haven for wannabe cops

– some of whom believed they were empowered to exercise police powers beyond enforcement of the animal cruelty statutes.

“The NJSPCA – as constituted and governed, then and now – is and has been a dysfunctional organization,” the report states. “It has engaged in and tolerated waste and abuse, conflicts of interest, and self-aggrandizement, and has routinely taken a cavalier approach to financial and operational accountability – all at the expense of unwitting donors and volunteers whose only motivation is to help abused animals.”

Echoing its previous call to remove the animal-cruelty enforcement role from the SPCAs, the Commission recommended a complete restructuring of the system to enforce those laws by placing that responsibility, by statute, within the confines of government. The Commission also

recommended the creation of a task force to examine issues surrounding animal welfare and

protection in New Jersey.

In the weeks following the report’s release, legislators responded swiftly and decisively to

the Commission’s findings and recommendations. Legislative committees in both the State Senate

and Assembly held public hearings on the follow-up report. The effort to enact legislation changing the way New Jersey enforces the animal cruelty statutes was led by former Sen. Raymond J.

Lesniak, D-Union, a longtime advocate for animal welfare issues. That measure, S-35583,

abolished the NJSPCA as an entity of the State and put enforcement duties under the supervision of government. Under the new law, the humane law enforcement powers formerly held by the

NJSPCA were transferred to each of the State’s 21 County Prosecutors who must designate an animal cruelty prosecutor. They may either select a county law enforcement officer to serve as the county’s chief humane officer or enter into a memorandum of understanding with the county

SPCA chapter to permit members to assist in conducting animal cruelty investigations under supervision of the Prosecutor’s office. In addition, the new statute requires each municipality to designate a humane municipal law enforcement officer – either the animal control officer or a police officer – to enforce animal cruelty laws of the State and ordinances of the municipality.

The legislation was unanimously approved in both the General Assembly and the State

Senate and was signed by then-Governor Christie in January 2018. Most of the changes made under the legislation, including phasing out the NJSPCA, were to take effect six months after the date the measure was signed into law.

3 Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez, D-Camden and Sen. Nicholas Sacco, D-Hudson, were also primary sponsors of Senate Bill S-3558. The Assembly version of the legislation, A-5231, was sponsored by Assemblyman Daniel R. Benson, D- Mercer, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Bergen, and Assemblyman John DiMaio, R-Somerset. 13

HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

During the past year, the SCI maintained its record of exemplary public service with wide- ranging investigations and was acknowledged by organizations across New Jersey for its service and record of achievement, including not only in the context of its investigative findings and recommendations but also for its contributions as a valuable resource for law enforcement agencies, government entities and citizen groups. Those activities included joining other law enforcement organizations to co-host a regional conference designed to assist police, prosecutors, corrections officers and others involved in combating gang activity. Sharing the Commission’s expertise in conducting investigations related to prescription-pill and heroin abuse, the SCI’s

Deputy Director delivered remarks at a fall seminar for government financial management professionals. In addition, as in years past, Commission staff gave back to the law enforcement community by serving as instructors at the State’s leading police training academy. These and other matters are discussed in greater detail below.

* * *

The SCI was a co-sponsor of the East Coast Gang Investigators Association’s South Jersey

2-Day Gang Symposium, a regional meeting of law enforcement held on January 16 and 17 at

Stockton University in Pomona. More than 200 representatives from local, county, state and federal law enforcement organizations operating in New Jersey attended the symposium which offered training on various topics including gang identification and trends, community policing, investigating anti-government groups and conducting neighborhood gang investigations. In opening remarks on the first day of the event, SCI Executive Director Seglem spoke about the

Commission’s work to identify emerging gang trends and to formulate recommendations to assist law enforcement combat gang activity. SCI Special Agent Edwin Torres, the New Jersey Chapter

President for the organization and a highly regarded gang expert, organized the event and conducted a training session on anti-government groups.

* * *

The State Department of Community Affairs recently implemented new rules for municipalities conducting electronic tax lien sales, several of which mirror recommendations made by the Commission in the May 2016 report of its investigation, Questionable Contracting: No

Bids, Lax Oversight and a Monopoly in Online Tax Sales. In that investigation, the SCI found that a private vendor selected under unusual circumstances effectively monopolized a pilot program to conduct online tax lien sales in municipalities across New Jersey based upon a deal arranged without competitive bidding. The Commission recommended establishing new rules governing online tax sales and ending the pilot program. The new rules, which took effect in January 2018, make it easier for municipalities to engage in competitive contracting by eliminating the need for authorization from the State to utilize that process and by broadening the definition of entities that may qualify as an online vendor. The regulations also addresses specific SCI recommended reforms by prohibiting vendors from participating as bidders in online tax lien sales and requiring contract provisions to indemnify a municipality against losses incurred as a result of action or inaction by a vendor.

* * *

Deputy Director Chadd W. Lackey recently shared his expertise in conducting investigations into prescription pill and heroin abuse with attendees of the Fall Seminar for the

Trenton Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants. The event, which was held at

Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, was entitled “Addiction Epidemic: Fiscal to Fraud – The Far-Reaching Impacts.” Mr. Lackey, who supervised the SCI’s groundbreaking

15 investigation that revealed the link between prescription pill abuse and heroin addiction, discussed the significant findings made during that inquiry as well as the legal and regulatory remedies recommended by the Commission to address the opioid crisis in New Jersey. The Commission’s multi-faceted probe began with a 2013 public hearing that was among the first to identify the growing trend of prescription pill abuse as a precursor to heroin addiction, a scourge that has since spiraled into a full-blown public health crisis. A subsequent final report expanded on those initial findings to reveal how corrupt doctors and entrepreneurs with links to organized crime operated seemingly legitimate medical clinics that dispensed and sold unnecessary prescriptions for pain medication. In 2015, a law was enacted that gave law enforcement new tools to combat the opioid epidemic, a measure inspired, in part, by the Commission’s findings and recommendations.

* * *

Members of the Commission staff shared their unique and varied expertise with New

Jersey’s law enforcement community this past year by serving as instructors at the Division of

Criminal Justice Training Academy, which is the State’s only certified academy for advanced police training. The DCJ Academy conducts a wide range of training programs for those already employed by criminal justice agencies in New Jersey as well as for new recruits, providing instruction to state and county investigators, deputy attorneys general, municipal and county police, parole officers, corrections personnel and many others. SCI personnel who instructed recruits in the basic course for investigators included Special Agent Joseph Bredehoft, a licensed attorney, who conducted training on laws pertaining to juveniles, testifying at trial and grand jury hearings and directed a mock criminal trial for a course for investigators and Special Agent Torres, who provided training on criminal street gangs.

* * *

Finally, the Commission would like to take the opportunity to commend its partners in law

enforcement – both inside and outside New Jersey – for their efforts and cooperation over the past year. The Commission’s ability to serve as a statewide intelligence and investigative agency depends in large part upon its relationship with partner law enforcement agencies and upon their willingness to participate in the exchange of information and expertise. The Commission looks forward to expanding these relationships in an effort to protect the citizens of this State from intrusion by crime, corruption and other unscrupulous elements into lawful society.

HISTORY

The Commission was established in 1968 after extensive research and public hearings by the

Joint Legislative Committee to Study Crime and the System of Criminal Justice in New Jersey (the

“Forsythe Committee”). That panel was directed by the Legislature to find ways to correct a serious

and intensifying problem involving organized crime and political corruption. The Forsythe

Committee’s final report, which confirmed a crime-control crisis in those areas, attributed the

expanding activities of organized crime to “failure . . . in the system itself, official corruption, or

both.” As a result, sweeping recommendations for improving various areas of the state’s criminal

justice apparatus were proposed.

Two of the most significant recommendations were for the creation of a new criminal justice

unit within the Executive Branch of state government, and the establishment of an independent state-

level Commission of Investigation. The Forsythe Committee envisioned the proposed criminal

justice unit and the Commission of Investigation as complementary agencies in the fight against crime

and corruption. The criminal justice unit was to be a large organization with extensive personnel,

empowered to coordinate, conduct and supervise criminal investigations and prosecutions throughout

the state. The Commission of Investigation was to be a relatively small but expert body that would conduct fact-finding investigations, bring the facts to the public’s attention, refer findings to appropriate law enforcement agencies for possible prosecution and make recommendations to the

Governor, the Legislature and appropriate authorities at other levels for improvements in laws and in

the operations of government.

That is why the Forsythe Committee, in the final report of its comprehensive study,

characterized what it had in mind as not just “a ‘crime commission’” in the conventional sense.

“There are many occasions,” the panel concluded, “when hard-hitting, expert fact-finding is needed

without involving the criminal process or implying criminal violations are under investigation. . . This

Commission will provide a significant, independent ‘watchdog’ for the entire system. . . .”

As a result of the Forsythe Committee’s recommendations, the Division of Criminal Justice

in the Department of Law and Public Safety of the Executive Branch and the State Commission of

Investigation, structured as an independent agency “in but not of” the Legislative Branch, were

created. New laws were designed – effectively so, as history has shown – to prevent conflict and duplication between the Commission’s operations and those of prosecutorial authorities. With the creation of the Office of the State Comptroller, it has been proven that there is more than enough work to go around for entities that take seriously the responsibility to hold government accountable and look out for the public’s best interest. The Commission consults and cooperates regularly with other

government watchdog agencies in an effort to maximize limited public resources to serve the public across a wide spectrum of responsibilities.

The Commission was given the responsibility to maintain a constant vigil against the intrusion of organized crime into society, to expose systemic wrongdoing or governmental laxity via fact-

finding investigations, and to recommend new laws and other remedies to protect the integrity of the

governmental process. The Division of Criminal Justice and other prosecutorial agencies were given

the responsibility to seek indictments or file other charges of violations of law and to bring the

violators to justice, where appropriate.

Legislation creating the SCI in 1968 established an initial term beginning January 1, 1969,

and ending December 31, 1974. The Legislature extended the term of the SCI for five-year periods

on four subsequent occasions: in 1973 for a term expiring December 31, 1979; in 1979 for a term

expiring December 31, 1984; in 1984 for a term expiring December 31, 1989; and in 1989 for a term

expiring December 31, 1994. On Dec. 28, 1994, legislation took effect extending the Commission’s

term for a period of 18 months, through June 30, 1996, pending the outcome of a review by a special

committee appointed by the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General

Assembly. On February 7, 1996, the review committee recommended that the Commission’s

operating authority be extended for six years, until July 1, 2002. Legislation incorporating this central

recommendation was enacted into law with the Governor’s signature on June 28, 1996.

The Commission’s status as a temporary agency subject to periodic review was rescinded

effective January 7, 2002. On that date, legislation was signed establishing the Commission as a

permanent entity of New Jersey government.4

The unique and complementary role of the Commission has been noted repeatedly in three separate and comprehensive reviews that have been conducted of the SCI’s operations – in 1975,

1983 and 1995. In each instance, the reviewing panel found that the SCI performs a valuable function and strongly concluded that there is a continuing need for the Commission’s work. The final review committee report summarized this view, stating “it is crucial to New Jersey that its citizens have confidence that government on all levels is operating appropriately and efficiently. The SCI is uniquely positioned to expose corruption and mismanagement to New Jersey residents and to make recommendations aimed at improving New Jersey’s system of government.”

4 The full text of the Commission’s enabling statute may be reviewed at N.J.S.A. 52:9M-1 et seq. 20

OPERATIONS

To eliminate even the appearance of political influence in the Commission’s operations, no

more than two of the four Commissioners may be of the same political affiliation, and they derive

from three separate appointing authorities. Two Commissioners are appointed by the Governor and

one each by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly. Thus, the

Commission, by concern and action, is nonpartisan. This central construct makes the Commission

unique among all other agencies of government, endowing it with the integrity and the independence

necessary to perform its job in a credible fashion, especially where sensitive investigations are

concerned.

The Commission specifically is invested by law with the duty and power to conduct

investigations in connection with:

(a) The faithful execution and effective enforcement of laws of the state, with particular reference but not limited to organized crime and racketeering;

(b) The conduct of public officers and public employees, and of officers and employees of public corporations and authorities;

The enabling statute provides further that the Commission shall, by direction of the Governor

or by concurrent resolution of the Legislature, conduct investigations and otherwise assist in

connection with the removal of public officers, and in the making of recommendations to the

Governor and the Legislature with respect to changes in existing law required for more effective

enforcement, regulation and administration. The Commission also is empowered to investigate the management or affairs of any department, board, bureau, commission, authority or other agency created by the state, or to which the state is a party.

The statute assigns to the Commission a wide range of responsibilities and powers. It may conduct public and private hearings, compel testimony and the production of other evidence by subpoena and has authority to grant limited immunity from prosecution to witnesses. Since the

Commission does not have prosecutorial functions, it is required to refer information suggesting possible criminal misconduct to the Office of the Attorney General.

One of the Commission’s primary statutory responsibilities, when it uncovers irregularities, improprieties, misconduct or corruption, is to bring the facts to the attention of the public with the objective of promoting remedies and reforms. The format for public action by the Commission is based on the complexity of the subject and the clarity, accuracy and thoroughness with which the facts can be presented. The Commission has proceeded by way of public hearings, the issuance of public reports, or both.

Witnesses appearing before the Commission in public and private hearings are protected by the New Jersey Code of Fair Procedure, the requirements of which were incorporated in the

Commission’s enabling statute in 1979. Constitutionally required due process is afforded under the provisions of that code, and the courts have upheld the integrity and fairness of the Commission’s investigative procedures. For example, all witnesses have the right to be represented by counsel when appearing before the Commission at public or private hearings. Additionally, any individual criticized in a proposed Commission report is, by law, given an opportunity to review relevant portions of the report. The individual may then submit a written response which, under certain circumstances, shall be included in the final report. As a practical matter, the Commission always has been careful to evaluate investigative data in private in keeping with its obligation to avoid unnecessary stigma and embarrassment to individuals.

Indictments and convictions which may result from referral of criminal matters by the

Commission to other agencies are not the only test of the efficacy of its public actions. At least as important is the deterrent effect inherent in the Commission’s very existence, as well as the corrective statutory and regulatory reforms spurred by arousing public and legislative interest. A prime example

involved the enactment of legislation in the wake of a Commission investigation of a massive,

organized crime-inspired scheme to evade taxes on motor fuels. According to the state Division of

Taxation, that statutory change alone enabled the state to recover millions annually in tax revenues.

Additionally, the Commission’s December 1998 report on public pension and benefit abuses

presented a veritable catalogue of needless waste and outlined a range of proposed reforms that would

save taxpayers additional millions. Further, the Commission’s September 2000 report on waste and

abuse in public school roofing projects provided the state and its localities with invaluable insight into

the subversion of multi-million-dollar public construction programs by unscrupulous contractors.

In 2003, in a move that embodied a central recommendation of the Commission’s 2000 report,

Computer Crime, legislation was signed into law revising and updating New Jersey’s computer crime

law for the first time since its enactment two decades ago. The Commission’s 2004 report on the

flawed procurement process for the E-ZPass cashless toll system included recommendations that

resulted in a complete overhaul of the New Jersey’s contract procurement procedures.

In 2007, new budget accountability measures were adopted for public school districts based

on the findings and recommendations of an SCI investigation of questionable and hidden

compensation for school administrators. Also in 2007, new laws against fraud in taxpayer-subsidized

hospital reimbursements were enacted in the wake of an SCI investigation of waste and abuse in the

State’s Charity Care program.

In 2008, in the wake of an investigation by the Commission into the ready availability of

firearms ammunition to gang members and other criminal elements, legislation was enacted refining

the State’s regulation of ammunition sales. Under the new law, only individuals who hold and can

display a valid firearms purchaser identification card, a certified copy of a permit to purchase a

handgun, a valid permit to carry a handgun, a valid New Jersey hunting license or valid documentation

identifying the purchaser as a federal, state or local law enforcement officer authorized the possess a

firearm are permitted to purchase and possess ammunition in New Jersey.

In 2010, a series of Commission recommendations to overhaul public higher education – designed to strengthen the governance of New Jersey’s state colleges and universities while

protecting the integrity of the substantial public trust in these institutions – were incorporated into

legislation signed into law. The statute implemented key reforms recommended by the Commission

in its October 2007 report, Vulnerable to Abuse: The Importance of Restoring Accountability,

Transparency and Oversight to Public Higher Education Governance. Among the most

significant improvements were provisions for greater administrative and financial oversight of

higher education institutions and the creation of a Cabinet-level Secretary of Higher Education.

Reforms recommended repeatedly by the Commission, most recently in the December

2009 report, The Beat Goes On: Waste and Abuse in Local Government Employee Compensation

and Benefits, provided the foundation for legislation that became law in 2010 that holds all new

local government and school employees to the same standard applicable to state workers regarding

the amount of sick and vacation time that may be carried forward each year and cashed in at

retirement. The law capped sick leave payouts at retirement at $15,000 for all local government and school employees. It also prohibited no more than one annual allotment of vacation time to be carried forward from one year to the next by those employees.

Legislators enthusiastically responded to the Commission’s 2014 report, Inside Out:

Questionable and Abusive Practices in New Jersey’s Bail-Bond Industry by drafting

comprehensive legislation that addressed abusive practices within the bail business. A package of

bills that targeted the majority of the Commission’s recommendations for regulatory and statutory

reforms was introduced in each house of the Legislature.

In 2015, the findings and recommendations in the Commission’s ground-breaking 2013

inquiry into the abuse of prescription opioids and heroin, inspired legislation that resulted in two

important new laws. One statute provided the New Jersey Attorney General with new powers to direct statewide law enforcement efforts to combat drug diversion, while the second law expanded a program that provides drop-off sites for individuals seeking to dispose of unwanted prescription medication.

As mentioned earlier in this report, as a direct result of the Commission’s 2017 follow-up

investigation into New Jersey’s SPCAs, legislation was signed into law to completely overhaul the

system for the enforcement of the State’s animal cruelty statutes. As recommended by the SCI,

unsupervised groups of volunteers will no longer be authorized to uphold the cruelty laws and

government will assume the enforcement function.

The Commission takes particular pride in the response to these and other investigations and

reports which have similarly resulted in taxpayer savings and in improved laws and governmental

operations throughout its existence.

PRIOR INVESTIGATIONS

ORGANIZED CRIME

1969 Garbage Industry 1991 Organized Crime in Bars 1970-71 Organized Crime Control of Long 1991-92 Motor Fuel Tax Evasion Branch 1993-94 Money Laundering 1972 Organized Crime in Ocean County 1994 Medical Provider Contracts 1977-78 Organized Crime in Atlantic City 1995 Organized Crime in Bars Part II 1980-81 Organized Crime Infiltration of Dental 1996 Russian-Émigré Crime in the Tri-State Region Care Plans 2003-04 The Changing Face of Organized Crime in 1981-82 Organized Crime Labor Relations New Jersey Profiteering at Mass Housing Construction Sites 2006-07 Subversion of Firearms Ammunition Sales 1983-85 Organized Crime in Boxing 2008-09 Organized Criminal Street Gangs in New 1986-87 Organized Crime-Affiliated Sub- Jersey Prisons Contractors on Casino and Publicly-Funded 2011 Circumvention of Oversight in Solid Waste Construction Projects and Recycling 1986-88 Check Cashing Industry 2011-13 Investigation into Prescription Pill and 1987-89 Solid Waste Regulation Heroin Abuse 1988-89 Cocaine 2016 Armed and Dangerous – Ten Years Later 1989 Overview of Organized Crime 2016-17 Dirty Dirt: The Corrupt Recycling of 1988-91 Garment Industry Contaminated Soil and Debris 1990-91 Afro-Lineal Organized Crime 1990-91 Video Gambling WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE

1969-70 Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office- 1974-75 Lindenwold Municipal Corruption Misuse of Funds 1975-76 Land Acquisition Deals in Middlesex 1970-71 Hudson County Mosquito Commission County Embezzlements 1975-77 Investigation of Medicaid Abuses 1970-71 Corrupt State Purchasing Practices 1976-77 Prison Furlough Abuses 1970-71 Building Service Industry Abuses 1977-78 Misuse of Public Funds in the Operation of 1971 Misappropriation of Public Funds, Atlantic Non-Public Schools for Handicapped Children County 1977-78 Boarding Home Abuses 1971-72 Point Breeze Development Frauds, 1978-79 Absentee Ballot Frauds Jersey City 1978-79 Injury Leave Practices 1972 Stockton College Land Acquisition Deals 1979-80 Questionable Public Insurance Procedures 1972-73 Bank Fraud in Middlesex County 1981-82 Mismanagement of the New Jersey Housing 1972-74 Workers Compensation Frauds Finance Agency 1972-75 Improper Municipal Planning, Zoning 1981-83 Misconduct in the Operation of Certain Procedures County and Local Sewerage and Utility Authorities 1973-74 Passaic County Vocational-Technical 1982 Inappropriate Activities of the Lakewood School: Misuse of Funds and U.S. Surplus Municipal Industrial Commission Property 1983 Abuse and Misuse of Credit Controls at 1974 Pseudo-Charitable Firms Misusing Gambling Casinos Handicapped Fundraising 1983 Improprieties in Leasing State Lands at Great 1974 Conflicts of Interest at Delaware River Port Gorge in Sussex County to a Ski Resort Authority

26 1984 Excessive Spending and Near-Insolvency 1997 Contract Labor – The Making of an of the Newark Board of Education/Newark Underground Economy Teachers Union Supplemental Fringe Benefits 1997 New Jersey School Busing Industry Fund 1997 Borough of Seaside Heights 1984 Misconduct and Inappropriate Controls in 1998 Pension and Benefit Abuses the Newark School Security System 1998 City of Orange Township 1985-86 Probes of N.J. Division of Motor 1999-2000 Public School Roofing Projects Vehicles 2001 Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to 1986-88 Union Lake Animals 1989-90 AIDS Prevention Program – State 2001-02 N.J. Enhanced Motor Vehicle Inspection Department of Health Contract 1988-90 New Jersey School Boards 2003 Associated Humane Societies Association 2003-05 New-Home Construction and Inspection 1992 New Jersey Transit’s Bus Subsidy Abuses Program 2004 E-ZPass: The Making of a Procurement 1992 Bergen County Utilities Authority Disaster 1992 Local Government Corruption Overview 2005 Funding and Operations of County Clerks 1992-93 Fiscal Year’ 89 Budget Over- 2005 The Gifting of New Jersey Tax Officials Expenditures Division of Developmental 2006 Questionable and Hidden Compensation for Disabilities Public School Administrators 1993 Quality Education Money to Lyndhurst 2007 Charity Care: An Ailing System 1993 Passaic High School Print Shop 2007 Public Higher Education Governance 1993 Belleville Township 2008 Waste and Abuse in Fire Truck 1994 Nursing Home Certificates of Need Procurements 1994 River Vale Recreation Department 2009 Waste and Abuse in Local Government 1994 Point Pleasant School District Employee Compensation and Benefits 1994 Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital 2010 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic 1994 Borough of Jamesburg Association 1995 Garfield School District 2012 Taxpayer Cost of Public-Employee Union 1995 County Clerks’ Trust Funds Leave 1995 Casino Control Commission 2017 New Jersey’s SPCAs 17 Years Later 1995 N.J. Marine Sciences Grant and Sham Retirement of E. Brunswick Teacher

REGULATORY, ETHICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT

1969-70 County Prosecutor System 1993 Criminal Street Gangs 1972-73 Office of the Attorney General of 1996 Insurance Interests and Licensure of Former New Jersey Insurance Commissioner Andrew J. Karpinski 1973-74 Narcotics Traffic and Drug Law 1997 New Jersey Detective Agency Enforcement 1999-2000 Computer Crime 1976-77 Casino Gambling 2007 Integrity of Electronic Voting Machines 1979 Inadequate Sudden Death Investigations 2014 New Jersey’s Bail-Bond Industry 1983-84 Inadequacy of Laws and Regulations 2015 Abuse and Influence-Peddling in New Governing the Boxing Industry Jersey’s Used-Car Industry 1986 State Racing Commission’s Regulatory 2016 No Bids, Lax Oversight and a Monopoly in Deficiencies Online Tax Sales 1986-87 Impaired and Incompetent Physicians

The following list summarizes the SCI’s recommendation that supervisory investigations, hearings and reports since the regulation of prosecutors be centered Commission began operations in 1969: in the Attorney General’s department also was implemented. The 1969 Garbage Industry Commission’s report is contained in its 1970 Annual Report. The Commission’s October 1969 report, responding to the Legislature’s request 1969-70 County Prosecutor System for an investigation, exposed infiltration of the solid waste collection and disposal In an outgrowth of its investigation industry by organized criminal elements. into the Monmouth County Responding to a Commission Prosecutor’s Office, the Commission recommendation, the Governor and undertook a broader inquiry resulting Legislature enacted the New Jersey in a series of recommendations and Antitrust Act in 1970. actions to improve the administrative practices and accountability of The SCI also recommended licensing prosecutor’s offices statewide. One waste collectors and determining the real key Commission proposal led to persons of interest in each collection and legislation making county prosecutors disposal company. The Governor and and assistant prosecutors full-time Legislature in 1970 enacted a law positions. providing for licensing and regulating of the garbage industry by the State Public 1970-71 Organized Crime Control of Long Utilities Commission, later the State Branch Board of Public Utilities (BPU). In keeping with another SCI Following a March and April 1970 recommendation, the law also prohibited public hearing, the SCI referred to the discrimination in the use of privately U.S. Attorney for New Jersey its owned disposal facilities. A law findings, data and fiscal records providing for disclosure and relating to corporations formed by investigation of the backgrounds of real Anthony (Little Pussy) Russo. These parties in interest of waste firms was not materials were, in part, the basis for a passed until 1983, and its lengthy court 1971 indictment of Russo for failure to challenge concluded in 1986. file corporate income tax returns. Russo pleaded guilty to that charge and 1969-70 Monmouth County Prosecutor’s was sentenced to three years in jail, to Office-Misuse of Funds run concurrently with a New Jersey court sentence for perjury. (Russo After its February 1970 public hearing, subsequently was murdered). the SCI recommended that all counties be served by full-time prosecutors. This Additionally, a police chief whose proposal was gradually implemented, to conduct was targeted by the SCI’s the point where by 1986 all counties had probe resigned from office, and Long full time prosecutors. The SCI Branch voters at the next municipal

election following the public hearing various member building service elected a new administration. The maintenance companies in New Commission’s report is contained in its Jersey. In May 1974, a Federal Grand 1970 Annual Report. Jury indicted 12 companies and 17 officials for conspiring to shut out 1970-71 Corrupt State Purchasing Practices competition in the industry. The companies were the same as those After a June 1970 public hearing involved in the SCI’s public hearings. (reported in the Commission’s 1970 On Oct. 25, 1977, the defendants Annual Report), a state buyer who was agreed to a consent judgment to receiving payoffs from vendors was abandon the practices alleged against dismissed. SCI records were turned over them. Earlier, the government’s to the Attorney General’s office, which criminal action against the defendants obtained an indictment charging the was completed in March 1976, by buyer with misconduct in office. He which time one company had pleaded pleaded guilty, was fined and placed on guilty to the charges and the other probation. defendants had pleaded no contest. Fines totaling $233,000 were levied. Additionally, officials of the State Division of Purchase and Property, who Additionally, after the Senate assisted in the investigation, revised Commerce Committee’s hearings, the purchasing and bidding procedures to U.S. General Services Administration deter rigging of bids, renewal of amended its regulations to bar contracts without bids, and acceptance purchases of certain cleansing of unsatisfactory performance and products sold by organized crime supplies. figures (as exposed by the SCI investigation). 1970-71 Building Service Industry Abuses 1970-71 Hudson County Mosquito The Commission’s June 1970 public Commission Embezzlements hearing (reported in its 1970 Annual Report) on restraints of trade and other After the SCI probe, December 1970 abusive practices in the building service public hearing and report (contained in industry aroused the interest of the the 1970 Annual Report), the United States Senate Commerce Mosquito Commission was abolished, Committee. The committee invited the resulting in an annual county budget SCI to testify at its 1972 public hearings reduction of $500,000. on organized crime in interstate commerce. As a result of that testimony, After the SCI referred its findings to the Antitrust Division of the United the Hudson County Prosecutor, a States Justice Department, with Grand Jury in 1971 handed up assistance from the SCI, began an conspiracy and embezzlement investigation into an association which indictments against the Mosquito allocated territories and customers to Commission’s executive director, his

two sons, his secretary and the month suspended sentence. Commission’s engineer and foreman. The executive director pleaded guilty to 1971-71 Point Breeze Development embezzlement in 1972 and was Frauds, Jersey City sentenced to two-to-four years in jail. His sons were fined $1,000 each and After an October 1971 public hearing placed on four-year probation. The other (reported in the Commission’s 1971 indictments were dismissed. Annual Report), two bills implementing SCI recommendations 1971 Misappropriation of Public Funds, were enacted into law. One improved Atlantic County the urban renewal process and the other tightened statutory provisions to In December 1971, the Commission prevent a purchaser of publicly-owned reported the details behind the diversion lands from receiving any part of the of over $130,000 in public funds by the brokerage fee on such a purchase. The assistant county purchasing agent Commission also referred records to between 1958 and 1970, as well as the prosecutorial authorities. A Hudson cover-up of the affair before and after his County Grand Jury returned an suicide. The County implemented indictment charging a former Jersey several Commission recommendations City building inspector with extorting to insure greater financial $1,200 from an official of the Port accountability. Jersey Corp. and obtaining money under false pretenses. The inspector After an October 1971 public hearing was convicted of obtaining money (reported in the Commission’s 1971 under false pretenses, fined $200 and Annual Report), two bills implementing given a six-month suspended sentence. SCI recommendations were enacted into law. One improved the urban renewal 1972 Stockton College Land Acquisition process and the other tightened statutory Deals provisions to prevent a purchaser of publicly owned lands from receiving any After the Commission issued a report part of the brokerage fee on such a in June 1972, the State Division of purchase. Purchase and Property implemented SCI recommendations for tighter In addition, the Commission referred controls over land acquisitions and records to prosecutorial authorities. A evaluations, including pre- Hudson County Grand Jury returned an qualification of appraisers and post- indictment charging a former Jersey City appraisal reviews by nationally building inspector with extorting $1,200 accredited appraisers. from an official of the Port Jersey Corp. and obtaining money under false pretenses. The inspector was convicted of obtaining money under false pretenses, fined $200 and given a six-

1972-75 Improper Municipal Planning, term. Suspended prison sentences Zoning Procedures were imposed on two others, including Santisi’s lawyer, after they also The SCI canceled scheduled public pleaded guilty. The Commission’s hearings after a one-day session because report is contained in its 1972 Annual litigation prevented three key witnesses Report. from testifying about land development in Madison Township in Middlesex 1972-73 Office of the Attorney General of County. Although the courts New Jersey subsequently ruled the witnesses must testify, the Middlesex Prosecutor in the With the assistance of former Supreme meantime had requested the SCI to Court Justice John J. Francis as Special postpone its hearings and submit its Counsel, and at the request of the investigative data for prosecutorial use. Attorney General and a Senate In early 1974 the Middlesex Grand Jury Committee, the Commission reported indicted three former Madison in January 1973 the results of its Township officials for extortion, investigation into allegations bribery, misconduct in office and perjury surrounding the criminal investigation in connection with housing development of former Secretary of State Paul J. kickback schemes. In February 1975, a Sherwin. The report exonerated the former Township councilman was found Attorney General and Criminal Justice guilty of extortion and misconduct in Director on charges of a cover-up. office. 1972 Organized Crime in Ocean County 1972-73 Bank Fraud in Middlesex County The Commission exposed organized The SCI canceled public hearings in this crime activities in a February 1972 investigation at the request of bank public hearing and its 1972 Annual examiners who feared a bank would be Report. forced to close in the face of adverse hearing disclosures. Federal authorities, SCI records were made available to after receiving the SCI’s investigative federal authorities, who subsequently findings and data, arrested Santo R. obtained extortion-conspiracy indict- Santisi, who had been president of the ments against nine organized crime targeted Middlesex County Bank, on figures active in the New York-New charges of misapplication of more than Jersey region. One was Frank (Funzi) $500,000 in bank funds, authorizing Tieri, then the acting leader of the bank loans not approved by bank Genovese organized crime family. The directors to a holding company he indictments described a shylock loan controlled and to his associates. He dispute which culminated in a “sit- pleaded guilty and was sentenced to down” organized crime jargon for a three years in prison. A member of the star-chamber trial which was bank’s board of directors pleaded guilty described publicly for the first time by and was sentenced to a one-year prison Herbert Gross, an informant, at the

SCI’s public hearings. The federal whom subsequently was dismissed by investigation resulted in the conviction the Governor and suspended from law in 1980 of Tieri, who by then had risen practice for six months by the New to “boss-of-bosses” among New York’s Jersey Supreme Court. organized crime families. An SCI agent testified for the prosecution during 1973-74 Passaic County Vocational- Tieri’s trial. Technical School-Misuse of Funds and U.S. Surplus 1972-74 Workers Compensation Frauds The Commission’s public hearing in The Commission’s May and June 1973 September 1973 and report (contained public hearing and January 1974 report in its 1973 Annual Report) included helped lead to a major overhaul of the many recommendations for improving workers compensation system in New surplus property distribution and Jersey. tightening school purchasing practices to prevent thefts and abuse. The SCI’s investigative findings were referred to the Essex County Prosecutor, The SCI referred its probe data to the who in 1975 obtained indictments of two Attorney General’s Criminal Justice partners of a law firm and the firm’s Division, which in May 1974, obtained business manager in connection with a State Grand Jury indictment charging bill-padding and a phony medical the school’s business manager- treatment scheme. The indictments purchasing agent with bribery and charged the defendants with conspiring misconduct in office. The official was with certain doctors and others to submit convicted of bribery, sentenced to one- fraudulent reports to insurance to-nine years in prison and fined companies. All indictments were $9,000. The conviction was upheld by dismissed but one, which charged a an appellate court in 1977. In March lawyer-defendant with obtaining money 1977, Passaic County Freeholders under false pretenses. Essex authorities, filed a civil suit against the official, after being deputized in Middlesex resulting in a court order that he return County, obtained a seven-count all salary received while he was indictment from a Middlesex Grand suspended from his job, as well as the Jury. bribe money. In February 1978, the official agreed under a court-approved In addition, the New York-New Jersey settlement to repay the county more Waterfront Commission enlisted the than $50,000 in 60 installments during SCI’s assistance in its investigation and a five-year period after his release exposure of Workers Compensation from jail. frauds involving dock workers in 1974- 75.

Finally, three New Jersey Judges of Compensation were suspended, one of

1973-74 Narcotics Traffic and Drug Law implemented SCI recommendations. Enforcement One law required authorization by the Attorney General before a corporation In a December 1973 public hearing and could identify itself as a fund raiser for its 1973 Annual Report, the Commission the handicapped or the blind. The recommended mandatory minimum other statute required professional sentences for serious offenders, fund raisers to submit financial reports forfeitures of money seized in to the Attorney General. connection with narcotics arrests and the establishment of full-time prosecutors. 1974 Conflicts of Interest at Delaware All were substantially implemented by River Port Authority the Legislature and law enforcement authorities. Based on evidence from the SCI probe, reported in October 1974, the Port The SCI identified the victim of a Authority claimed more than $64,000 murder and then located three suspects from its former chairman as repayment and participated in their arrests. In of profits his firms made on Authority October 1974, one of the suspects was construction projects. The claim was convicted of the murder. The other two settled in 1977 for $50,666. Although defendants pleaded guilty to lesser the former chairman was absolved of charges and testified for the prosecution. any wrongdoing, he was not Also, as a result of evidence referred by reappointed to the Authority. the SCI to the Essex County Prosecutor, a burglary ring was exposed by the 1974-75 Lindenwold Municipal Corruption Prosecutor’s staff. A Newark jeweler and his son were indicted and convicted As a result of State Grand Jury of conspiracy and of receiving stolen indictments in 1975, a former property. The Essex Grand Jury in 1974 Lindenwold mayor and a real estate handed up more than 20 indictments developer pleaded guilty to bribery against members of the burglary ring. and conspiracy charges as their trial was scheduled to begin. One former 1974 Pseudo-Charitable Firms Misusing councilman was found guilty on three Handicapped Fundraising counts and another former councilman was found guilty on two counts at the The SCI acquainted federal authorities conclusion of the trial in October 1977. with investigative findings during and The SCI’s December 1974 public after this probe. Subsequently, the owner hearing and investigative findings of one company and the sales manager reported in its 1974 Annual Report led of another company, who were targets of to these actions. a June 1974 public hearing and September 1974 report, pleaded guilty to federal charges of fraud.

Two laws were enacted in 1977 that

1975-77 Investigation of Medicaid Abuses Report for 1975.

A number of statutory and regulatory SCI data was referred to the Middlesex steps were taken during and subsequent County Prosecutor’s office, which to the Commission’s investigations, investigated the conduct of the County interim reports and public hearings. Land Acquisition Department. In These actions included the Legislature’s September 1976, a Grand Jury enactment of a New Jersey Clinical returned a presentment in which it said Laboratory Improvement Act, as well as that while it found “no provable a law increasing maximum penalties for criminal act” by the department’s bilking the Medicaid program through former administrator, his activities overbilling and false billing. “indicated an insufficient expertise and lack of concern to perform his Many of the Commission’s office in the best interest of the recommendations were adopted by the citizens.” The presentment also Division of Medical Assistance and criticized the collection of political Health Services as a result of the SCI’s contributions from appraisers, “which six reports and its public hearings in June if not improper under law certainly 1975 and January, May and October gave the appearance of impropriety.” 1976. 1976-77 Prison Furlough Abuses 1975-76 Land Acquisition Deals in Middlesex County Following the SCI probe and May 1976 public hearing, a State Grand As a result of the SCI’s exposures in this Jury indicted in December 1976 a investigation, the Administrator of the former Trenton State Prison clerk for County’s Land Acquisition Department false swearing and perjury. These was suspended and the County charges related to a forged Superior government moved to institute a more Court Appellate Division opinion stringent process of checks and balances which was inserted into the record of on land acquisition procedures. Even an inmate, Patrick Pizuto, enabling before the SCI completed its hearings in him to obtain a premature release from January 1976, arrangements were being incarceration. (Pizuto became a formalized voluntarily by state officials, federally protected informant in an alerted by the Commission’s findings, unrelated case.) In January 1977, five for the transfer of the Green Acres former inmates of Leesburg Prison appraisal and post-appraisal review and were indicted on charges of escape by control system from the Department of means of fraudulent furloughs. These Environmental Protection to the indictments led to convictions or guilty Department of Transportation one of pleas. The Commission’s report is many general and technical contained in its 8th Annual Report for recommendations by the Commission 1976. that were implemented. The SCI reported its findings in its 7th Annual

1977-78 Misuse of Public Funds in the for 1977 and a separate December Operation of Non-Public Schools for 1977 report. Handicapped Children 1977-78 Boarding Home Abuses The Commission’s January 1978 public hearing and May 1978 report exposed The SCI’s June 1978 public hearing widespread misuse of public funds and and November 1978 report on this recommended legislative and investigation were among a number of administrative changes. public actions by various agencies that led to the enactment of a boarding 1976-77 Casino Gambling home reform law. However, this law did not implement a major After voters approved casino gambling recommendation of the SCI - that is, to in Atlantic City on November 2, 1976, center boarding home licensing and the Governor asked the Commission to monitoring obligations, which were undertake a review of the problems and spread among three departments of consequences and to recommend government, into one department. measures to preclude criminal intrusion. Many of the Commission’s 1978-79 Absentee Ballot Frauds recommendations, contained in its April 1977 report, were enacted into law. The Commission’s report is contained in its 10th Annual Report for 1978. 1977-78 Organized Crime in Atlantic City Many of the SCI’s proposed reforms, drafted in cooperation with the The Commission’s investigation and Attorney General’s office after a August 1977 public hearing confirmed December 1978 public hearing, have the infiltration by the organized crime been enacted. family of Angelo Bruno of Philadelphia into certain legitimate businesses 1978-79 Injury Leave Practices including cigarette vending companies and nightclubs after the legalization of After the January 1979 Commission casino gambling in Atlantic City. Also report, inappropriate deductions of revealed were attempts by associates of social security and income taxes from the Gambino organized crime family to wages paid to public employees under purchase a major Atlantic City hotel and various municipal and county injury by a New England mobster to intrude leave policies were halted and efforts into the operation of a casino gambling were made to recoup such deductions school. In 1979, the Legislature enacted in the past. a law strengthening the licensing requirements for the cigarette industry to 1979 Inadequate Sudden Death proscribe licensure of organized crime Investigations members or associates. The Commission’s reports on these problems Following the Commission’s are contained in its 9th Annual Report November 1979 report, efforts to

reform the county medical examiner 1981-82 Mismanagement of the New system were begun. However, none of Jersey Housing Finance Agency the proposed revisions included the SCI’s major recommendations that a During the course of this investigation, statewide regional system of medical the HFA’s Executive Director, examiners be established, operating with William Johnston, a subject of the accredited forensic pathologists in inquiry, resigned and a new reform conjunction with the Institute of administration was put in place. After Forensic Science in Newark. the issuance of the SCI’s initial report in March 1981, certain HFA personnel 1979-80 Questionable Public Insurance discussed in the report resigned or Procedures were dismissed and new procedures for processing housing projects were The Commission’s proposed reforms for instituted. The Commission’s the purchase and regulation of county investigative findings, also contained and municipal insurance programs, in a December 1982 final report, were contained in an April 1980 report, were submitted to various prosecutorial submitted to the Legislature in bill authorities. drafts. 1981-82 Organized Crime Labor Relations 1980-81 Organized Crime Infiltration of Profiteering at Mass Housing Dental Care Plans Construction Sites

The Commission held a public hearing Contained in the 13th Annual Report in December 1980 and issued a report in for 1981, this report spurred June 1981. Legislation was enacted in tremendous interest, but no action was 1982-83 incorporating the taken on the SCI’s recommendations Commission’s recommendations for at either the state or federal level. barring organized crime influence in dental care plans sold to labor unions and 1981-83 Misconduct in the Operation of for increased auditing, monitoring and Certain County and Local Sewerage financial disclosure for such plans. The and Utility Authorities SCI was represented by a Commissioner and its Executive Director at a U.S. This probe, July 1982 public hearing House Aging Committee hearing in and March 1983 report resulted in the 1981 on abuses of health care trust funds enactment of a comprehensive law and at a public hearing by the giving the State Local Government Pennsylvania Crime Commission in Services Division the same effective 1981 on its probe of mob influence over control over the fiscal and the operation of labor union dental plans. administrative operations of sewerage and other local authorities that it exercises over municipalities.

1982 Inappropriate Activities of the the sport, including medical and safety Lakewood Municipal Industrial provisions, was subsequently enacted. Commission Revelation of improprieties by the State Athletic Commissioner led to his The August 1982 report on this inquiry resignation. The regulatory reforms, resulted in the enactment in 1984-85 of particularly those that were intended to the SCI’s recommendations for protect the health and physical welfare reforming the operations of all such of boxers, as enacted in 1988, fell far commissions. short of the SCI’s reform proposals.

1983 Abuse and Misuse of Credit Controls 1984 Misconduct and Inappropriate at Gambling Casinos Controls in the Newark School Security System This inquiry, March 1983 public hearing and June 1983 report resulted in more Bills were introduced in the 1986-88 effective casino credit controls, albeit Legislature to implement certain less stringent than recommended by the reforms recommended by the June Commission. 1984 SCI report.

1983 Improprieties in the Leasing of State 1984 Excessive Spending and Near- Lands at Great Gorge in Sussex Insolvency of the Newark Board of County to a Ski Resort Education/Newark Teachers Union Supplemental Fringe Benefits Fund The March 1983 public hearing and August 1983 report were followed by After a December 1984 public hearing, criminal and civil actions based on the a report on the investigative findings SCI’s investigative findings, which was incorporated in the Commission’s resulted in the reimbursement of 16th Annual Report for 1984. millions of dollars owed to the State and Litigation involving the Fund’s in substantial fines and other penalties director, who was dismissed during the against the major principals of the SCI probe, was brought. Vernon Valley conglomerate and its subsidiary companies. 1983-85 Organized Crime in Boxing

The SCI’s December 1985 final report 1983-84 Inadequacy of Laws and confirmed so serious an intrusion of Regulations Governing the Boxing organized crime into boxing that, were Industry the same mob presence to afflict such other professional sports as baseball or In line with the SCI’s recommendations, football, it would constitute a public contained in its March 1984 interim scandal. report, a law was passed revising the tax Dissection of a dozen case histories not structure for boxing events, and another only reflected the ineffectiveness of bill revising the entire administration of the regulatory process in stamping out

organized crime but also the inability of reforms within the Division to enhance

the regulators — and managers and the integrity of the licensing and promoters as well to prevent boxers from registrations processes. becoming brain-damaged and blinded. As a result, the SCI joined the American The final matter involved an Medical Association and other medical investigation of the DMV-Price groups in urging that professional Waterhouse computer fiasco, which boxing be banned. In the meantime, the had its origins in the collapse of the SCI proposed a series of further reforms, DMV’s services to the public in mid- to reduce the physical hazards of boxing, 1985. This inquiry resulted in a June as well as its organized crime taint. Bills 1986 report critical of DMV’s requiring background checks of management of the computer project, prospective licensees, including as well as the serious policy promoters and managers, were enacted misjudgments and professional in 1986-87. Other “reforms” which were misconduct by the computer below the standards urged by the SCI contractor. The report made also were enacted in 1988 (See 1983-88 recommendations for reform of bid interim report on boxing). waiver procedures.

1985-86 Probes of N.J. Division of Motor 1986 State Racing Commission’s Vehicles Regulatory Deficiencies

The Commission examined various In an October 1986 letter to the Racing issues inside the Division of Motor Commission, the SCI noted the Racing Vehicles as part of a three-part inquiry. Commission’s reform efforts during The first phase probed the photo license the course of the investigation, but controversy, an investigation directed by emphasized numerous areas, such as the Legislature to be completed in 30 race track security and integrity, days. In a June 1985 report, the regulatory timidity, auditing of track Commission criticized the DMV and the operations, more stringent drug Attorney General for the intentional controls and tighter licensing

non-disclosure of a major political procedures that remained to be contributor’s proposed role in a corrected. Legislation incorporating universal photo license system. SCI reform proposals was enacted.

The second phase, which included a December 1985 public hearing and 1986-87 Organized Crime-Affiliated report, (combined with the Sub-Contractors on Casino and Commission’s 1985 Annual Report) Publicly Funded Construction examined the DMV’s politicized, Projects inefficient agency system. The Commission recommended conversion This report was combined with the of all motor vehicle agencies to state Commission’s Annual Report for operated entities, as well as internal 1986. It recommended centralization

and strengthening of state and Casino The March 1988 report concluded that Control Commission procedures for the Department of Environmental prequalifying and disqualifying Protection failed to follow good prospective contractors and management and internal subcontractors. The investigative communications procedures in taking findings demonstrated that two mob- title to the lake, which was operated companies had amassed contaminated with arsenic and held in millions in revenues from casino place by a deteriorated dam. Revised projects and public works from which acquisition procedures and a they should have been barred. Bills successful state lawsuit resulted from which would extend Control the Commission’s findings. Commission scrutiny to subcontractors and casino license applicants were 1987 Property Cost Reimbursement enacted. System for Nursing Homes

1986-87 Impaired and Incompetent An outgrowth of an earlier inquiry into Physicians Medicaid abuses, the Commission issued a final report in August 1987 A report on the Commission’s that found that the property cost investigation on impaired and reimbursement system for nursing incompetent physicians was issued in homes participating in the Medicaid October 1987. The report was critical of program was unwieldy and wasteful. the New Jersey Medical Society’s To halt further abuse, the SCI Impaired Physicians Program and the recommended overhauling the entire inability of the IPP and the State Board property cost reimbursement system. of Medical Examiners to adequately rehabilitate and monitor impaired 1986-88 Check Cashing Industry doctors to prevent harm to patients. After Commission staff participated in Senate The Commission revealed in an April committee hearings, the Legislature and 1988 public hearing and August 1988 Governor enacted the Professional report the extent to which the check Medical Conduct Reform Act on cashing industry in New Jersey is used January 12, 1990 (effective July 13, by organized crime to finance 1990). The law substantially improves loansharking and other forms of the reporting, rehabilitation and racketeering, as well as to defraud supervision of impaired and incompetent companies. Dozens of referrals of doctors. information were made to law enforcement and administrative 1986-88 Union Lake agencies in New Jersey and New York.

The Commission investigated the process by which the State Green Acres 1987-89 Solid Waste Regulation program acquired Union Lake in Cumberland County. Revisiting regulatory failures and

criminal involvement in the solid waste and Human Resources. The industry in New Jersey, the Commission Commission found most of those concluded in an April 1989 report that allegations to be without merit but did the Solid Waste Utility Control Act of find some laxity in the grant review 1970, enacted after the Commission’s process. In its January 1990 letter to 1969 report on the garbage industry, had the Committee Chairman, the failed as a regulatory mechanism. The Commission also found a mindset at Commission found that organized crime, the Department that virtually no while no longer dominant, still had a irregularity would be sufficient to presence in the industry. Moreover, the cancel a financial grant so long as the regulatory system had failed to stimulate avowed purpose of the grant appeared competition in an industry that was on the surface to be served. amenable to it. In response to a Commission recommendation, the Legislature and Governor enacted a law 1988-90 New Jersey School Boards to phase out an ineffective system of Association utility-style rate regulation of solid waste collectors. The Commission issued a report in April 1990 about serious deficiencies 1988-89 Cocaine in the management of the School Boards Association that led to losses The SCI held a public hearing in of more than $800,000 in the November 1988 and issued a report in investment of funds entrusted to the March 1989 regarding the cocaine NJSBA Insurance Group by local problem in New Jersey. The school districts. The NJSBA has made Commission recommended a major substantial progress toward reform. increase in the state’s commitment to help solve all facets of this serious 1988-91 Garment Industry criminal, social and health problem. An October 1990 public hearing and 1989 Overview of Organized Crime April 1991 report on the garment industry revealed numerous economic In its 1989 Annual Report, the problems in the industry as a whole, as Commission detailed the status of well as many instances of workers and traditional and non-traditional organized contractors being taken advantage of crime groups in New Jersey. by unscrupulous entrepreneurs. The investigation also revealed the

1989-90 AIDS Prevention Program – State intrusion of organized crime into Department of Health garment trucking in New Jersey.

Allegations of impropriety in the AIDS 1990-91 Afro-Lineal Organized Crime prevention program in the Department of Health were made at a public hearing In furtherance of its responsibility to of the Assembly Committee on Health keep the public informed about

organized crime in the state, the 1991-92 Organized Crime in Bars Commission held a November 1990 public hearing into the problem of At a public hearing in February 1992, organized criminality by persons of the Commission released information African heritage. The hearing and a for the first time showing that elements March 1991 report dealt with gangs of of organized crime had gained control African-Americans, Jamaicans and of numerous bars and restaurants in others. New Jersey. The Commission’s investigation found that state and local 1990-91 Video Gambling regulators were doing little to enforce fundamental policies established by In a January 1991 public hearing and the Legislature in 1937 and reaffirmed September 1991 report, the Commission in 1985. A preliminary report on assessed the complicated problem of investigations of liquor license video gambling, including the applications was issued in March 1992 ramifications of organized crime and a final report in October 1992. involvement as well as weaknesses in the statutes that apply to gambling 1991-92 Motor Fuel Tax Evasion devices. In an October 1991 public hearing and 1992 New Jersey Transit’s Bus Subsidy February 1992 report detailing the Program findings of an investigation, the Commission showed how motor fuel The Commission held a public hearing tax evasion in New Jersey resulted in in July 1992 into allegations of serious tens of millions of dollars in annual tax irregularities in NJT’s $5 million Bus losses to the state. Legislation Subsidy Program. The Commission resulting from the Commission’s work revealed that two bus companies had, corrected the statutory flaws which largely through the inattention of NJT permitted the fraud to occur, and overseers, been able to obtain several allowed the state Treasury to recoup at million dollars in subsidies for the least $22 million annually. The personal and private commercial Commission’s report in this case was expenses of the companies’ owners. As among the first in the nation to a result of the Commission’s findings, demonstrate publicly a direct link NJT undertook an extensive reform between traditional organized crime effort. Criminal charges stemming from elements of La Cosa Nostra and the the Commission’s probe resulted in emerging trans-national Russian prison terms and/or community service Mafia. and restitution totaling more than $750,000 by five individuals in February 1992 Bergen County Utilities Authority 1995. The Commission issued a comprehensive report in December 1992 detailing how the BCUA,

through mismanagement and poor agency, the Department of Human planning, had crafted an extravagant Services. The Commission solid waste disposal program that recommended a range of needlessly cost the ratepayers of Bergen improvements in DHS procurement County many millions of dollars. The and oversight procedures. Commission’s report resulted in a number of significant cost-saving 1993 Belleville Township actions and led to a 1995 task force study recommending privatization of BCUA Pursuing a widespread probe of sewage treatment services. municipal corruption in New Jersey launched statewide in 1992, the

1992 Local Government Corruption Commission identified various failings in financial and purchasing areas in As part of the Commission’s continuing Belleville, including violations of assault on local government corruption bidding laws, expenditures in excess and the conditions which sustain it, of appropriations and the absence of public hearings were held in January appropriate fiscal checks and balances. 1992 and a report was issued in The Commission also examined September. The report detailed allegations of administrative abuse purchasing scams, corrupted involving the Township Fire inspections, tainted land use decisions Department. and a raft of embezzlements of government funds. A key focus involved 1993 Quality Education Money- troubling examples where organized Lyndhurst crime has capitalized on the presence of municipal corruption. At least two In conducting fact-finding for the State statutes incorporating the Commission’s Board of Education, the Commission recommendations were enacted into law. determined that the Commissioner of Education’s failure to follow 1993 Fiscal Year ‘89 Over-Expenditures, announced grant-review procedures Division of Developmental Disabilities led to an improper grant of $1.5 million in discretionary funds to the At the Attorney General’s request, the community of Lyndhurst, Bergen Commission reviewed issues related to County. overspending in fiscal 1989 by the Division of Developmental Disabilities 1993 Passaic High School Print Shop amid disclosures that the Division, under a former director, greatly exceeded its Examining irregularities within the budget by awarding unauthorized Passaic School District, the contracts to providers of services for the Commission reported on an industrial disabled. The Commission found arts supervisor’s use of high school deficient contract monitoring coupled facilities, supplies, faculty on overtime with a lack of competition in and work-study students to conduct a procurement at the Division’s parent private printing business at taxpayer

expense. The supervisor, Lawrence 1994 Nursing Home Certificates of Need Mayo, was sentenced and ordered to pay restitution based upon criminal charges At the request of the Assembly Health stemming from the Commission’s and Human Services Committee, the probe. Commission examined the state Health Department’s certificate–of- 1993-94 Criminal Street Gangs need process and the efficacy of an executive branch policy aimed at Recognizing that criminal street gangs insulating the program from abuse by pose a most serious threat to New unscrupulous officials. In a February Jerseyans as a whole, and to New Jersey 25, 1994 letter, the Commission youths in particular, the Commission recommended statutory codification of conducted a groundbreaking assessment Gov. Whitman’s Executive Order No. that culminated in two days of public 2, which sets forth criteria for the hearings in June. The Commission’s establishment of blind trusts by work product became an integral part of officials with financial holdings in a broad new push by policy makers to such facilities. reform and reinvigorate the state’s juvenile justice system. In a March 17, 1994 River Vale Recreation Department 1994 executive order, Governor Whitman listed the Commission’s Responding to complaints from report, Criminal Street Gangs, published residents of River Vale Township, in February 1994, as an important Bergen County, the Commission resource to be utilized by her Advisory examined the township’s recreation Council on Juvenile Justice. department and the operation of its youth sports programs. In a May 26, 1993-94 Money Laundering 1994 letter to the township administrator, the Commission noted In December 1993, to highlight its cash missing from departmental assault on the deleterious effects of accounts amid sloppy and money laundering by the criminal inappropriate recordkeeping. underworld in New Jersey, the Recommendations included an Commission held two days of public overhaul of internal control hearings to focus on the need for an mechanisms and the establishment of explicit criminal statute targeting such effective fiscal safeguards. unscrupulous financial activity for prosecution. In October 1994, the 1994 Point Pleasant School District Legislature enacted and Governor Whitman signed into law a measure Alerted by concerned local taxpayers, implementing the Commission’s key the Commission examined recommendations. questionable financial practices related to the operations of the Point Pleasant Community School in Ocean County and the terms of a lucrative separation-

of-employment agreement with a former that were awarded no-bid contracts to school superintendent. As a result of the provide pharmaceutical services and Commission’s August 1994 report, the unit-dose medications to patients at the Community School’s former director, Essex County Hospital Center, Jail, Vito Dellegrippo, pled guilty to two Jail Annex and Geriatric Center. In a criminal charges of theft by deception. letter to the County Board of At his June 16, 1995 sentencing, he was Freeholders’ President, the placed on probation for 30 months, Commission alerted local officials of required to pay $5,000 in restitution and questionable circumstances related to barred for life from holding public the contracts and urged the adoption of office. The school district transferred appropriate procedures for operation of the Community School to competitive bidding practices. the County Educational Services Commission. The Commission’s report 1994 Borough of Jamesburg served as a guide for other school districts and municipalities on avoiding The Commission launched an similar abuses. investigation into the governmental operations of the Borough of 1994 Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital Jamesburg, Middlesex County, in February 1993 after receiving In an October 1994 report, the numerous citizen complaints of Commission revealed a tableau of waste, corruption at the hands of key fraud, theft and corruption in which the municipal officials. In a November squandering of taxpayer dollars virtually 1994 report, the Commission revealed had become business as usual. The a systemic pattern of official report prompted the Department of misconduct, nepotism and abuse of the Human Services to send special review public trust so pervasive as to cause teams to Marlboro and other state local budgetary hardships and institutions, and on February 23, 1995, jeopardize the local police department. the department confirmed serious The probe prompted the departure of problems across the board in inventory longtime Borough Tax Assessor control, the granting of sick leave/injury Carmen Pirre, spurred a Treasury benefits, purchasing and fiscal oversight. Department audit and paved the way The findings spurred a number of for wholesale municipal reforms. systemic reforms in those and other key Richard Gardiner, director of the state areas. Utilizing the Commission’s Division of Taxation, stated in a evidence, the department also February 27, 1995 letter: “This case is disciplined six Marlboro employees, a prime example of governmental dismissing two. agencies working in a cooperative and efficient manner to accomplish 1994 Medical Provider Contracts common goals and to achieve worthwhile objectives.” The Commission examined allegations of organized crime influence over firms

1995 Organized Crime in Bars Part II review of trust funds for county clerks and registers of deeds and found that Following up on the ground-breaking substantial sums were being used 1992 report, the Commission exposed outside the statutory scope for which organized crime’s continuing infiltration they were established. The of New Jersey’s licensed commercial investigation also revealed a number bar and tavern industry. The 1995 report of questionable disbursements for such highlighted the threat posed by this things as renovations, expensive phenomenon both to the integrity of the decorations and furnishings in licensing system and to the state’s personal offices; the purchase of overall economy. In a series of “specialty advertising,” including recommendations for systemic reform, pens, T-shirts and calendars; the the Commission urged more vigorous payment of service club dues; and enforcement of existing laws, as well as excessive travel expenses for the adoption of additional measures conferences in resort cities. necessary to strengthen the system of licensure and enforcement. 1995 Casino Control Commission

1995 Garfield School District A Commission probe of irregularities at New Jersey’s Casino Control Pursuing a statewide assault on local Commission revealed records that had government corruption launched in been falsified and forged in connection 1992, the Commission detailed evidence with an improper scheme to award of organized crime connections, “golden parachutes” to former conflicts of interest and malfeasance employees. The investigation also involving personnel of the Garfield produced evidence of abuses involving School District in Bergen County. official cars and expense allowances Responding to the Commission’s by Casino Control Commission finding, district officials took steps to personnel. The Commission’s report, ensure greater accountability in the issued in September, resulted in a administration of a $9 million range of internal administrative lease/purchase program, as well as in reforms and in disciplinary action other areas. A follow-up investigation by against the Casino panel’s chief of the state Education Department’s Office staff. of Compliance resulted in a number of reforms and actions, including a 1995 Grant to N.J. Marine Sciences recommendation that the district Consortium and Sham Retirement reimburse the lease/purchase program of East Brunswick School District fund $279,647.45 and that it re-state its Teacher financial statements accordingly. The Commission found that a 1995 County Clerks’ Trust Funds $500,000 grant was improperly awarded based upon undue political The Commission conducted a statewide pressure to the New Jersey Marine

Sciences Consortium. The investigation the former Soviet Republics have also revealed that East Brunswick established a strong and abiding School District officials, at unnecessary presence in the region, engaging in a cost to taxpayers, circumvented tenure wide array of crimes that range from rules and orchestrated the retirement of a sophisticated financial frauds to teacher who held dual employment narcotics trafficking to murder. Evi- under the grant. In a written response to dence developed by the project’s staff the Commission’s report, Education showed that members of disparate Commissioner Leo Klagholz said the Russian-Emigre crime groups here findings provided “several valuable have the potential to become one of the observations and recommendations most formidable organized crime concerning the approval of contract challenges since the advent of La Cosa settlements, the outside employment of Nostra. school staff who are on sick leave, and the potential for abuse of pension funds. 1996 Insurance Interests and Licensure of The Department of Education will Former Insurance Commissioner pursue each of these matters and Andrew J. Karpinski recommended needed policy changes to the appropriate authorities.” A Commission investigation of circumstances leading to the 1995 1995 N.J. State Commission of resignation of this cabinet officer Investigation - An Important Agency revealed a range of serious lapses in for the Future the ethics oversight system for officials in the Executive Branch of In May, the Commission submitted a state government. In an October comprehensive report recounting its report, the Commission called for history and record of performance to a extensive reforms, the centerpiece of special review committee. The report which was a recommended overhaul of provided the panel and the public at large the Executive Commission on Ethical with a detailed and authoritative Standards. Legislation incorporating recitation of the salutary results of the key elements of the Commission’s nearly 90 investigations undertaken by proposals was introduced in the Senate the Commission up to that date. and Assembly in the aftermath of the investigation. 1996 Russian-Emigre Crime in the Tri- State Region 1997 Borough of Seaside Heights The Commission joined forces with state-level agencies in New York and Responding to citizen complaints, the Pennsylvania to examine the increasing Commission investigated the threat posed by criminal elements operations of the Borough of Seaside emanating from within the former Soviet Heights, Ocean County, and found Union. The resulting report, issued in fiscal, administrative and procedural June, warned that gangsters with roots in malfeasance so widespread as to

transform the community’s governing 1997 New Jersey School Busing Industry body itself into a tool for taxpayer abuse. This investigation, part of an intensified A Commission investigation of New assault on local government corruption Jersey’s public school transportation launched by the Commission in 1992, industry revealed a system rife with galvanized local reform efforts and led collusion, questionable bidding to the recovery of thousands of dollars in practices, poor record keeping and lax taxpayer funds by various levels of oversight. The Commission’s findings government. and recommendations provided a comprehensive framework for 1997 Contract Labor  The Making of an legislative and administrative reforms Underground Economy aimed at containing the state’s exorbitant school-busing costs. The Commission examined the activities of unscrupulous contract-labor 1998 City of Orange Township providers, revealing an underground economy in which millions of dollars in In an investigation triggered by state and federal income taxes and other allegations of bidding and purchasing levies are siphoned from the public irregularities, the Commission found coffers every year. This unprecedented that from 1988-95, the city’s investigation resulted in proposed operations were burdened by runaway legislative reforms and in heightened expenses, unnecessary positions for oversight at both the state and federal political cronies, payment or levels. unreasonably high salaries, lax financial procedures, the absence of 1997 New Jersey Detective Agency purchasing controls, and violations of public bidding laws. The Commission Pursuing its statutory authority to investigation revealed tactics to extract provide oversight of the state’s law political campaign contributions from enforcement system, the Commission public employees and private entities examined an obscure entity known as the doing business with the city. The New Jersey Detective Agency and investigation also revealed the use of concluded that its members-handgun- campaign funds for personal expenses carrying civilians who believe they have and the misreporting of contributions

full police powers - pose a distinct and expenses to the New Jersey danger to the community. The Election Law Enforcement Commission’s central recommendation - Commission. The investigation

that the NJDA be abolished - was produced a wide range of endorsed by the Governor and by top law recommendations for systemic enforcement officials, including the reforms. Attorney General and the Superintendent of the State Police.

1998 Pension and Benefit Abuses challenge. A final report was issued in June 2000. The Commission examined certain aspects of public employee pension and 1999-2000 Public School Roofing benefit programs and found abuse, Projects manipulation and excessive expenditures that cost New Jersey A statewide investigation of public taxpayers substantial sums of money school roof construction projects every year. Questionable practices were revealed widespread waste and abuse, detected in every region of the state, including conflicts of interest, among municipalities, school districts, subversion of public contracting, community colleges and independent improper labor practices and authorities. Underlying the abuses, the inadequate oversight that place the Commission found a system lacking in safety of school children in jeopardy adequate oversight and accountability and cost New Jersey taxpayers and a loophole-ridden statutory millions of dollars each year. The framework that licenses potentially Commission aired the preliminary inappropriate conduct by public findings of its investigation during a officials. In response, the State Division two-day public hearing in December of Pension and Benefits launched a 1999. A final report was issued in series of inquiries to determine the September 2000. proper course of action, including pension adjustments and recovery of 2001 Societies for the Prevention of overpayments, in connection with each Cruelty to Animals case detailed in the report. The Commission also called for a series of A statewide investigation of SPCAs legislative and regulatory reforms. revealed widespread abuse and malfeasance at the hands of numerous 1999-2000 Computer Crime individuals responsible for animal welfare in New Jersey. The In an unprecedented project conducted Commission’s findings resulted in a jointly with the office of the Attorney number of criminal prosecutions at the General, the Commission held three state and county levels and produced a series of recommended reforms to days of public hearings in February 1999 improve and strengthen animal- to examine the threat posed by welfare operations in New Jersey. The computer-related crimes in New Jersey. final report was referenced as a key The two agencies mobilized combined element in Governor James E. resources in recognition of the fact that McGreevey’s Executive Order the “dark side” of high technology, establishing a statewide Animal ranging from computer hacking and Welfare Task Force fraud to identity theft and child pornography, has grown to such an extent that a unified approach by law enforcement is required to meet the

2001-02 N.J. Enhanced Motor Vehicle 2003-04 The Changing Face of Organized Inspection Contract Crime in New Jersey

The Commission examined events and The Commission in May 2004 issued circumstances leading to the design and the final report of a multi-year project award of a contract to privatize motor- to examine the status, scope and vehicle inspection services and found changing shape of organized crime – the procurement process thoroughly the first such undertaking of its kind in tainted by mismanagement and New Jersey in more than a decade. influence-peddling. As a result, the Based on extensive work by projected cost of the seven-year contract Commission investigators in concert ballooned to nearly $600 million, with personnel from other state, local necessitating wholesale re-negotiation and federal law enforcement agencies, of key provisions. Findings and reform and testimony from an array of recommendations set forth by the witnesses who appeared during a two- Commission during public hearings in day public hearing in 2003, the report July 2001 and in a final report issued in incorporated a wide range of March 2002 resulted in proposed programmatic and policy legislation to strengthen the state recommendations designed to assist contract procurement process and to law enforcement authorities in shield it from manipulation through meeting the new and difficult disclosure of contract lobbying and other challenges of organized crime. measures.

2003 Associated Humane Societies 2003-05 New-Home Construction in New Jersey In March 2003, the Commission issued the results of a wide-ranging The Commission in March 2005 investigation that found waste and abuse issued the final report of a multi-year inside Associated Humane Societies investigation into abuses in the new- (AHS), one of New Jersey’s leading home construction and inspection non-profit animal shelter organizations. process. It capped an unprecedented, Despite large and highly successful statewide inquiry that included five fund-raising campaigns, the days of public hearings in 2003 and Commission found the history of AHS’s 2004 to air findings of flawed and shelter operation was dominated by deficient practices in the new-home deplorable kennel conditions, inhumane construction and inspection process, treatment of animals by workers, including shoddy workmanship, lax mismanagement and non-existent or and corrupt construction inspections, inadequate medical care. The blatant code violations, poor Commission called for comprehensive government oversight and inadequate reform including recommendations to home-warranty and other remedial reconstitute the organization’s options for consumers. governing board, the establishment of financial controls and to strengthen the This investigation prompted Governor shelter inspection program. Richard J. Codey to sign Executive

Order 33, which implemented a series of 2005 The Gifting of New Jersey Tax reforms, many of which were based on Officials recommendations made in the Commission’s report, to bolster the The Commission found that officials oversight of the home construction of the Taxation and Revenue Divisions industry, to strengthen the inspection and of the New Jersey Treasury enforcement process and to safeguard the Department accepted thousands of home-buying public. dollars in gifts and entertainment from a vendor hired by the State to collect back taxes and then turned a blind eye 2004 E-ZPass: The Making of a when the firm padded its billings. Procurement Disaster Officials accepted meals, alcohol and outings courtesy of the vendor. In The Commission in June 2004 issued 2012, following a criminal trial in a report that found the contract to which they were found guilty of provide an electronic toll system for official misconduct, the two highest- New Jersey roadways was the product of ranking former officials were an ill-advised, inappropriate sentenced to one-year probation and procurement process that lacked proper barred for life from holding any public safeguards to ensure accountability. employment. Amid conflicts of interest involving top Department of Transportation officials, 2006 Questionable and Hidden proper due diligence was sacrificed for Compensation for Public School expediency and costly overruns and Administrators mechanical failures plagued the project from the start. In March 2006, the Commission issued a report that examined lucrative 2005 Funding and Operations of County compensation agreements given to Clerks public school administrators and found these deals often include hidden perks The Commission found that millions of that are not made public. These dollars in fees collected by County Clerks benefits may include the cashing in of to officially record and file real estate unused sick and vacation time, salary documents were used instead to subsidize boosts to pad pension payouts or general state and county budgets through deposits into tax-deferred personal a process that causes significant recording accounts. The Commission called for delays and constitutes a form of hidden greater transparency of administrator taxation. Little of this money was salary information and tighter returned to the Clerks’ offices despite the restrictions on pension padding. increase in recording and filing fees amid the housing market boom. 2006-07 Subversion of Firearms Ammunition Sales

The Commission in February 2007 issued the final report of an

investigation that showed the ease with claims. To stop those losses, the which handgun ammunition may be Commission recommended safeguards legally purchased in New Jersey and to detect fraud and protect the integrity called for reforms to tighten the sales of the program. In response to these restrictions. In response, legislation was findings, the “Charity Care Fraud enacted in January 2008 to regulate the Prevention and Detection Act was sale of ammunition. The report followed signed into law by Governor Corzine a December 2006 public hearing that in December 2007, incorporating included testimony from law reforms recommended in the report. enforcement officials who said this largely unregulated area is contributing unnecessarily to rising gang violence. 2007 Public Higher Education Governance 2007 Integrity of Electronic Voting Machines Triggered by revelations of corruption at the University of Medicine and The Commission investigated the Dentistry of New Jersey, the process by which electronic voting Commission launched a broad-based machines are purchased and certified investigation into the operations and for use in New Jersey and in December administration of higher education and 2007 issued a final report found an entire system vulnerable to recommending the system be waste, problematic governance and overhauled because it lacks serious shortcomings in operational competitive bidding, independent oversight, accountability and oversight and uniform contracting transparency. The inquiry showed that practices – weaknesses that expose the the deregulation of higher education in system to possible manipulation and 1994 left the institutions to operate as abuse. islands unto themselves with no oversight. While institutional autonomy 2008 Alarming Contracts: Waste and is important, the Commission concluded Abuse in Fire Truck Procurements it must be coupled with proper governance and oversight. In January In September 2008, the Commission 2010, Governor Jon Corzine signed issued a report revealing that local legislation into law that incorporated a public purchasing authorities routinely number of recommendations made by rely on design specifications provided the Commission to reform New Jersey’s by manufacturers for the purchase of higher educational system. fire trucks. The Commission found that this occurs, in large part, because local officials lack technical expertise 2007 Charity Care: An Ailing System and have no guidance from the State to assist in the process. The Commission In April 2007, the Commission issued a also found instances in which fire report that showed New Jersey’s Charity officials, doubling as sales Care hospital-subsidy program failed to representatives, financially profited by recover tens of millions of dollars due to selling trucks to their own volunteer fraud and the failure to pursue third party fire companies. The Commission

recommended greater transparency and 2010 New Jersey State Interscholastic oversight in the procurement process. Athletic Association

2008-09 Criminal Street Gangs in New Jersey In September 2010, the Commission State Prisons revealed questionable and excessive spending and a lack of basic internal The Commission in May 2009 issued a controls inside the New Jersey State report that recommended a series of Interscholastic Athletic Association, reforms to assist the Department of which oversees high school sports in Corrections combat a growing gang New Jersey. The Commission found population that has manipulated that the NJSIAA routinely violated its systemic weaknesses in the prison own policies and procedures to system. The report followed a address prior financial November 2008 public hearing that mismanagement. Concluding that the detailed how gang-affiliated inmates organization was not capable of inside New Jersey state prisons have policing itself, the Commission organized and thrived while behind bars. recommended outside oversight if not Most significantly, the investigation a full government takeover of its showed how these inmates are able to operations, stricter financial controls manipulate financial and and reduction and control of personnel communication systems in the prisons to expenses. further criminal enterprises on the streets. 2011 Pills to Heroin: New Jersey’s Flourishing Drug Trade 2009 Public Benefit Abuses In June 2011, the Commission held a In December 2009, the Commission public hearing that examined the state issued a final report that found select of the criminal drug trade in New local public employees are collecting Jersey and identified a disturbing trend extravagant benefits and perks costing in which a growing number of young taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The people are abusing prescription pills Commission found waste and abuse in a and, in many, cases ending up as wide range of personnel compensation heroin addicts because the street drug arrangements, including paid time off is a cheaper substitute. Drug dealers for Christmas shopping and exorbitant use increasingly sophisticated payouts for unused leave time. The techniques to both sell drugs and Commission recommended uniform conceal their illegal activities limits on leave time, regulation of presenting significant challenges for severance payments and greater law enforcement. transparency in contracts and compensation arrangements. In 2010, 2011 Circumvention of Oversight in Solid comprehensive legislation was Waste and Recycling in New Jersey introduced to address all the reforms recommended by the Commission. The Commission in December 2011 reported that New Jersey’s solid waste industry remains open to abuse and

manipulation by criminal elements that culminated a comprehensive circumvent the State’s regulatory and investigation into the illegal oversight system. Government oversight trafficking in and abuse of prescription of the industry is hampered by a lack of painkillers and heroin. The resources and a statute hamstrung by Commission recommended creation of loopholes. The Commission a statewide Strike Force to combat this recommended the creation of licenses multi-faceted problem, tougher for those engaged in recycling, greater penalties for prescription drug scrutiny of those who seek to participate diversion, lower legal thresholds for in the solid waste industry and heroin possession charges, the centralized governmental supervision enhancement of New Jersey’s and enforcement. Prescription Monitoring Program and tighter controls on the prescription 2012 Union Work Public Pay – The forms used by licensed physicians. Taxpayer Cost of Compensation and Benefits for Public-Employee Union 2014 Inside Out – Questionable and Leave Abusive Practices in New Jersey’s Bail-Bond Industry In May 2012, the Commission exposed that some public-sector union In May 2014, the Commission representatives who receive paid leave reported that bail-bond agents in New from government jobs while they Jersey routinely engage in corrupt conduct union business are getting practices including the use and taxpayers to foot the bill for their salaries compensation of inmates to solicit and benefits. In some cases, workers customers behind bars. In order to remain on paid leave for decades without edge out competitors, agents also doing any government work. The negotiate discount bail-bond deals that Commission found wide disparity in the put serious offenders back on the way such leave is authorized, who tracks streets for a few hundred dollars or it and who ultimately pays the bill. The less. Further, the Commission found Commission recommended reforms to bail agencies operated by unlicensed establish uniform statutory rules for individuals, some with extensive granting union leave and to enhance criminal records. These practices public disclosure and transparency of occur, in part, because government these arrangements. regulation of the bail industry is weak and ineffective. The Commission 2013 Scenes From An Epidemic – A Report recommended stronger oversight of on the SCI’s Investigation of the bail industry, legislation to make it Prescription Pill and Heroin Abuse a crime for an unlicensed person to solicit, negotiate or write bail, The Commission revealed that corrupt mandatory disclosure and judicial doctors and entrepreneurs with links to review of discount bail-bond deals and organized crime operate seemingly the creation of uniform bail-agent legitimate medical clinics to sell access rules for county jails. unnecessary prescriptions for painkillers. The July 2013 report

2015 Gaming the System – Abuse and regulatory reforms aimed at restoring Influence Peddling in New Jersey’s the integrity of the online lien auction Used-Car Industry process, including immediate review of an online auction pilot program, and In December 2015, the Commission strengthening vendor disclosure revealed that outside lobbying pressure requirements. enabled certain used-car dealers in New Jersey to receive favored treatment from 2016 Dirty Dirt: The Corrupt Recycling the Motor Vehicle Commission. The of Contaminated Soil and Debris- inquiry focused on problems in the Public Hearing regulation of hundreds of used-car entities housed in a group settings The Commission held a public hearing known as “multi-dealer locations,” or in May that detailed how convicted MDLs, including one owned and felons and individuals with ties to operated by individuals linked to organized crime illegally dumped organized crime. As a result of lax contaminated soil and construction oversight and enforcement, these MDLs debris near waterways and residential profited from an assortment of areas in New Jersey. The public questionable and unscrupulous activities hearing revealed how tainted material at significant cost to taxpayers, from out-of-state was trucked and consumers and commercial interests. dumped along the shoreline on Raritan The Commission recommended moving Bay and at a small recycling center in the oversight of used-car dealers to the South Jersey near the Delaware River Division of Consumer Affairs, the that became a sprawling landfill adoption of a “Used-Car Buyers’ Bill of occupied by acres of construction Rights to provide consumer protection debris. Loopholes in the state’s and the strengthening of New Jersey’s recycling laws allowed these “dirt lobbyist disclosure requirements. brokers” to keep their criminal ties secret because recycling operators are not subject to licensing requirements 2016 Questionable Contracting – No Bids or basic background checks like those and Lax Oversight in Online Tax required for individuals and entities Sales involved in solid waste.

A private vendor had the inside-track for 2016 Armed and Dangerous – Ten Years a pilot program to run New Jersey’s Later electronic municipal tax lien sales and even helped draft the rules that limited The Commission revisited its 2007 competition. The Commission’s report, Armed and Dangerous: Guns, investigation found that State officials Gangs and Easy Access to Firearms failed to perform proper due diligence on Ammunition, and found that while the vendor’s partner company which is legislation enacted in response to the responsible for conducting the auctions Commission’s findings made it harder and retains most of the revenue from the for anyone who is not a gun owner to lien sales. The Commission legally obtain bullets, the law does not recommended a series of statutory and go nearly far enough to ensure that

ammunition sales are free from abuse. a timely manner and the expenditure of The Commission renewed its call for hundreds of thousands of dollars on photographs to be included on State- items that had nothing to do with issued firearms ammunition credentials animal cruelty. In response to the to avoid fraudulent purchases and to give Commission’s findings and law enforcement more tools, such as a recommendations, Governor Christie central database to track and monitor signed a bill into law to eliminate the ammo sales. NJSPCA and turn over enforcement of the animal cruelty laws to government.

2017 Dirty Dirt: The Corrupt Recycling of Contaminated Soil and Debris-Final Report

Culminating an inquiry that revealed how corrupt recyclers dumped toxic debris in environmentally sensitive areas, the Commission issued a final report in March 2017 that called for closing loopholes in the law that enabled this fraudulent practice to occur under the radar of regulators. The SCI’s primary recommendation was for both individuals and entities operating in the recycling business to undergo background checks and receive licenses similar to those issued for the solid waste industry. Legislation that incorporated the Commission’s recommendations was introduced in the State Senate.

2017 New Jersey’s SPCAs 17 Years Later

The Commission followed-up on an investigation into the various Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New Jersey and found that many of the problems first identified by the SCI nearly two decades ago festered, and, in some instances, worsened absent proper and appropriate reform action. The follow-up inquiry report in October 2017 revealed significant dysfunction and abuses at the statewide organization – the NJSPCA – including the failure to respond to animal cruelty complaints in

MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION 1969-2018 Appointed by the Governor

William F. Hyland Dante J. Sarubbi Charles L. Betini Justin J. Dintino 1969-1970 1993-1995 1969-1976 1994-1996 Chair

John F. McCarthy, Jr. M. Karen Thompson Lewis B. Kaden W. Cary Edwards 1970-1973 1995-2001 1976-1981 1997-2010 Chair Chair (2004 -2010)

Joseph H. Rodriguez Francis E. Schiller Robert J. DelTufo Todd Caliguire 1973-1979 2001-2004 1981-1984 2011-2012 Chair Chair (2002-2004)

Henry S. Patterson, II Patrick E. Hobbs James R. Zazzali Joseph F. Scancarella 1979-1990 2004 -2014 1984-1994 2012- Chair (1985-1990) Chair (2011-2014) Chair (1990-1994) Chair (2015-)

Kenneth D. Merin Rosemary Iannacone 1990-1992 2015-

Appointed by the Appointed by the President of the Senate Speaker of the General Assembly

Glen B. Miller, Jr. William T. Cahill, Jr. Emory J. Kiess Barry H. Evenchick 1969-1971 1991-1995 1969 1987-1993

Wilfred P. Diana Leslie Z. Celentano James T. Dowd Louis H. Miller 1971-1973 1995-2001 1969-1971 1993-1997 Chair David G. Lucas John J. Farmer, Jr. Thomas J. Shusted Audriann Kernan 1973-1976 2002 1971-1972 1999-2002

Stewart G. Pollock Kathy Flicker Thomas R. Farley Joseph R. Mariniello, Jr. 1976-1978 2002-2008 1973-1977 2002-2009

Arthur S. Lane Robert J. Martin Arthur S. Lane William J. Castner, Jr. 1979-1985 2009 -2013 1977-1978 2010 -2011 Chair Paul Alongi Robert J. Burzichelli John J. Francis, Jr. Eric S. Pennington 1985-1987 4- 201 1979-1982 2012-2014

W. Hunt Dumont William S. Greenberg Frank M. Leanza 1988-1991 1982-1987 2014-

State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation 609-292-6767 www.state.nj.us/sci