February 22, 2005
3 Mayors and 8 Other Officials Arrested in N.J. Corruption Sting
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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NEWARK, N.J. -- Three mayors and eight other local and county officials in Monmouth County were arrested Tuesday, charged in a corruption sting by federal authorities.

Ten officials were accused of extorting cash bribes and free work from a contractor who was working undercover for the FBI, and the other official was charged with money laundering, federal prosecutors said.

Among those arrested were the mayors of Hazlet, Keyport and West Long Branch.

Secret recordings made by the FBI depicted the defendants as eager to compromise their offices for cash. One told a colleague, "Nobody watches, nobody hears, nobody sees." Another told an undercover agent posing as a corrupt middleman not to worry about getting caught because he "could smell a cop a mile away."

In a series of 6 a.m. raids, a dozen teams of six to eight federal agents fanned out across shore communities, rousting surprised municipal and county officials from their beds, and leading them away in handcuffs.

Arrested were Keyport Mayor John J. Merla; Keyport Councilman Robert L. Hyer; Middletown Committeeman Raymond O'Grady; Hazlet Mayor Paul Coughlin; West Long Branch Mayor Paul Zambrano; West Long Branch Councilman Joseph DeLisa; Asbury Park Councilman John J. Hamilton; Neptune Deputy Mayor Richard Iadanza; Joseph McCurnin, operations manager for the Monmouth County Division of Transportation, a.k.a. "Joey Buses;" Patsy Townsend, deputy fire marshal for Monmouth County; and Thomas Broderick, assistant supervisor, Monmouth County Division of Highways.

All but Broderick were charged with extortion by an official. Broderick was charged with money laundering. Both charges carry up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

"It's incredible to me that after three years of doing this, that public officials are still taking envelopes of cash in New Jersey," Christopher J. Christie, U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said during an afternoon news conference. "I don't know why it continues. No matter how many times we're right around the corner with the FBI, they continue to think they're not going to get caught. But they are going to get caught."

The suspects, charged under complaints signed by the FBI, were released on $50,000 bail each.

During hearings in a courtroom so packed with defendants, relatives, attorneys and reporters that many lawyers had to stand in an aisle, the suspects sat in two rows of the jury box, their wrists cuffed before them. Most wore casual clothes and glum expressions and stared at the floor.

Eugene LaVergne, attorney for Zambrano, said his client maintains his innocence.

"It's obviously a very distressing time for him and his family," LaVergne said. "We're looking to resolve this as quickly as possible."

Lawyers for the other defendants declined to comment after the hearings.

The arrests are the latest in a series of corruption cases around the state. In Monmouth County, prior cases have involved the mayor of Ocean Township, as well as Asbury Park's former mayor and a city council member, and a Marlboro utilities commissioner. Christie said his office has either charged or convicted 76 public officials over the past 37 months.

"That's two a month, every month," he said. "There's an epidemic in New Jersey of public corruption, people selling their offices for envelopes of cash."

The contractor identified himself to the officials as someone involved in construction work in Florida and in illegal loansharking, telling them his equipment was mostly in Alabama and Florida, according to the FBI complaints. At times, two undercover law officers posed as employees.

The complaints cite recorded conversations with the officials, and detail exchanges of money.

Here are some of the specifics against each defendant, according to the complaints:

--Merla and Hyer: Merla got $9,000 from the contractor on Sept. 11, 2003, and Hyer got $1,000 later the same day from the contractor, who later got two contracts from Keyport, for bulkhead removal and chipping trees. Merla later got $2,500 in cash for steering the bulkhead project to the contractor, and unspecified other cash payments.

--Zambrano and DeLisa: Zambrano got $5,000 from the contractor on Sept. 30, 2003, with Zambrano being asked to give $1,500 of it to DeLisa. Zambrano got $2,000 in cash from the contractor on Oct. 16, 2003, $1,500 on Nov. 18, 2003, $4,000 on Jan. 29, 2004 and $1,500 on Nov. 17, 2004, for future work in West Long Branch.

--O'Grady: Accepted $1,000 from an undercover officer on Oct. 21 in exchange for securing future contracts in Middletown, and got $5,000 in cash on Feb. 17. According to court documents, O'Grady was caught on tape bragging to an undercover officer that he would never get caught because "I could smell a cop a mile away."

"He was distinctly closer than a mile away," Christie said. "Mr. O'Grady should have his olfactory senses tested immediately."

--Coughlin: Received $3,000 in cash from the contractor in exchange for future Hazlet contracts, including the City Hall demolition.

--Hamilton: Had a driveway installed for free by the contractor in August 2001 that was worth $5,000. Hamilton agreed to secure public jobs for the contractor.

--Iadanza and McCurnin: After a series of meetings they had with the contractor and undercover officers, Iadanza took $1,500 in cash from the contractor on June 25 in exchange for arranging work in Neptune. Iadanza also got $1,500 on Nov. 17.

--Townsend: Accepted $1,000 in cash from an undercover officer on Nov. 17 in exchange for steering fire-related jobs to the contractor.

--Broderick: In a discussion about the contractor's loanshark operation and dealing with the large amounts of cash, the contractor on May 4 offered to give him $50,000 in cash in exchange for a $45,000 check, with Broderick keeping the $5,000 cash as his fee. The contractor and undercover officers gave him a bag with $50,000 later in the day in exchange for the $45,000 check. On May 17, Broderick gave a check of $22,500 in exchange for $25,000 in cash, and the same amounts were exchanged on Sept. 14.