Prosecutor: Corruption at Sewerage Authority Cost Taxpayers More Than $100,000
Seven men, including the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority's top two employees, were arrested Wednesday and charged with bilking the authority.
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Seven men—including five Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority employees—were arrested on theft and corruption charges Wednesday in a three-pronged scheme the county prosecutor called a “brazen and insane attempt” to steal taxpayer resources.
More than $100,000 in stolen public resources has been uncovered so far.
The suspects include the sewerage authority’s superintendent, Paul Phillips, 54, of Dartmouth Avenue in Cinnaminson, and assistant superintendent, William Yannarella, 53, of Delran.
Also arrested were:
- Jeffrey Lehman, 22, of Nassau Road in Cinnaminson, a sewerage authority employee
- Joseph B. Lehman, 26, of Nassau Road in Cinnaminson, a sewerage authority subcontractor
- Joseph J. Lehman Jr., 62, of Nassau Road in Cinnaminson, father of the Jeffrey and Joseph B. Lehman
- Carmelo Colon, 26, a sewerage authority employee, brother to Mike Colon and son-in-law of Phillips
- Mike Colon, 22, of Morgan Avenue in Cinnaminson, a sewerage authority employee, brother to Carmelo Colon
A warrant has been issued for part-time sewerage authority employee Scott Mayes Jr., 21, of Delran. He had not been taken into custody as of Wednesday afternoon. Authorities call him a “lesser player” in the case.
"This was a significant case," Cinnaminson Public Safety Director Michael P. King said in a statement. "It was the tireless efforts of those who conducted the investigation that brought it to a successful conclusion."
Stolen backhoe starts audit
An investigation by Cinnaminson Police and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office uncovered the three schemes involving a mix of the suspects, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said at a Wednesday press conference.
It all started with a missing, township-owned backhoe. Authorities allege that Phillips told Cinnaminson officials several years ago that the backhoe, purchased for about $8,700, needed more than $6,000 in repairs. The equipment was “deadlined” and taken out of rotation as not repairable.
In reality, the backhoe was in fine condition. The Lehmans, the prosecutor said, transported the backhoe to the elder Lehman’s home in the Poconos for personal use. When Cinnaminson authorities recovered the backhoe in December, it was in working order.
Larger wrongdoings uncovered
That incident prompted an audit of the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority, initiated by the authority’s board of commissioners. The board, whose members are appointed by the township committee, oversees the authority, which has 15 employees.
The authority maintains and operates Cinnaminson sewer systems and protects township waterways from pollution, according to New Jersey statute.
The audit and ensuing investigation uncovered two more schemes that cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. The board's solicitor later contacted the county prosecutor after uncovering suspect charges and practices within the authority. The prosecutor's office worked with Cinnaminson Police to investigate.
In one scheme, Phillips, Yannarella, Jeffrey Lehman and Carmelo Colon allegedly used their private J&B Environmental Services firm to provide sewer maintenance work for the Wyndham Hotel in Mt. Laurel.
The suspects “ran, for lack of a better term, a side business, dealing with businesses that needed the services of licensed sewerage individuals,” Bernardi said. “It turns out they were running their business on township time.”
Employees “showed up in authority vehicles, if you can believe it, and on some occasions wearing Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority uniforms while performing (private) work at the Wyndham,” Bernardi added.
The men ordered parts and supplies for their private firm and charged the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority for the costs.
“For instance, a pump that was needed to do their side job at the Wyndham Hotel would be vouchered and processed through the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority and paid for with taxpayer dollars,” Bernardi said. “Then that pump would be physically taken and installed at the Wyndham.”
The suspects barely bothered to cover their tracks, it seems. Surveillance footage shows one of the suspects moving a Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority 55-gallon drum of chemicals to the hotel, installing the drum and peeling off a Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority label.
The Wyndham has cooperated with the investigation and provided copies of payments to the private company and individuals arrested.
Police estimate that the suspects charged more than $50,000 to the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority for this side business.
The third part of the scam is “an aside, but a rather large aside,” the prosecutor said. The suspects in this part—Phillips, Yannarella, Jeffrey Lehman, Joseph B. Lehman, Carmelo Colon and Michael Colon—allegedly used sewerage authority funds to purchase personal items. Using a Camden firm, Contractor Services, the sewerage authority paid for seemingly legitimate items, like pumps. In reality, the suspects were using the funds to purchase a laundry list of home goods that were delivered directly to the suspects.
“Things such as washers and dryers, George Foreman grills, golf clubs, stereos, stereo radios for installation in cars, parts for cars, parts for motorcycles,” Bernardi listed, along with Dyson vacuum cleaners, televisions, towing accessories, entertainment centers and GPS systems.
The merchandise fraudulently ordered and used for personal use totals $44,000, the prosecutor said.
Search warrants executed on the suspects’ homes and cars turned up many of these items, according Bernardi. Others could have been thrown out or moved, he acknowledged, as the sewerage authority employees were suspended last week and therefore likely knew some kind of law enforcement action was imminent.
No charges have been filed so far against the sales manager at Contractor Services accused of facilitating the fraudulent purchases.
The employees and charges
The charged sewerage authority employees have nearly 60 years combined employment with Cinnaminson, according to an NJ.com database. They are:
Superintendent Paul Phillips, 54, is a 29-year veteran of the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority. His 2011 salary was $89,904, according to state records.
- Charges: three counts of corruption of public resources, falsifying/tampering with records, three counts of conspiracy-corruption of public resources, three counts of theft, conspiracy to commit theft and tampering with witnesses. Bail: $100,000 with an option to pay 10 percent.
Assistant Superintendent William Yannarella, 53, of Delran, has worked for the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority for 20 years. His annual salary in 2011 was $71,660.
- Charges: theft, conspiracy to commit theft, corruption of public resources, and conspiracy-corruption of public resources. Bail: $40,000 with an option to pay 10 percent.
Jeffrey Lehman, 22, an equipment operator, is a four-year sewerage-authority employee. His salary in 2011 was $36,984.
- Charges: three counts of theft, two counts of conspiracy to commit theft and corruption of public resources. Bail: $60,000 with an option to pay 10 percent.
Carmelo Colon, 26, is Phillips' son-in-law. He has worked for the sewerage authority for three years. His salary last year was $36,464.
- Charges: two counts of corruption of public resources, two counts of conspiracy-corruption of public resources, theft and conspiracy to commit theft. Bail: $60,000 with an option to pay 10 percent.
Colon's brother, Michael, 22, is a part-time sewerage authority employee who started last year. He was paid $7,071 in 2011. He is a township resident.
- Charges: theft and conspiracy to commit theft. Bail: $20,000 with an option to pay 10 percent.
Joseph B. Lehman, who is a subcontractor, is charged with theft and conspiracy to commit theft. Bail: $20,000 with an option to pay 10 percent.
Joseph J. Lehman Jr., who is not employed by the authority, is charged with theft and conspiracy to commit theft. Bail: $20,000 with an option to pay 10 percent.
The amount of Mayes' salary and his length of employment was not available.
Regional Editor Tim Zatzariny Jr. contributed to this report.
Update: Township officials and the sewerage authority react to the charges at Stronger Controls Promised After Alleged Sewerage Authority Fraud.
Eddy Iannuzzi
6:23 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wow, they did the work while driving Cinnaminson vehicles and wearing Cinnaminson work clothes...wow. I wonder how much of their wages Cinnaminson paid while they were off doing their side jobs on township time.
Nancy VanTwistern
6:27 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Seems to me that there are little checks and follow ups in the spending in Cinnaminson. How the heck could this have happened????????
Nancy VanTwistern
6:26 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
WHO was minding the store?? Are their no checks by the Township for the expenses of all their various departments? Doesn't the Township of Cinnaminson have an office/accounting dept. that ALL various departments have to answer to for their budgets? OR doesn't each department have their own budget limits etc... AND who decides just what these budget figures are/should be? Seems to me somebody wasn't minding the store properly. I know, it's hard to be 'suspicious' of those you work with and to 'check' up on fellor town workers. BUT, hopefully, this will be a lesson in proper management. AND, I know it's easy to criticize when you are not walking in the shoes of those you question..............BUT.............??????
Phil
6:31 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Nancy, see the comment section of the breaking news article. This authority is not under the jurisdiction of our Township Committee. The committee only appoints the commissioners, who, if I'm reading the information correctly, ordered the audit which started the process that lead to the arrests.
Ray Budden
7:00 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Good evening Phil, didn't the recovery of the stolen backhoe then prompt the Commissioners to launch an audit? The Board oversees the Authority which has 15 employees according to the story. When we learn the length of time that all these shenanigans were going on it would seem that they were not doing a very good job at oversight. $100,000 or more in theft under anyone's watch is not good. If the Backhoe incident didn't occur, would this still be going on? I will wait to see how this all shakes out, but I have to think that if I was in charge of 15 people and a few of them managed to steal $100,000 under my nose I shouldn't be in that position of responsibility any longer. So if the people involved are found guilty, then it is absolutely time to appoint a new commission. At least that is my opinion.
Phil
10:18 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Yes, that is what started the audit. I think changes will come about on the commission as well as probably more scrutiny across Cinnaminson's service departments. I don't know enough about the authority and the commissioners to truly understand their role and how much oversight/knowledge of the daily on-goings they are or are not to have. Reading the article, it appears items were invoiced as appropriate purchases but were either for the secondary job or blatant falsifying of items purchased with the other company. Again, that's based on the statements by the prosecutor's office in the article.
JimE
11:48 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I'm with Ray. Time for that Commission to be disbanded. 5 Commissioners for a 15 member department? Thats called legal theft, i suppose. I wonder how much that team is costing us every year? Probably a lot more than was stolen.
Christine T
6:27 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I totally support hiring from within the community. Unfortunately people like this ruin things for everyone. Sad!
Ken Miller
6:32 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Nancy, the sewage authority is not run by the township, they do not hire nor do they monitor the bills, for the police adn public works they do. They are a seperate entity that is overseen by an appointed board. These people were so slick that per the story they got away with this even after being audited for years. Unfortunetely, sometimes stuff happens and it isnt caught. from what i am reading here as soona s someone saw something wasnt right they reported it to the polcie and they investigated. And boy did they investigate. im sure if they dug deeper it would have been worse than this.
Nancy VanTwistern
10:21 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Thanks for the info...........
Jack Smith
6:34 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
What a great job by the Sewer Authority Commissioners sniffing out this corruption and to the Cinnaminson Police and the County Prosecutors Office for their investigation in what looks like a very elaborate scam. Way to bring these corrupt people to justice!
Phil
6:46 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Agreed!
Ruth Mays
6:37 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
If sewer authority employees have the time to run their own business on company time, perhaps the authority has too many employees. Small wonder that the Authority needed to raise our fees, since the money was used to buy supplies for a private business the employees were running, and to buy items for their own houses. Isn't it nice that the citizens of Cinnaminson can afford to buy presents for those employees! About that rate increase- any chance of getting it rolled back since the money was apparently not used for sewer authority purposes? How about some restitution, and some oversight? How about some new sewer authority commissioners??? Kind of makes one wonder what else we don't know about, doesn't it?
Nancy VanTwistern
10:26 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Good Idea...........and forget about the money.............will never be replaced or returned to Cinnaminson
lynda Dawson
7:23 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Years ago, after the township committee tried to use a surplus to install sewer lines for a development where the mayors parents, and Diane Allen lived, I started going to Sewer Authority meetings. They purchased very expensive equipment and months later decided they could not use it. Fortunately there were nice friends of the authority willing to take this worthless equipment off their hands for a piddling amount. Made me sick.
Jane L
6:38 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
If all that is wrong is how long they've worked there, does that make them innocent? Didn't think so.
JoAnn Phelps
6:39 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
If found guilty, I hope restitution and jail time are part of the sentencing. I would even limit family visitations but that would be rediculous since they are all related. This is corruption at its worst! Sad.
Thomas p
6:41 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Your kidding right jack?
JimE
11:51 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Ya, Jack must be on the payroll too! : /
Karl
6:44 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
One way to reduce corruption like this would be to ban relatives from all working together in one public entity. Someone might have pulled the plug on this sooner if they were not all related. Also how about a rule if you want to work for the township you don't have a side job or business in the same industry.
Ken Miller
6:59 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Karl, i couldnt agree more, if you look at this its basically 2 families. I do kinda feel bad for the younger guys involved, even though they are adults , you figure its damn tempting to run a side errand and earn a little side cash. I just hope that the 2 in charge pay dearly, what an abuse of power and pure arrogance to do this and get away with it for soo long. In all honesty, this could have happened anywhere and i dont feel that i person or the commission is to blame.It is darn near impossible to check every line item or every bill that comes in, esp if it makes sense. In any organization when the top people are doing the thieving its hard to catsch. GREAT job by the county and CPD!
JimE
12:01 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
These kids didn't mastermind anything, thats for sure. The old Dogs were most likely running this game long before any of these 20 something kids got the jobs. It a dam shame to have a thing like that on your record when they were just a pawn. The Superintendents should fry for this. They are the responciple party here.
Pam T.
7:47 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
And you wonder why our taxes are so high, because of scum bags like this working for the township. How do these people sleep at night? Thank goodness justice has been served. Patch, excellent reporting as always!
Phil
10:19 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Sewerage Authority gets no tax money, all their operating income comes from the rates they charge and the bills we all get every quarter.
Mike
7:55 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Amanda thank you for warning us about all of the incorrect information in this story. This is probably one big conspiracy created by the police department as an excuse to harass innocent people.
Nancy VanTwistern
10:23 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
OMG..............come on now, Mike.........are you serious?????
Tom M
11:35 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Call me crazy, but I think Mike was being sarcastic.
Pam T.
7:58 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Mike, I'm sensing some sarcasm in your comment! Good job to the Cinnaminson Police Department!
Mary
8:00 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
are you people kidding when you say innocent people???? these people stole tons of money....stealing is STEALING...its illegal...i know you guys aren't that dumb to think these men are innocent....well put Pam T. about why our taxes go up and we are constantly wondering why!!!!
FbS
8:02 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
way to go guys. Glad you found these guys abusing their power.. Hope they pay
Deborah Hilton
8:10 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I doubt that the prosecutor's office would proceed on unfounded accusations. The truth will come out. I agree that there should be a ban or restriction on relatives being employed in the same department. This is a shameful example of nepotism running rampant.
Thomas p
8:22 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wonder why investigation went down the ladder, to the small players. One would think the commissioners should have been aware, that's what they are paid for right?
Phil
10:24 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I'm not 100% sure that they are paid positions, unless I'm getting them confused with positions with our Public Works dept.
Bill Craythorn
8:30 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I feel befor you call them scum and trash u should probably wait till everything is over with cause as of right now they are innocent till proven guilty so very quick to
Pass judgement
Tom M
9:12 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Seems to me, from reading the article, that the accused did a pretty good job of covering up their alleged misdeeds. I would find it hard to blame the commission for not questioning too many pumps being billed. According to the invoices, they were buying "necessary" equipment to do the work of the Sewage Department. If the immediate supervisors are involved, it is hard to catch these things early. It is easy to quickly place blame, but wait to see how this plays out in court before blaming the township or board.
Nancy VanTwistern
10:24 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Somebody 'wasn't' paying attention, it seems
Tom g.
11:44 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
This incident is a compelling reason to consider outsourcing the operation to professional companies that already are operating utilities like the CSA. Their scale has modern systems in place that would have caught this scam way earlier. If it did happen, the outsourced would be responsible for the restitution to the rate payers. I am an former long time Cinnaminson resident ( over 30 yrs) who moved to a totally outsourced community www.westonfl.com. We have the lowest tax rate and none of the political and provincial BS that you guys experience. Just saying ....just a suggestion.
tom s
1:07 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Tom G. is absoultely correct. Outsoucing, while having it's own problems, is a proven way to reduce fraud in government. Quite honestly, however.....all in Cinna. are responsible. These folks lived in our nieghborhoods and were obviously living above their means.....one look at the adult toys parked in the yard, driveway, etc. at the Philips house would've raised suspicion in and of itself.
What is truly a shame is that our elected officials did not have the skills or the policies and procedures in place to prevent this. You can see the same sort of corruption in the way the fire, police and school budgets are administered....absolutely no oversight from township committee resulting in unabted tax increases....It might be time to move to Camden
Christina Paciolla
11:54 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
A few people asked this question so I thought I'd throw this out there. The commissioners are appointed to oversee the department. Their salaries are stipends—less than $2,000 for the year. I will be writing more stories with information such as this in there, so stay with us. Patch is the only place you'll find the most comprehensive details of this story! Thanks.
Phil
7:06 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Thanks for the information Christina. I think the questions on this story and the other one show how much we, as a community, really don't know about the Sewerage Authority.
Thomas p
5:29 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Really Tom m.? The article states "they barely tried to cover their own tracks" I would say it's time to go up this ladder of deception. Deputy mayor minniti is now praising the people that should have been watching the store? Makes me wonder why he feels this is necessary . Investigaters please climb this ladder of fraud.
Tom M
10:17 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
"Barely tried to cover their own tracks" to the people overseeing the daily operations...who were involved! I am not denying that this could go even higher up, but lets focus on what the prosecutor has found so far, instead of speculating.
calvin ritter
6:04 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
they dont mention the board member that set the wheels in motion for the rundown backhoe to used as payment to the mechanic's form of payment for the diaognostic had died 2 years ago
JimE
10:11 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Died! I think not! He was wacked by the CSA Gang!
I don't know if any of you have ever driven by a Sewer Plant, but these Dark Knights of Discharge probable deserve every dollar they stole!
.
.
I hear there are some openings if anyones interested.
IAM Anonymous
7:03 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Amanda Colon - are you despairing as your father and husband are in jail? How many items did they secure for your home - washer, dryer, tv entertainment system, george forman grill, etc????
Nancy VanTwistern
9:09 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Think that should be checked out.....????? Many new items????
calvin ritter
7:41 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
dont throw stones when u live in a glass house down with the board
Tom M
10:19 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Calvin - How are you related to the people involved? Where do you get all of your "inside" information? Please start sharing. Why hold back? Yet again, can we please point out that the sewage authority has no bearing on the township budget.
IAM Anonymous
8:28 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Right!!!! Just like a backhoe disappeared into thin air!!! Hours away!!! Also, I am not related to any of our police, nor personally friendly with them, but feel that they are doing a good job in Cinnaminson, especially in light of the cutbacks!
Matt Gideon
8:39 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Christina...nice job reporting as always. Keep up your good work
calvin ritter
9:00 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
again you ppl have no idea how much will be exposed dont be surprised when police and township official are also arrested too these charges will be dropped to expose the larger crimes at hand
calvin ritter
9:51 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
expose them all ! i know what i know and it will open up some closets full of skelitons ! its all hes said thats why everything is conspiracy for this or that and the failure to make note to the public that a board member who is no longer alive aproved the backhoe to be release to the sub contractor as a form of payment
Mole
10:02 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Great News! I just saved a bundle by playing hopscotch in a speedo! You can save too!
Jon B
10:12 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
I can't believe that you people are shocked by this. It's 12 years! But wait there's more ...
Susan Mazza Murnane
10:24 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
I find this news very disturbing. To make it even more disturbing is they were all being paid decent salaries. People are losing their homes because they don't have jobs, and these yahoos are getting a salary and stealing. A totally new horrific type of thief, not some guy who is hungry or desperate, just bad old fashioned greed at is height of despicable. .
Nancy VanTwistern
9:10 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Right on Susan!!!
calvin ritter
10:28 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
how bout the fact the man who ran his mouth took stuff too but his name is not on the list his family and friends werent exploited! yet its ok for him and hes an employee! lets not forget that comtractor services donated all the snow blowers and tvs for tax payers wich was a free raffle for cinnaminson day and paul encouraged all vendors to help make cinnaminson a better day for his for the tax payers since the 1st event
calvin ritter
10:33 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
these men are victums they are hanging for false crimes to distract the larger criminals at hand the scadals are much uglier than 44$ in donated items for hope of continues business with the township !
calvin ritter
10:34 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
scandals*
Tom M
10:35 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Of all your grammatical errors, that's the one you chose to fix???
Linda DiMassimo
10:46 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
I am deeply sadden, by all this!
Boo Radley
12:22 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
YEAH BOYS NAILED EM'
calvin ritter
10:47 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
on my phone dude tiny font !
Mole
10:50 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
That's what she said
Matt Dreby
3:32 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Shut up nerm
Boo Radley
12:21 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
right on
calvin ritter
10:59 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
mole from andover lol
Karen Milligan
12:14 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
....and the nepotism???
Zuzu
1:19 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
This is a disgrace. Our "distinguished" mayor praises the very same people who let this happen under their watch. The entire board and authority should be cleared entirely! Make an example that this will not be tolerated. This is what happens when nepotism is rampant and no one is watching. There was a story recently about a school in CA that removed the entire teaching staff because of an incident with just a few. This was to instill confidence in the community and to start fresh. We should be doing the same thing in this situation.
Pam T.
2:04 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
What truly baffles me is that nobody noticed a Backhoe was missing? How long did that go unnoticed? Sounds to me there are quite a few people on the payroll not doing a thing.
Zuzu
3:33 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
That's because the families were looking out for one another. This is what happens with so much nepotism. There is no oversight.
Jon B
2:09 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
It's going around town that the backhoe was missing for sometime and by that we are talking OVER 12 years! So there has been a lot of "side businesses" going on at every level.
dajoepa75
2:47 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
May this is too simple. If the township did not want to take over the authority because of its debt, who was overseeing the budget and why they were in the red? If the employees were working their other business during work hours who checked to see if work projects were actually completed and completed on time and within budget? Is anyone checking to see if work that was to be completed even got done and if it was done properly?
Bruce
6:53 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
that's the job of the superintendent duh!....remember?....he's the one they arrested!.This is not Ben or Tony's job !
Nancy VanTwistern
9:13 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Yea, what about 'work orders' and those checked out by inspectors to show work done?? What a _U*&& way to do business......and I worked for years in accounting for a big business........WHY NO CHECKS AND BALANCES ETC. ETC.
Jon B
3:05 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
JimE we all know what it says but do you want the truth? It was over 12 years!!!!
JimE
1:41 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
I don't know where you get your facts from Jon. But you are a fool! I know for a fact!!!
I was deadlined like Phil says below because it cost too much to repair a 12 year old piece of equipment than to buy a new one. It was given in lue of work already done that had been billed to the township. Just because the prosecutors said it was working does not mean it was working correctly.
The story here is the Superintendants running a side business with township resources. The other crap is all hype! So, go somewhere else to spew your unfounded rumors!
Phil
3:39 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wow, no one is reading the article. The backhoe wasn't "stolen" in the sense of it was taken off the property and no on reported it. It was deemed "unfixable" and "deadlined" which means the piece of equipment is removed from operational use due to it being in unworkable condition with no recourse of fixing it. According to the article as described by the prosecutors, it was in perfectly fine condition and being used on the elder Lehman's home in the Poconos. Whether it was truly fixed up or left the premise in perfect condition and was not in need of fixing is part of the case the prosecution will present.
Tommy Salerno
3:50 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
There are a lot of 'toms' in cinnaminson!
Boo Radley
12:23 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
can it tommy!
IAM Anonymous
4:57 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
a total disgrace for all the hardworking, honest living residents of Cinnaminson! Greed and politics go hand in hand. There were so fine candidates running this last election, but, once again the old boys club got re-elected, one while even hiding the state of his personal affairs. And let's not forget the site of those sewer authoritiy trucks and personnel - teams of them - idling along the town! I hope that they are sentenced to jail time for all of their greed. And as was mentioned in a prior comment - look at the "toys" in front of the Phillips home!
Nancy VanTwistern
9:17 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Reminds me of a town I lived in for 37 yrs....worked in the library and saw how the public works people "worked"...coffee breaks at 8AM when they started work, long lunches and much malingering, sitting around and 'stretching jobs'...Cinn is not the first town with 'wastes/crooks' and not proper oversite. Seems too many people need to be monitored..........
Linda DiMassimo
5:08 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
I surely do not condone what was done, anymore than I do by trashing people without using one's name.
Nancy VanTwistern
9:18 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Linda..........we all 'know' the names so your post is mote.......too late Linda...it's all out in the open...............
Linda DiMassimo
1:16 pm on Saturday, February 18, 2012
Nancy..... I do not know the names of people that don't put there names. I think it is cowardly to hide behind a mask.
Boo Radley
12:24 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
wooooooooo hooooooooooo
calvin ritter
7:20 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
false info feed to the police by a sewer authority employee for his own gain
he also had his hands dirty and is a gambler who close friends with a current Cinnamonson policeman !!
calvin ritter
7:23 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
corruption goes further up the chain !!!!!!! and thats why the township is trying to take out the workers who fought to share services with schools and pubic works to avoid the Authority's funds being turned over to the town which would raise taxes
calvin ritter
7:25 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
lets not for get tvs were mention as items received for personal use ?? Were there not Tvs raffled off by the sewer authority on Cinnaminson Day ??? i think they were !!!! so dont believe everything ppl !!!!
Prefer not to say
10:30 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Hopefully they will check on the Public Works Department next. Nothing but politics in that arena as well.
Bruce
6:49 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
tough to use real names here when you have x-cops telling citizens to "watch their backs"...
dajoepa75
7:02 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Bruce where in my comment above did I mention current committee members. The superintendent had to have a boss and someone evaluating him. The commissioners oversaw the authority and it was "semi-independent" per the other patch article. So who did the superintendent report to? Please leave the "DUH" for the Simpsons. I'm sorry if you were hurt or offended but I mentioned neither of the two members. You did.
Jon B
7:36 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Bruce I think the x-cop was saying watch your back because it sounds like your house of cards is going to start to fall as well.
chris
8:15 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
You want some cheese with that whine ?
Boo Radley
12:25 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
god damn right
Bruce
7:34 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
I think you will find that nowhere do the Mayor or council inspect sewer dept. work. Most towns have a contracted engineer that would inspect the work being done.
dajoepa75
7:41 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Ok, the work is inspected by the contracted engineer. Who evaluates the performance of the superintendent and the budget for the work. I don't know; I am asking and again I did not specifically ask about council members. I work for the state; someone had to be overseeing the superintendent and the budget for work contracts. Who was that? Even my managers at the highest level are reviewed. I am not opposed to reviewing our whole township as some others have commented here to be sure we as residents are putting our money where it was intended.
lynda Dawson
8:10 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Hey Bruce, Are you by any chance affiliated in some way with the township committee or related to someone on there? I am not trying to be a smart aleck...just really wonder who you are and why you are so convinced they are absolutely blameless.
Nancy VanTwistern
9:21 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
As I said before, worked in accounting for a long time in a large company...for the VP of Finance..........AND believe me, there were follow ups on everything...if a dept. didn't do it's job right...someone was replaced pronto......but then, I guess a small town administrative duties are different than a large corporation. I just don't understand how it could have happened.....seems hafl=assed to me.
Nancy VanTwistern
9:22 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
No wonder our taxes keep going up up up up up up up...................
if u only knew
10:12 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012
who is the liason for the sewerage authority
Christina Paciolla
12:24 pm on Saturday, February 18, 2012
There is no liaison. They are not under the jurisdiction of the township committee.
Honest Taxpayer
11:40 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012
Wow. So many good hard working people out of work and these theives are stealing on top of their salries. Move over and allow some honest people to work.
dajoepa75
6:46 pm on Saturday, February 18, 2012
I have to give kudos to some of our township residents and their ingenuity. If you go to a screen name's "board", you can see how long some posters have been on Patch. Many of the screen names are new to the comments section (only one or two posts) yet the wording and topics are very familiar. To have multiple screen names is very industrious; do you have to have a new email address each time to add the name. If so, you have spent alot of time adding all these handles to keep anonymous. Alot of effort; those with multiple handles, you keep it interesting but you may want to change it up once in awhile in the comments so no one will catch on.
Kevin
6:16 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
The best part of all this is that i guarentee 85 percent of you peoe trashing these csa employees would have done the same thing given the chance and some of you probably have done little scams within the places u work for....lol but since they are involved with the township its the end of the world....but that being said it is completely dumb that they did this and
also Involved these young kids who are easlily influenced
dajoepa75
6:20 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
???
Ruth Mays
7:11 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
Kevin, you have got to be kidding. No way would I have run a scam on my employer, ever. I certainly don't think 85% of the people here would have done so either.
Boo Radley
12:27 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
YEAH THE BOYS NAILED EM' YEAH BOYS! WOOOOOOOOO
Kevin
12:49 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
To answer ur ?? Marks paula i just love how people are so quick to judge of course they are morons for doing what they did but the worst part is that thet got this kids to rhese things too....and they now have records and why do u care if people want to post with different names and how they spend their time....apparently u have no life also if u recognize their style of writing under their difderent names
Kevin
12:58 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
And nancy if u dont understand how it happened ill explain it to u....a couplr of idiots started a scam and got away with it for awhile nothing more nothing less.....its not some big scam that half the township committee was involved in.....get a life people and stop trying to look so deep into this....AGAIN A COUPLE OF IDIOTS STARTED A SCAM AND GOT AWAY WITH FOR AWHILE....DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUEAYION BIG CORPORATE ACCOUNTANT
Cinnaminson Resident
12:25 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Where can my son go to apply for one of the jobs? He would gladly work for less than $36,000 a year and be grateful for the work!
Bill
7:24 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/01/ex-police_chief_enters_pretria.html
This guy stole guns and got PTI and a full pension(lifetime vacation). The Cinnamins stole a hole digger and their life is ruined. The chief turned himself in because his conscience was bothering him(Yeah Right).....Only in NJ......
Linda DiMassimo
2:01 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012
I think that once this whole thing comes fully out there will be a lot more heads to roll. This whole thing is beyond sad for our town and the for the family members that did not have a clue on what was happening. People make mistakes and this was a big one. Some how we need to heal this town, in the past few years there has been far to much angry and hostility. I am sure after I post this, some shots will be thrown at me for saying all this. But I really dont care I just want some healing going on. I am not afraid to put my name.