Stronger Controls Promised After Alleged Sewerage Authority Fraud

After five Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority employees were arrested Wednesday on theft and corruption charges, authority commissioners are calling for an immediate implementation of initiatives to ensure ethical behavior in the department.

“The authority will not tolerate the type of activities identified today,” according to a statement sent by Cindy Doerr, administrator of the sewerage authority.

Seven men were arrested—five authority employees—in what Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi called a “brazen attempt” to defraud taxpayers.

Prosecutors alleged a three-part scheme that totaled more than $100,000 in fraudulent charges and stolen equipment and supplies.

Brad Smith, sewerage authority solicitor, said he made initial contact with the prosecutor’s office after an audit uncovered a missing backhoe, a piece of authority equipment.

“Certain allegations came to the attention of a couple commissioners, with respect to this backhoe and that it’s missing,” Smith said Wednesday night.

Audits were scrutinized to see if the piece of equipment was inventoried. It was discovered the backhoe was deleted from the audit, Smith said minutes of meetings were checked to see if the board had authorized any disposition of the vehicle.

“There was no such disposition,” Smith said. “There appeared there may have been some misconduct there.”

Commissioners decided to involve law enforcement. Smith contacted the prosecutor’s office on Nov. 22. It was then turned over to Cinnaminson Police.

“They did an absolutely wonderful job in investigating what was going on that had resulted in these charges,” Smith said.

Cinnaminson Public Safety Directory Michael P. King called the case “significant” and lauded investigators' work as “tireless.”

Deputy Mayor Anthony Minniti commended the Sewerage Authority commissioners for bringing the mishap to light.

“This is the sort of thing swept under the rug so nobody finds out,” he said. “In this situation, that’s not what happened. They went right to law enforcement.”

Minniti also took this as an opportunity to encourage all township entities to have a little extra oversight.

"From the school board, to the township committee, to the fire district—they can all use this as a running exercise to demonstrate no matter how much you think you can trust your staff, you have to look very closely at operations at all times,” Minniti said. “It's a learning opportunity for all the entities in town. Township committee is going to take a second look at the way we oversee things. Everyone right on down should follow suit."

The authority maintains and operates Cinnaminson sewer systems and protects township waterways from pollution, according to New Jersey statute. It is a separate autonomous department in town. Township committee appoints the five commissioners who oversee the authority’s employees. Employees there are paid through sewer rates, not township tax dollars.

Therefore, township committee oversight is “very, very limited,” Minniti said.

He did say authority commissioners met with law enforcement to find out how they can better install safeguards.

“When you look at how high the conspiracy to defraud went, it's very, very difficult to have any better oversight than we have," Minniti said. "This is proof the system works. I think the authority is going to look at ways to be even better than they are.”

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