Freehold: Superior Court employee altered checks

A finance clerk working for the state Superior Court in Monmouth County has been charged with theft and official misconduct for altering checks collectively worth more than $18,000, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

Lisa Morton, 41, of Freehold was arrested Feb. 15 and released on her own recognizance, Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said. She had been a court employee for more than 20 years and was most recently a supervisor assigned to the court's finance division in Ocean Township, the Prosecutor's Office said.

Prosecutor's detectives began investigating the alleged check-altering in December, Valentin said. Investigators allege Morton altered 23 checks totaling $7,553 and deposited them into her personal bank account, he said. Another 20 checks, totaling $11,280, were also altered, but not cashed due to a stop-payment order, he said.

"Morton violated the trust of her superiors and the fiduciary responsibility that she owed to the people of the state," Valentin said. "This constituted a significant breach of her duties as a public servant."

Valentin said the scheme came to light when the Trial Court Administrator's Office spotted irregularities and called the Prosecutor's Office.

Official misconduct is a second-degree crime and carries a maximum prison term of 10 years upon conviction, the Prosecutor's Office said. The theft and attempted theft are third-degree crimes, and each carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison upon conviction, prosecutors said.

The New Jersey Criminal Code lists a presumption of incarceration for second-degree criminal convictions. Third-degree crimes do not carry that presumption, according to the code, and probation is generally recommended for people who are convicted of those crimes and do not have prior criminal records, prosecutors said.

Morton was fired on Dec. 14, 2007, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

Passaic County: Freeholder cites threat of charges in budget vote

BY PAUL BRUBAKER

Passaic County Freeholder Terry Duffy said he felt pressured to support a $10 million budget fix because of the county counsel's warning in December of possible criminal charges and a government shutdown.

But exactly what County Counsel William Pascrell III said at the Dec. 11 closed-door meeting is disputed among the freeholders. Meanwhile, Pascrell won't release transcripts and recordings of the meeting, citing attorney-client privilege.

County taxpayers will have to pay back the $10 million, plus interest, in the 2008 tax levy, which has been projected to increase about $25 million. Average cost per property owner will be known when the county's 2008 budget is introduced on March 11.

Duffy said he originally intended to vote against the resolution to borrow $10 million to replace revenue expected from the failed golf course sale. Duffy's opposition would have killed the measure.

But Duffy changed his mind after Pascrell's warnings of possible criminal charges and a likely government shutdown.

"I recall being told that we really don't have a choice," Duffy said in a recent interview. "Bottom line was that we'd be skirting our obligations. We really had no recourse. It was mandated actually from the [state] Local Finance Board director. I'm not here to violate the law."

The measure passed in a 5-2 vote, with Freeholders James Gallagher and Bruce James dissenting. The state's Local Budget Law requires a two-third majority of the seven-member board on emergency appropriations.

Other freeholders described the closed discussion as "intense" and "very heated," but no one else contacted on Monday recalled Pascrell advising that they were on the verge of committing a crime.

"I presented an alternative," Gallagher said, "staff reductions."

Freeholder Elease Evans said she distinctly remembered the possibility of county government closing.

"If it didn't go through, we had no alternative," said Evans, who was freeholder director at the time. "What else would we do other than close the doors?"

Earlier in December, a state appeals court had blocked sale of the county golf course, leaving a $10 million gap in the 2007 county budget. The freeholders' agenda on Dec. 11 indicated that the $10 million appropriation was ordered by state Division of Local Government Services. The $10 million was raised through short-term borrowing that must be paid back this year, with interest, with county taxes.

Pascrell would not comment Monday on whether he advised the freeholders that rejecting the resolution was a crime because the closed session was protected by attorney-client privilege. He repeated a statement he made that the memo from the Division of Local Government Services was tantamount to a court order.

"It's an administrative determination by the executive branch [of state government] for the freeholders," Pascrell said. "The agency was responding to the appellate decision and they were directing the freeholders to act. Had they not acted they would have suffered the consequences."

5 GOP candidates lining up for Monmouth County freeholder seats

Five candidates, including incumbent Lillian G. Burry, are in the race so far to win Monmouth County Republican Party endorsements in this year's election for two freeholder seats.

Today is the deadline for any additional candidates to declare their intention to
meet with the party's screening committee, said party Chairman Adam Puharic.

The other seat at stake this year is held by Republican William C. Barham, who
announced two weeks ago he is not seeking reelection. Control of the freeholder board is at stake. Republicans currently hold a 3-2 majority.

Besides Burry, the other candidates for party endorsements are Red Bank Councilman John Curley, Holmdel Mayor Serena DiMaso, former Howell Planning Board member Russ Bohlin and Neptune resident Eileen Kean, director of government affairs for the Medical Society of New Jersey.

Puharic said about 20 members of the party's screening committee will meet with
candidates at party headquarters in Freehold on Saturday. The committee can then forward endorsements for one or both open freeholder seats to delegates at the party convention, scheduled for March 26 at the Middletown VFW.

By Bob Jordan