Click here to view the report.
(WHITE TWP., AUGUST 9, 2007) – An investigation ordered by Warren County Freeholders John DiMaio and Richard D. Gardner has exonerated three members of the county’s Pollution Control Financing Authority of any wrongdoing involving the deposit of authority funds.
The investigation report, which DiMaio and Gardner accepted and ordered released to the public, found no evidence that Pollution Control Financing Authority members Angelo Accetturo, Laurel Napolitani and Freeholder Director Everett A. Chamberlain acted improperly in any way.
At issue were allegations from then-PCFA Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Long that Accetturo and Napolitani had improperly steered the investment of $1 million in PCFA funds to First Hope Bank, where Chamberlain is a board member.
After the allegations were made public, DiMaio and Gardner hired retired Superior Court Judge Douglas K. Wolfson to conduct an investigation and report back to them. Chamberlain has recused himself from all freeholder board discussions involving the situation.
“Mr. Gardner and I thank the Honorable Douglas K. Wolfson, J.S.C. (Ret.) for his thorough investigation,” DiMaio said during a special Freeholder Board meeting called to release the report.
“It is important to remember that it was County Counsel Joseph J. Bell who first provided the letter from then-PCFA attorney James Broscious and the certification from then-PCFA Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Long, in which the allegations were raised, to law enforcement,” DiMaio said, referring to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“To the best of our knowledge, no law enforcement agency at any level has expressed interest in investigating the allegations, so this administrative investigation done through the Freeholder Board must serve as the best available answer,” DiMao. |
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Gardner noted that Judge Wolfson took sworn statements from 10 people, including current and former PCFA officials and representatives of First Hope Bank, and reviewed numerous PCFA documents, individual cell phone records and documentation, and correspondence from First Hope Bank and other banks.
Wolfson’s findings of fact, assessment and recommendations included that:
- There was no credible evidence that either Accetturo or Napolitani engaged in any improper conduct with respect to the investment of PCFA funds.
- Accetturo and Napolitani did not “interfere” in the investment process but acted in accordance with their duties as PCFA Finance Committee members by discussing how to maximize the PCFA’s return on its invested funds by splitting the deposit between two financial institutions, including First Hope Bank. The suggestion was “not only proper, but prudent,” Judge Wolfson concluded.
- The allegations were not corroborated by evidence gathered in sworn depositions.
- Contrary to his initial assertion, Long did not object to the proposal to split the funds between two banks when it was raised during a PCFA Finance Committee meeting.
- The PCFA’s Request for Proposals from banks, as drafted and managed by Long, was unclear and contradictory. It also did not call for a completely liquid investment.
- There is no evidence to support Long’s assertion that proposals from banks were to be confidential.
- It is recommended that the PCFA’s investment process be clarified by the adoption of policies and procedures clearly delineating how the authority’s Cash Management Plan is to be implemented.
Click here to view the report. |