January 8, 2010
Office of The Attorney General
– Anne Milgram, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Director
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Essex County Superintendent of Elections Carmine Casciano Charged with Official Misconduct
Allegedly gave unauthorized paid days off to county employees who worked on campaigns
TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Ricardo Solano Jr. and Division of Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that Essex County Superintendent of Elections Carmine Casciano was charged today with official misconduct for allegedly giving unauthorized paid days off to county employees who worked on political campaigns.
According to Director Gramiccioni, Casciano, 63, of West Caldwell, was charged today by complaint summons with second-degree official misconduct. The charge stems from a joint investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Corruption Unit. Casciano will be ordered to appear in Superior Court in Essex County at a later date to answer the charges.
The complaint charges that between Jan. 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2008, Casciano, in his position as Essex County Commissioner of Registration and Superintendent of Elections, orchestrated a scheme in which employees of his office would be given unauthorized paid days off to compensate them for vacation days they used to work on political campaigns.
The complaint alleges that Casciano instructed one or more county employees to maintain an unauthorized log of vacation days used by county employees to work on political campaigns and paid days off owed to those employees to compensate them under the scheme. It is further alleged that, in an attempt to conceal evidence of a crime, he instructed one or more county employees to alter and/or destroy records related to vacation days and unauthorized paid days off of employees who participated in the scheme.
The official misconduct charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison, a criminal fine of up to $150,000 and a lifetime ban on any future public employment.
The investigation was led for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau by Deputy Attorney General Vincent Militello, Sgt. James Scott, and Sgt. Lisa Shea. It was conducted for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Corruption Unit by Assistant Prosecutor Brandon Minde, Detective David Sanabria and Detective Elizabeth Bazan. Deputy Attorney General Christopher Romanyshyn, Analyst Kathleen Ratliff and all of the detectives in the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau North provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
Because the charge is an indictable offense, the case is subject to presentation to a grand jury for potential indictment. The charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Acting Attorney General Solano and Director Gramiccioni noted that the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau has established a toll-free Corruption Tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. Additionally, the public can log on to the Division of Criminal Justice Web page at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing. All information received through the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Tipline or Web page will remain confidential.
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