June 17, 2010
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– Stephen J. Taylor, Director
Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925
Former Administrator of Jersey City Municipal Court Pleads Guilty to Official Misconduct for Fixing Parking Tickets
TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that Virginia Pagan, the former Administrator of the Jersey City Municipal Court, pleaded guilty today to official misconduct for fixing parking tickets.
According to Director Taylor, Pagan, 55, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty today to second-degree official misconduct before Superior Court Judge Harry G. Carroll in Bergen County. That charge was contained in a July 14, 2008 state grand jury indictment obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that she be sentenced to three years in state prison. Pagan resigned from her court position in September 2007 after her alleged misconduct came to light. She will be permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.
In pleading guilty, Pagan admitted that between Nov. 9, 1999 and April 1, 2007, she used her official position to access the court’s computer record system and make entries dismissing 215 parking tickets, carrying potential fines in excess of $5,000, which had been issued to her and her daughter. Under the plea agreement, Pagan must pay full restitution for the fines, penalties and costs associated with the dismissed tickets.
“Ms. Pagan tried to put herself above the law by dismissing hundreds of parking tickets issued to her and her daughter, rather than paying them like everyone else,” said Attorney General Dow. “This guilty plea sends a powerful message that no one is above the law.”
“The courts must stand for fairness and justice,” said Director Taylor. “There is no room in our judicial system for this type of illegal, self-serving conduct by court officials.”
Deputy Attorney General Richard Queen took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Judge Carroll scheduled sentencing for Pagan for Aug. 20.
On June 4, Wanda Molina, 51, of Jersey City, the former Chief Judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court, pleaded guilty before Judge Carroll to tampering with public records or information, a third-degree offense, and falsifying records, a fourth-degree offense. Those charges were contained in a Dec. 11, 2008 state grand jury indictment.
In pleading guilty, Molina admitted that between October 30, 2006 and April 2, 2007, she took judicial action to dismiss eight parking tickets that were issued to a close personal companion. The Court Rules and the Code of Judicial Conduct strictly prohibit judges from hearing cases if they have any personal interest in them or if anyone close to them does. She admitted that she wrote the word “emergency” on three of the tickets, falsely indicating that there were compelling circumstances to justify the illegal parking, when in fact there were not. In connection with her plea, Molina will pay restitution in the amount of the dismissed tickets.
The state will recommend that Molina receive a sentence of probation conditioned on her serving up to 364 days in the county jail. Molina resigned from her judgeship on Sept. 21, 2007 in connection with this case, and she will be permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Carroll on Aug. 27.
Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice J. Gallipoli initially investigated allegations regarding irregularities in the disposition of tickets in Jersey City Municipal Court. He referred the matter to the Attorney General’s Office.
The case was investigated by Detective Lisa Cawley and Sgt. Lisa A. Shea of the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Deputy Attorney General Asha Vaghela presented the cases to the state grand jury.
Attorney General Dow noted that the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau has established a toll-free Corruption Tipline for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The statewide Corruption Tipline is 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. Additionally, the public can log on to the Division of Criminal Justice Web site 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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