Thomas Sundstrom, 67, of Southampton, pleaded guilty to third-degree official misconduct in Superior Court in Mercer County. In the plea agreement, the state recommended that he serve 364 days in county jail.
Sundstrom said he gave away the state equipment at the direction of his supervisor, David Winkler, 47, of Bordentown. He and Winkler were indicted in November. Winkler's charges are pending.
Among those who received gear was Sundstrom's coworker Dominick Mangine, 45, of Jackson, N.J., who has pleaded guilty. Sundstrom also provided equipment to workers assigned to the Hamilton, Mercer County, warehouse through a state-run Juvenile Justice Commission work-study program.
The state does not intend to charge the juveniles in the program, the attorney general's spokesman Peter Aseltine said.
"They were told that they could take the equipment," he said.
Sundstrom was required by the state to forfeit his state job and will be barred from further public employment in New Jersey. He is free on $20,000 bail and his sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29. He could face a fine of up to $15,000.
The state investigation into the warehouse began when treasury officials found that William Gawroski III, 33, of Hamilton, was taking illegal payments from Bruin Computer Trading L.L.C., a New York company that recycles and trades computer parts.
In return, Gawroski helped the company secure more valuable equipment when the state auctioned off surplus computer gear.
The probe quickly expanded to include allegations that warehouse employees were taking home state-owned computers supplied by Sundstrom.
Additionally, Winkler, Mangine, Gawroski, and James Mate, 49, of Yardville, N.J., were accused of taking surplus metal equipment such as desks and filing cabinets to an unapproved recycler, selling it for cash as scrap metal, and splitting $24,292 in profits.
Mangine, Gawroski, and Mate have all pleaded guilty to official misconduct.
source:www.philly.com
No comments:
Post a Comment