Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a New York attorney was convicted at trial of conspiring with a former engineer for the New Jersey Department of Transportation to solicit a railroad company to fraudulently inflate the cost of a state-funded railroad repair project and pay them $325,000 in bribes.
The DOT engineer previously pleaded guilty.
Ernest J. Dubose, 34, of Jersey City, N.J., (formerly of Boston, Mass.), was found guilty late yesterday (April 20) by a Morris County jury of second-degree charges of conspiracy, official misconduct, bribery in official and political matters, attempted theft by deception, and false contract payment claims.
The verdict followed a month-long trial before Superior Court Judge James M. DeMarzo. The charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison.
Deputy Attorneys General Veronica Allende and Jane Khodarkovsky tried the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Detective Richard Lane served as the trial detective and Analyst Nathalie Kurzawa provided administrative and technical support. Dubose was taken into custody immediately after the verdict. He is scheduled for sentencing on May 22.
The state presented testimony and evidence that Dubose and his co-defendant, Gaudner Metellus, 36, of Jamison, Pa., a former DOT senior engineer, solicited representatives of a company that operates a shortline freight railroad in New Jersey to engage in a scheme to fraudulently inflate the cost of a project to rehabilitate a railroad bridge in Roseland by more than $700,000.
They solicited $325,000 in bribes from the company as their share of the extra state grant funds that were to be spent on the project.
Metellus pleaded guilty on Jan. 5 to a second-degree charge of official misconduct before Judge Robert J. Gilson. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Metellus be sentenced to three years in state prison, including a two-year period of parole ineligibility. He forfeited his job and his pension, and he is permanently barred from public employment. Sentencing for Metellus is scheduled for May 1.
Acting Attorney General Hoffman and Director Honig noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free tip line 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities confidentially.
Additionally, the public can log on to the Division of Criminal Justice webpage at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing.