Asbury Park Press
March 17, 2005
By A. SCOTT FERGUSON
NEWARK — The one-time auditor for Ocean Township admitted Wednesday that he paid $10,000 in bribes to former Mayor Terrance D. Weldon to ensure his company kept public contracts with the township.
Louis J. Gartz, who worked as the Monmouth County town's auditor for 25 years, pleaded guilty to a single count of bribing a public official in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.
Gartz, 69, who used to practice in Freehold but now lives in the Smithville section of Galloway in Atlantic County, faces a possible 10-year federal prison term and a $50,000 fine, when he is sentenced by Judge William H. Walls on June 16.
The plea agreement was the latest development in the series of public corruption cases throughout Monmouth County that came to public attention when FBI agents raided Weldon's home in January 2002.
That raid, along with taped conversations made at the Neptune offices and Long Branch home of millionaire power broker Philip Konvitz, eventually led to guilty pleas or convictions of Weldon and four other public officials.
The probe of Gartz also developed from this investigation, but outside court on Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren declined to comment on what specifically led to the charges against the accountant.
Gartz, like Weldon, was never indicted, and Wednesday's plea marked the first time his involvement became public.
After his hearing, Gartz and his attorney, Robert S. Bonney Jr., declined comment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Matthew Boxer, who handled Wednesday's plea agreement, called it "part of the FBI's continuing effort to root out corrupt activity in Monmouth County and elsewhere."
Offenses began in 1998
For 25 years, Gartz's accounting firm provided auditing and other accounting services for the township and its Sewerage Authority. Weldon became mayor in 1991. The bribery scheme started in 1998, according to court papers.
After his firm was awarded a contract to audit a sewer line project, Gartz then delivered a $5,000 cash payment to Weldon at a golf course, Gartz said in court. He told the judge that Weldon first described the bribe as a cash political contribution.
In 2001, Gartz gave another $5,000 to Weldon, according to court documents. This was after Gartz and his partners had sold their practice to another accounting firm, Samuel Klein and Co., a firm that continues to serve as township auditor.
During the hearing, Gartz admitted that the bribes he gave to Weldon, who also sat on the Sewerage Authority, would ensure that his firm would receive accounting contracts with the township and the sewer agency.
Both times, some of the moneywas given to an unnamed Sewerage Authority official, according to court documents. After the hearing, federal prosecutors wouldn't identify that official.
After Weldon pleaded guilty to three counts of extortion in October 2002, authorities said Gartz had been approached by Weldon in 2000 to hold onto about $20,000 in cash for the then-mayor, investing in an interest-bearing account. Over the next several months, Weldon then asked for a series of small payments totaling about $8,000, according to court papers.
As part of the plea agreement, authorities will not seek additional charges against Gartz for this involvement.
Gartz will remain free on a secured $100,000 bail bond until he is sentenced in June.
Things have changed
Ocean Township Councilman Chris Siciliano expressed surprise that Gartz had been involved in corruption, but he said things have since changed.
"This is old business," Siciliano said on Wednesday. "This is something that happened during the previous administration, and we've gone overboard, painstakingly restoring the confidence of Ocean Township, that there are good people who are interested in serving and don't have a hidden agenda."
As for Weldon, federal authorities said early this year that he would be sentenced by year's end. On Wednesday, McCarren said it's possible that sentencing may not happen this year.
Staff writer Jane Zhang contributed to this story, which contains information from Press archives.
