Asbury Park Press
March 23, 2005
By JAMES W. PRADO ROBERTS
While federal corruption charges filed since February against 11 officials from Monmouth County and the officers of two major county vendors do not involve county business, officials are concerned that county operations may have been compromised.
In response, Freeholder Amy H. Handlin has assigned a review of all documents involving the companies involved and recent purchase orders at two departments in which three of the county officials charged worked — the motor pool and transportation department.
"Just as law enforcement in this situation has its critical work to do, we have a distinct and important job, too, and that is to determine what has been happening here from a systems perspective," Handlin said.
The companies involved are JBI Limousine of Neptune, which has been paid $9.8 million by the county in the past five years to transport elderly, disabled or welfare-to-work county residents; and International Trucks of Central Jersey and Air Brake and Equipment Co., which have been paid $12.1 million since 1998 for vehicle purchases and maintenance.
Handlin said she asked County Administrator Louis Paparozzi to:
Review all parts and repair bills submitted by International Trucks or Air Brake for irregularities. The county is already aware of apparent billing problems at the county landfill.
Examine all purchase orders issued by the county motor pool and the county highway department because of the 11 officials charged Feb. 22, six were county employees and at least three of those had involvement with those two county departments. Handlin said she is looking at emergency purchase orders and informal bids in particular.
Review the bidding history for the medical transportation contracts won by JBI. Handlin said county officials have determined that the bids do not appear to be "tailored" to that company, as JBI owner James B. Ingram allegedly once claimed.
Ingram was charged with laundering $100,000 for undercover FBI agents two weeks ago as part of federal agents' corruption sting. According to the federal complaint against Ingram, he bragged to an undercover FBI agent that the county bid specifications are "basically tailored to me." Ingram is also quoted in the complaint as saying, "There's one guy that can bid against me. . . . Between me and you, it was suggested to him, "You don't bid on this contract.' "
