2002-07-31 -- Deadbeat Parents -- Indictment -- News Release

Deadbeat Parents Rounded Up Nationwide; Top Offender Charged in New Jersey Owes $297,000

NEWARK - A federal roundup of some of the nation's most egregious child-support defaulters has netted about 61 individuals, including a man living in Oklahoma who owes $297,204 in child support to his ex-wife and son in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced today.

James A. Circle, 54, an air-conditioning mechanic in Oklahoma City, was arrested Tuesday by Special Agents of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. According to a two-count criminal Complaint, since his divorce in 1986, Circle has never made a state court-ordered support payment to his wife and son in Ocean County. His weekly payments, ordered in Superior Court in Ocean County, were set at $350. Circle has failed to pay $297,204 in child support.

Of the total arrested in the coast-to-coast crackdown, Circle's child support arrearage was the largest. Separate from Circle, another four defendants were arrested who owe support for children in New Jersey; their arrearages range from $29,758 to $63,476. Circle was ordered detained without bail and is expected to be transported to New Jersey by federal Marshals in the coming days, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah J. Gannett, who is handling the five New Jersey cases.

(See also Health and Human Services news release following this release)

The New Jersey defendants are charged with wilful failure to pay child support, a federal felony that carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. All five defendants face Indictment and are expected to return to New Jersey for court appearances in the next two weeks.

"This enforcement is about protecting children in the state of New Jersey, which will always be a priority for me and this office," Christie said. "These defendants have forsaken their children's needs. It is a form of abuse to leave custodial parents without the means to properly raise their children - children that these defendants helped bring into the world."

Those arrested were arraigned before federal magistrate judges in U.S. District Courts in the states where they were arrested. Alfred Demola, described below, was arrested this morning at his home in East Stroudsburg, PA., and appeared before Magistrate Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark. Judge Chesler set bail at $50,000. Judge Chesler ordered Demola to next appear in court for a hearing on Aug. 20. Richard Miles, also described below, was arrested this morning at his home in Philadelphia, PA. and appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerold Kugler in Camden. Bail was set at $25,000.

The four defendants - in addition to Circle - charged in the District of New Jersey and the allegations against them, are as follows:

JAMES MAISTER, 37, who, according to the Complaint against him, is a licensed pharmacist living in Tampa, Fla. Maister was ordered in 1995 in Superior Court Judge in Burlington County to make weekly support payments of $261 for his three children, one of whom, a 10-year-old daughter, recently died from an illness. Maister, who earned over $75,000 in 2000, owes approximately $63,476 in child support. Maister was arrested Tuesday in Tampa.

MICHAEL LENTINI III, 32, who, according to his criminal Complaint, is a car salesman living in Denton, Texas. Lentini was ordered in Sussex County in 1990 to make weekly support payment of $86. The Complaint alleges that Lentini told his former wife when they divorced that she would never find him and he did not intend to pay a cent of child support. Lentini, who earned $68,299 in 1999, owes approximately $51,000 in arrears. Lentini was arrested on Tuesday, at his home in Denton.

ALFRED DEMOLA, 43, according to the Complaint, is living in East Stroudsburg, Pa. After his divorce in 1987, Demola did not make any child support payments until 1997, despite an order in Hudson Count Superior Court to pay $50 weekly. In 1997, Demola when he called his former wife, told her he had to make a child support payment and sent her a one-time payment of $500, according to the Complaint. Demola then purchased property which he sold at a profit in February 1999. Also in February 1999, he purchased another property for $233,500 and sold it in May 2001 for $335,000, according to the Complaint. Demola owes approximately $29,758 in arrears.

RICHARD MILES, 35, is a construction worker living in Philadelphia, according to his criminal Complaint. Miles has made no child support payments to his former wife since 1988, despite an order in Superior Court in Camden to pay $88 weekly. Miles was recently employed by the City of Philadelphia and owes approximately $41,108 in arrears.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gannett, of the U.S. Attorney's Public Protection Division in Newark.

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