07-07-05 -- Vuola, Richard -- Guilty Plea -- News Release

Former Marlboro Official Richard Vuola Admits Bribery, Extortion, Illegal Gun Possession, False Tax Returns

TRENTON - Richard Vuola, a longtime commissioner of the Marlboro Township Municipal Utilities Authority and its chairman from February 2002 through January 2004, pleaded guilty today to attempting to bribe officials in Marlboro and Manalapan Township, extorting a builder, illegal possession of a firearm, and filing false federal income tax returns, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Vuola, 74, of Marlboro Township, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr., to Counts One, Three, Four, Five, Six and Nine of the Second Superseding Indictment that had been filed against him in May. Judge Brown scheduled sentencing for Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.

"Richard Vuola joins the rogues' gallery of public officials in Monmouth County who used their positions of authority to harm rather than help their communities," said Christie. "Marlboro Township was particularly vulnerable and under intense development pressure - something Vuola and others capitalized on from their elected and appointed positions. We will continue to find and prosecute others who act similarly."

In pleading guilty to Count One, Vuola admitted that in December 2002, he attempted to bribe a member of the Marlboro Township Council, on behalf of a builder, to secure her support for re-zoning proposals necessary to develop age-restricted housing on the site of the Marlboro Airport and adjoining property. Vuola further admitted that the bribe offer consisted of $150,000 in campaign contributions.

In pleading guilty to Count Three, Vuola admitted that in 2001, he offered a $25,000 bribe, on behalf of a separate builder, to a member of the Manalapan Planning Board. Vuola further admitted that the bribe was intended to obtain the official's assistance in excluding certain property from a Manalapan re-zoning proposal that restricted development according to a property's acreage. The builder needed the exclusion in order to construct a residential development on Route 527/Englishtown Road.

In pleading guilty to Count Four, Vuola admitted that in 2004, he extorted $15,000 from another builder during a dispute between the builder and the Utilities Authority concerning water-line plans in the development of residential units on Pleasant Valley Road in Marlboro Township.

In pleading guilty to Count Five, Vuola admitted that in 2001, he paid bribes totaling $6,200 from another builder to two Marlboro officials. The bribes were in exchange for the officials' support of zoning changes that the builder needed to complete a residential development.

In pleading guilty to Count Six, Vuola admitted that he unlawfully possessed a Browning 12-gauge shotgun, despite having previously been convicted of crimes punishable by more than one year in a New Jersey Court (unlawful possession of a weapon by a previously convicted felon).

In pleading guilty to Count Nine, Vuola admitted that he received income from several sources that he intentionally did not report on his 1998 federal income tax return. Vuola admitted also that he intentionally did not report income on his 1999, 2000, and 2001 tax returns, and that the total tax loss was approximately $62,660.

Vuola faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on each of Counts One, Three, Five and Six; a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine on Count Four, and a maximum sentence of three years and a $100,000 fine on Count Nine.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Brown will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie Wiser Jr., and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia J. Haynes, for their work in developing the corruption case against Vuola and others in Marlboro and Monmouth County.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael A. Hammer and Scott A. Resnik.

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Defense Counsel:

John J. Fahy , Esq. Secaucus