State Police were called in to provide security at the agency’s facility in Newark after discovery of a small hole drilled into executive director's office, allowing anyone to eavesdrop from a storeroom below
Kenneth Pengitore, former PVSC CFO.NEWARK — In the latest turmoil to hit the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, the agency’s chief financial officer resigned today and five other employees — including the wife and brother of a former commissioner — were fired, officials said.
At the same time, the State Police were called in to take over security at the agency’s facility in Newark. The move came after the discovery of a small hole drilled into the office of the executive director, allowing anyone to eavesdrop from a storeroom below, officials said.
The resignation and terminations followed the arrests Tuesday of three top-level executives charged by the Attorney General’s Office with official misconduct in connection with improvements and repair work allegedly done at their homes by Passaic Valley employees who were supposed to be on the job.
"These actions are necessary to restore public trust and accountability to the agency," said Wayne Forrest, the executive director of the agency, who took charge last July.
Passaic Valley, which treats the sewage of more than 1.3 million people in Essex, Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties, has been all but torn apart in recent weeks after a series of stories in The Star-Ledger documenting the hiring of wives, brothers, in-laws and children; special-interest contracts; and the hiring of politically connected officials at six-figure salaries.
Forrest late today said he had accepted the resignation of Kenneth Pengitore, who quit his $163,869-a-year job without explanation.
Pengitore — a Passaic County Republican and former college football star who played in the World Football League — had been the mayor of Haledon and a PVSC commissioner himself when he was tapped by his fellow board members to become CFO. While still a commissioner, Pengitore secured jobs for his son, daughter and daughter-in-law, all of whom remain on the PVSC payroll.
Officials said those terminated today included the wife and brother of former Hudson County commissioner Carl Czaplicki — who was forced to quit last week after Gov. Chris Christie demanded the resignations of six of seven PVSC board members after the disclosures in The Star-Ledger.
Czaplicki — who also serves as director of the Jersey City Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce — confirmed in a letter to the governor that he helped find jobs for both after he became a commissioner.
Vanessa Czaplicki was a multimedia technician being paid $70,676 a year. John Czaplicki was getting nearly $90,000 a year as a liquid waste acceptance specialist, according to payroll records.
Also fired were Kevin Bolan, an $82,500-a-year account clerk; Kevin Holland, an $81,300 EMS coordinator; and Maureen Critchley, an administrative clerk who was paid $66,300. The names of all five were disclosed in response to a request under the Open Public Records Act.
Four of those fired today worked for two of the men criminally charged on Tuesday, Forrest said. Those arrested were Anthony Ardis, 56, of Paterson, a former congressional aide and one-time PVSC commissioner who served as the agency’s ethics officer; Kevin Keogh, 45, a former West Orange Democratic councilman and superintendent of special services at the agency; and Chester Mazza, 69, of Totowa, a retired New Jersey state trooper who served as assistant superintendent under Keogh.
All three were terminated after their arrests by detectives from the criminal division of the Attorney General’s Office.
Commissioner William F. Flynn, left, and Wayne Forrest, the executive director for PVSC listen to Anthony J. Luna, the chairman of PVSC with Carl Czaplicki Jr., the vice chairman of PVS and commissioners CFrank Calandriello and Kenneth Lucianin, right, during a public meeting. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners is an obscure agency whose payroll is swollen with the friends and family of those with political clout.Forrest said that, effective immediately, the State Police will be responsible for overseeing and evaluating security at PVSC’s facility in Newark.
"I asked for their assistance to assess the security here," he said. The State Police will supervise all duties associated with security and review the qualifications of the current PVSC in-house security officers, along with assessing the physical security of the facility, he said.
Forest said he would review the State Police findings and work with the Department of Homeland Security to determine if security changes need to be made.
Any faith Forrest may have had in PVSC’s security system may have been lost after the small hole was recently found in the floor of his office, allowing anyone to eavesdrop on conversations inside.
"We are continuing our efforts for a reorganization of the agency and will be looking at all aspects of its operations," Forrest said. "It is my intention for a comprehensive review of every function of this agency."
Earlier this week, Forrest imposed a new ethics code on his staff banning political activity, and slashed the pay of more than 80 top-salaried individuals making more than $100,000.
He said with those cuts, the arrests and terminations, the agency’s salary budget has already been cut $1.4 million.