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I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry............this can only happen in JC with public servants.

I guess cityhall lacks intergrity and abides by no form of ethical standards.

Instead of losing his pension and being thrown in the clink for his crime, we as tax payers will be coughing up his pension till he kicks the bucket !

He must of had a lot of dirt on cityhall officials !

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... no different from most of the rental agents in town.

Hope you found a good place.

Jersey City fire captain accused of burglary avoids prosecution

by Michaelangelo Conte
Sunday August 03, 2008

The Jersey City fire captain charged with burglarizing a home boarded up by the fire department will serve no jail time and will have all charges dismissed if he abides by the rules of a one-year period of supervision, officials said Friday.

Fire Capt. Thomas Verdon, 58, was indicted on charges of official misconduct, burglary, theft and attempted theft, following his Dec. 13 arrest after allegedly stealing stained glass windows from a vacant Jersey City home, officials said at the time.

The charge of official misconduct carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.

Fire department and city officials decided not to suspend Verdon after his arrest, instead allowing him to go on a four-month paid vacation. On April 1 he reached 25 years with the department and retired.

In December prosecutors allowed Verdon to entered into a pretrial intervention program, diverting the case from prosecution in the courts and entering him into a period similar to probation, Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory said Friday.

As part of the PTI deal, Verdon has agreed to do 50 hours of community service and pay $2,500 in restitution, Gregory said.

The one-year period of supervision can be extended to up to three years should the court decide to do so, Gregory said.

If Verdon abides by the conditions of PTI implemented on Jan. 2, the case against him will be completely dismissed.

I almost rented a Heights property from Hashmi in Fall 2005. We met twice to look at different properties in the middle of the work day. He pulled a bait and switch and brought to our lease signing documents showing a 40% higher rent than we had discussed.

Whew.

At least they are still eligible to run for office or the school board once they get out - all is not lost and opportunities in other public service jobs are still open to them.
This is only a bump in their JC careers.

this is nothing new it has been going on in JC for over a hundred years

YOUR TAX MONEY AT WORK?
Friday, April 20, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

It's been a sad and embarrassing week for Jersey City, with indictments being handed up for a fire captain, two police officers and a civilian city employee on charges that could put each in prison for 10 years if they are convicted.

"It's an exceptional turn of events, and it's very unfortunate," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday, speaking of the indictments, which were handed up Tuesday.

Fire Capt. Thomas Verdon, 58, has been indicted on charges of official misconduct, burglary and attempted theft, DeFazio said. He was arrested on Dec. 13 after stealing stained glass windows from a vacant Jersey City home that had been boarded up by the Fire Department, DeFazio said.

Police Officer Dean Hashmi, 37, of Ocean Grove, was indicted on charges of official misconduct, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, after allegedly reporting his car stolen in an insurance scam, DeFazio said. Hashmi was arrested on Nov. 1 and again the next day when a stolen police radio was found in his police locker, officials said.

Police Officer Edward G. Kopf, 27, Jersey City, has been indicted on charges of official misconduct, insurance fraud and attempted theft, after allegedly reported his car stolen in an insurance scam, DeFazio said. He was arrested in front of his fellow officers when he arrived at work on Jan. 2 and has since been suspended, officials said.

Department of Public Works employee Lawrence Homer, 42, of Jersey City, was charged in connection with the Hashmi incident, and he has been indicted on charges of official misconduct, receiving stolen property, theft and conspiracy, DeFazio said.

Homer was employed repairing police radios and he is accused of supplying Hashmi with the stolen radio, officials said. Homer was apparently not suspended after his arrest and city officials did not return calls yesterday seeking to determine if his indictment would now precipitate his suspension.

Police Director Sam Jefferson said the vast majority of police %%slug%%JURY20JM%%cat%%njc%%ecat%%1

%%pri%%001%%epri%% officers do an excellent job but noted that "no one is above the law and the Police Department polices itself. Any allegation of wrongdoing is investigated thoroughly by our internal affairs unit."

All four are expected to be arraigned in state Superior Court in Jersey City next month, DeFazio said, adding that the charge of official misconduct alone carries a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years.

After Verdon's arrest the charges against him were downgraded because the police report failed to note he was a fire captain, said DeFazio. When the Prosecutor's Office learned he was a fire captain, the criminal charges were reinstated. The identity of Verdon's alleged accomplice has not been determined but it remains under investigation.

The Fire Department and city officials decided not to suspended Verdon after his arrest but instead allowed him to go on a four-month vacation. On April 1 he reached 25 years with the department and retired. Fire Department Director Armando Roman noted that using up the vacation days cut the $119,000 cash pay-out Verdon would have received at retirement by $50,000.

"It's a sad day all the way around for him and his family and certainly for the Fire Department," Roman said yesterday. "He was a dedicated member of the Fire Department and had a stellar career up until these charges were levied against him. I know him as someone who gave his heart to the Fire Department."