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For Immediate Release: For Further Information:
September 22, 2017

Office of The Attorney General
- Christopher S. Porrino, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Elie Honig, Director
Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
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Citizen Inquiries-
609-984-5828
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Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Pleads Guilty to Using On-Duty City Workers to Perform Renovations at Warehouse Leased by His Relatives
Attorney General’s Office will recommend 5-year prison sentence; 3 co-defendants also pled guilty today
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TRENTON – Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that Paterson Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres pleaded guilty today to a criminal conspiracy charge for directing that city employees perform work at a private warehouse leased by his daughter and nephew while the employees were being paid by the city. Three supervisors in the Paterson Department of Public Works also pleaded guilty today.

Mayor Torres, 58, of Paterson, N.J., pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree conspiracy before Superior Court Judge Sheila Venable in Hudson County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that he be sentenced to five years in state prison. He must forfeit his position as mayor and will be permanently barred from public office and public employment in New Jersey. The mayor is jointly and severally liable with his co-defendants for paying full restitution in the amount of $10,000 to the City of Paterson for payments, including overtime payments, made to city workers for the time they spent working at the private warehouse.

The following co-defendants each pleaded guilty today before Judge Venable to third-degree conspiracy:

  • Joseph Mania, 51, of Randolph, N.J., Supervisor, Paterson DPW Facilities Division;
  • Imad Mowaswes, 53, of Clifton, N.J., Supervisor, Paterson DPW Traffic Division; and
  • Timothy Hanlon, 31, of Woodland Park, N.J., Assistant Supervisor, Paterson DPW Facilities Division.

The state will recommend that each of those defendants be sentenced to a term of probation. They must forfeit their employment with the city and will be permanently barred from public employment. In addition, they are jointly and severally liable with the mayor for paying restitution of $10,000. Judge Venable scheduled sentencing for Torres and the other defendants for Nov. 3.

Deputy Bureau Chief Jeffrey Manis and Deputy Attorneys General Cynthia Vazquez and Peter Baker prosecuted the case, and Manis and Baker took the guilty pleas today for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. The defendants were indicted in an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau North Squad.

“Today, Mayor Joey Torres retracted his vigorous denials and promises of vindication and admitted to engaging in the old school corruption we charged him with earlier this year. With this plea, Torres forfeits his position as mayor of New Jersey’s third-largest city, will never again be in a position to abuse the public’s trust, and will go to prison,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Our message is that this type of arrogant abuse of power and public resources will not be tolerated in New Jersey.”

“I commend all of the attorneys and detectives for the Division of Criminal Justice and New Jersey State Police who secured these guilty pleas,” Porrino added. “Their skillful handling of the investigation and prosecution ensured that justice was done in this important corruption case.”

“Instead of faithfully and honestly serving the residents of Paterson, Torres crookedly chose to use the power entrusted to him to serve himself and his family, at substantial cost to city taxpayers,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We’ll continue to make it a top priority to root out this type of corruption, which erodes good government and undermines public trust.”

“Jose Torres brought dishonor upon himself by tarnishing the good name of the Office of the Mayor of the City of Paterson,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “The betrayal of the public’s trust and improper allocation of city resources can never be tolerated.”

The investigation revealed that, at Mayor Torres’ behest and under his supervision, Mania, Mowaswes and Hanlon performed work and/or assigned subordinate employees to perform work at a private warehouse leased by “Quality Beer,” a limited liability company formed by Torres’ daughter and his nephew. The work, including renovation, painting, carpentry, and electrical work, was performed while the three supervisors and other Department of Public Works (“DPW”) employees were working for and being paid by the City of Paterson.

On multiple dates between July 2014 and April 2015, Mania, Mowaswes, Hanlon and other DPW employees performed work at the private warehouse facility at 82 East 15th Street in Paterson while “on the clock” for the DPW. Torres directed that the work be performed and supervised the work. The daughter and nephew intended to use the warehouse as a wholesale liquor distribution facility, but they ultimately terminated the lease after failing to obtain the necessary permits and license from the state.

The investigation further revealed that Mania, in his capacity as a DPW supervisor, caused false time-keeping records to be submitted to the city, including overtime verification forms and bi-weekly timesheets. These records falsely stated that Mania and other DPW employees were working overtime details on legitimate city projects, when, in fact, Mania knew that he and the other employees spent at least part of these overtime shifts working at the private warehouse. By submitting and signing off on these timekeeping records and authorizing the overtime details, Mania caused the city to make overtime payments to himself and other employees for hours spent performing private work for the mayor and his relatives, with no connection to any legitimate city business. Mania’s co-defendants, including the mayor, also were charged with falsifying these records as accomplices and co-conspirators.

Attorney General Porrino and Director Honig noted that individuals who report public corruption may be able to receive up to a $25,000 reward. The Division of Criminal Justice has a toll-free tip line 866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to confidentially report public corruption. Information on the Public Corruption Reward Program is posted at this link: www.nj.gov/oag/corruption/reward-info.html

The deadline for providing tips and potentially qualifying for a reward under the Public Corruption Reward Program is November 15.


Defense Attorneys:

For Torres:
John A. Azzarello, Esq., Whipple Azzarello, LLC, Morristown, N.J., and Ricardo Solano Jr., Esq., Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP, Newark, N.J.

For Mania: Raymond F. Flood, Esq., Flood & Basile, Hackensack, N.J.
For Mowaswes: Joseph Afflitto Jr., Esq., Afflitto Law Offices LLC, Wayne, N.J.
For Hanlon: Karen A. Lodeserto, Esq., Lake Mohawk, N.J.


Office online at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & YouTube. The social media links provided are for reference only. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office does not endorse any non-governmental websites, companies or applications.

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