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Mercer County Corrections Officers Union Reports $15,000 Stolen From Bank Account

By Donald C. Barbati on January 22, 2013
Posted in Uncategorized

 

As reported by nj.com, the union representing Mercer County Correction Officers has discovered that about $15,000 was stolen from its bank account and used for a variety of purchases, the union treasurer said yesterday. Treasurer James Kinley said he reviewed the bank account for PBA 167 last week and learned there were charges in amounts from $100 to more than $2,000 for credit card payments and purchases from retail stores such as Gap and Lord & Taylor. “No one authorized this,” he said.

The mysterious charges began November 28 and continued until Kinley and union President Donald Ryland suspended the bank account last week. Kinley said he also filed a report with the Ewing Police on Friday. “The detectives are investigating,” Ryland said. “And we intend to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”

The checking account, which usually has about $200,000, is funded by monthly dues paid by the Hopewell Township-based union’s 245 members, Ryland said. It is used to pay legal fees, the union’s monthly phone and internet bill, office-related expenses and to make donations to local charities, he said.

Kinley said spending is authorized by the PBA’s board and then he authorizes a check for that expense. The union usually writes 10 to 12 checks a month, but there were more than 25 unauthorized charges on the account in the last two months, he said. He also said only a handful of people in the union have access to the account information. 

Kinley and Ryland would not say if they thought the money was taken by a union member, but they said they will conduct an internal investigation. “We have to investigate within to ensure that there is not an issue,” Ryland said.

Ryland also said he and Kinley are in the process of opening a new, secure account for the union and are looking into getting a refund of the money that was taken.

Tags: Articles, correction officers, Mercer County, money, NJ Corrections, PBA 167, theft, treasurer, Union, union account
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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Frank M. Crivelli is a shareholder in the law firm of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues that are litigated before state and federal trial courts, appellate courts, and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey

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