Four Former Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission Supervisors Indicted

Four former Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission supervisors were indicted today on charges they ordered employees to do repair work on their own homes and those of friends and relatives on company time.

A state grand jury in Trenton charged three former administrators, Anthony Ardis, 57, of Paterson, Kevin Keogh, 45, of Roseland, and Chester Mazza, 70, of Totowa, and Northvale Mayor Paul Bazela, 44, of Northvale - who headed the carpenter's shop at the PVSC - with conspiracy, official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct and theft by unlawful taking.

"We allege that Ardis, Keogh and Mazza used their power and influence as senior administrators at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission to exploit subordinates as free labor for their personal projects, and that Bazela assisted in this conduct by using his direct authority over these skilled workers," said Attorney General Paula T. Dow, who announced the indictments Wednesday.

"We are determined to root out this type of abuse of public office," she said.

Ardis, Keogh, and Mazza were arrested Feb. 1 after an ongoing investigation led by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. The three administrators were immediately terminated after their arrests; Bazela's employment was terminated earlier this year, authorities said.

If convicted, Bazela would be required to forfeit his job as mayor of Northvale.

Ardis, a former PVSC Commissioner who later served as Clerk to the Board of Commissioners, Director of Management Services and Chief Ethics Liaison Officer for the PVSC, is accused of directing employees to go to his mother's house in Paterson — on company time — to tear down sheet rock in the garage, on two occasions between 2008 and 2009, according to the indictment.

Employees were also ordered to install wood panels and hook up the microwave in his mother's kitchen, as well as replace air conditioning units at the home of Ardis' girlfriend, the indictment states.

Keogh, a former Superintendent for Special Services, allegedly had employees perform numerous tasks, including removing old windows and installing new ones at his private residence in Roseland, having workers install latticework underneath his deck, and cabinet doors in his kitchen, and directing employees to put up holiday decorations at his house and go to Home Depot for landscaping and pool supplies for his yard.

Court documents allege Keogh also had two employees from the vehicle maintenance department come to his house during a 2009 snowstorm - while on company time - in order to repair the chute on his snowblower.  

Mazza, a former Assistant Superintendent for Special Services, allegedly had employees install vents on the roof of his Totowa home and repair a masonry wall while they were on their regular shifts.

Bazela, the shop foreman from April 2006 to May 2010, who was later promoted to a higher-level operations supervisor, allegedly ordered carpenters and other workers he supervised to go to the homes of Keogh and Ardis' mother and girlfriend while on agency time to complete repairs and improvements using agency vehicles, tools and equipment.  Bazela also allegedly accompanied the workers in some instances to supervise and assist with the projects.

According to the indictment, none of the three administrators paid for the work they received. If convicted, the defendants could face a minimum of five years in prison and fines of up to $150,000.

Among the Essex County municipalities served by the PVSC are Nutley, Glen Ridge, East Orange, Orange, North Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Montclair, Belleville, Bloomfield and Newark.