Resident Sentenced To Prison For Using Fake Company, Stolen Identity To Obtain Public Contracts

New Providence resident and construction contractor Joseph Budis, 61, was sentenced to four years in state prison on Friday for using a stolen identity, a fictitious company, and fradulent documents to successfully bid on public projects when his companies were legally barred from such projects.

Superior Court Judge Stephen B. Rubin sentenced Budis to his term in Hunterdon County yesterday after he pleaded guilty on March 18, 2011 to two second-degree counts of making false representations for government contracts. One count is related to the Clinton Dam, and the second, to a bridge project in Hope Township. 

Budis was charged in an Oct. 29, 2010 indictment that also named his companies, Murray Hill Equipment, Inc. and MHHC Corporation, which also pleaded guilty to the same counts: MHHC to the count involving the Clinton Dam, and Murray Hill to the count involving the Hope Township bridge.

"This contractor engaged in one deception after another, putting workers at risk and costing the taxpayers in these municipalities thousands of dollars," said Attorney General Paula T. Dow, who made the announcement about Budis along with Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor. "Prison is the appropriate punishment for this type of fraud."

Budis and MHHC Corporation have been ordered to pay restitution to the Town of Clinton of $44,174, which represent the losses the town sustained as a result of the fraud. Both were also ordered to pay a public corruption profiteering penalty of $250,000.  All three defendants are barred from public contracts for a period of 10 years.

In July 2010, Budis was arrested when Clinton Town police officers, who were investigating an incident in which a worker broke his leg at the Clinton dam site, learned that Budis, the project manager, was using the alias Joe DeLia. 

Police then discovered that two companies run by Budis, Murray Hill Enterprise Inc. and Murray Hill Equipment Inc., were prohibited from bidding on public contracts by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development because of prevailing wage violations and unpaid fines.

Further investigation by the State Police Official Corruption Bureau, Clinton Town Police Department and the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau revealed that Budis stole the Social Security number of an acquaintance and used his identity to obtain a public works contractor registration certificate from the state for a sham company, listing the man as president of MHHC Corporation, also known as Murray Hill Historical Corporation.  Budis used the certificate to bid on the $673,240 dam contract, which was awarded to MHHC in April 2010.

In connection with the contract, Budis also filed bonds, a certificate of liability insurance and notarizations, which were all fraudulent. Budis had no workers' compensation insurance and Clinton Town was forced to re-bid the state-funded project, resulting in additional costs.

Budis also submitted a fraudulent certificate of liability insurance and forged notarizations in bidding on the $222,330 bridge rehabilitation project in Hope Township, which was awarded to Murray Hill Equipment Inc. in July 2006 by Warren County.

Director Taylor and Attorney General Dow said the Division of Criminal Justice - Corruption Bureau has established a toll-free Corruption Tipline, 1-866-TIPS-4CJ, for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The public can also visit the Division of Criminal Justice Web site at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing. All information received through the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Tipline or Web page will remain confidential.

"With millions of dollars spent by local taxpayers each year on municipal projects, we cannot afford to allow dishonest operators such as this one to work on these contracts," Director Taylor said. "We urge anyone with information about fraud involving public projects to call the Division of Criminal Justice. We will thoroughly investigate any confidential leads we receive."