The Last Of The Birdsall Gang Enters Guilty Plea In Ocean County Superior Court

The once-mighty Birdsall Services Group is no more.

Alan Hilla, 77, the last of nine former executives and managers of the defunct engineering firm, pleaded guilty recently to participating in a criminal scheme where more than $1 million in political contributions were illegally made by firm employees to evade New Jersey's pay-to-play laws, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said.

Alan Hilla, 77, of Jupiter, Fla., pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree misconduct by a corporate official before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels in Ocean County.The state will recommend that he be sentenced to five years in state prison. Hilla indicated he plans to apply for a suspended sentence, citing health issues.

He is the last of the firm's defendants and is slated to be sentenced at 10 a.m. on Sept. 1, Porrino said.

“The many guilty pleas we have secured in this case hammer home an important message that criminal schemes aimed at evading New Jersey’s pay-to-play laws will be met with stern punishment,” said Porrino. “Our laws prevent politically connected firms from garnering public contracts based on campaign contributions, but Birdsall’s executives gamed the system and secured millions of dollars in contracts for which they should have been disqualified.”

The charge was contained in a March 26, 2013 indictment, which also charged BSG and six other executives and shareholders. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, which found that the defendants conspired to skirt the state's pay-to-play laws by disguising illegal corporate political contributions as personal contributions of employees.

Porrino's office has a two-pronged approached to dealing with public corruption - a reward program that offers up to $25,000 for tips and a whistleblower program that lets lower-level participants in a corruption scheme to avoid prosecution by self-reporting. But the programs expire on Aug. 1.

“I urge people to help us and help themselves by taking advantage of these programs, which expire on August 1," he said.

Individuals may report information and apply for the Anti-Corruption Reward Program or Anti-Corruption Whistleblower Program by August 1 by one of the following methods:

• Call the DCJ hotline 866-TIPS-4CJ to speak with detectives 24 hours/7 days a week; or

• Visit www.njdcj.org to submit an online report.

“New Jersey’s pay-to-play laws seek to ensure fair and open public contracting, free of the sway of political interests,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “By criminally prosecuting this firm and sending many of its top executives to prison, we have given those laws real teeth.”

The firm pleaded guilty on June 13, 2013 to charges of first-degree money laundering and second-degree making false representations for government contracts. BSG paid two major criminal penalties: a $500,000 public corruption profiteering penalty and a $500,000 anti-money laundering profiteering penalty. In each instance, the penalty was the maximum amount authorized by law, Porrino said.

BSG also paid the state $2.6 million to settle a civil forfeiture action filed by the Attorney General’s Office in connection with the criminal case.

Eight other executives, shareholders and managers of the Birdsall firm previously pleaded guilty to various charges. They include

Howard Birdsall, formerly CEO and largest shareholder of BSG, was sentenced to four years in prison on April 22, 2016 on a charge of second-degree misconduct by a corporate official. He paid $49,808 to the state in forfeiture of his illegal political contributions.

Thomas Rospos, formerly executive vice president of BSG and its second largest shareholder, was sentenced to three years in prison on June 10, 2016 on a charge of third-degree tampering with public records or information. He paid $150,000 in forfeiture of his illegal contributions.

William Birdsall, formerly senior vice president and a large shareholder of BSG, was sentenced on July 11, 2016 to 270 days in the county jail and two years of probation on a charge of third-degree misconduct by a corporate official. He paid $129,115 in forfeiture of his illegal contributions, as well as a $75,000 public corruption profiteering penalty.

Robert Gerard, 56, of Wall, N.J., former Chief Marketing Officer for BSG, on June 2 was sentenced to 270 days in the county jail and two years of probation on a fourth-degree charge of making prohibited corporate political contributions through employees. He forfeited $86,200.

James Johnston, 55, of New Brunswick, N.J., former President of the Environmental Services Group within BSG, was sentenced to 270 days in the county jail and two years of probation on a fourth-degree charge of making prohibited corporate political contributions through employees. He forfeited $93,720.

Scott MacFadden, former chief administrative officer of BSG, pleaded guilty to third-degree misconduct by a corporate official on Jan. 6, 2016. He faces a recommended sentence of up to 364 days in jail and a term of probation. He must pay $30,000 in forfeiture of his contributions.

Philip Angarone, the former marketing director for BSG, pleaded guilty on Nov. 30, 2012 to third-degree tampering with public records or information and fourth-degree making prohibited corporate political contributions through employees. He is awaiting sentencing and faces a sentence of up to 364 days in jail and a term of probation. He must forfeit $26,775.

Eileen Kufahl, a former marketing manager for Birdsall, pleaded guilty on Feb. 2, 2013 to a fourth-degree charge of making prohibited corporate contributions through employees. She forfeited $17,119 and was admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention Program.

The scheme worked like this: Birdsall was forbidden by state law to make corporate political contributions to campaign and political organizations, which would have disqualified the firm from receiving public contracts by local government agencies.

Instead, employees of the firm made personal political contributions of $300 or less, which are unreportable. The multiple personal checks were bundled by Birdsall and sent to campaigns or political organizations. the employees were then reimbursed by Birdsall, Porrino said.

The scheme continued for more than six years and involved more than $1 million in contributions.

Photo: NJ State Attorney General's Office