Former Cherry Hill Director of Code Enforcement and Inspections Sentenced to 22 Months in Federal Prison for Mail Fraud Conviction

March 10, 2010 - CAMDEN, NJ—The former director of the Cherry Hill Department of Code Enforcement and Inspections was sentenced today to 22 months' imprisonment, ordered to pay $20,000 in fines, and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service for accepting approximately $4,500 in bribes from representatives of a private inspection service company in exchange for his assistance in obtaining municipal contracts, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Anthony Saccomanno, 67, of Cherry Hill, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb, on June 16, 2009, to a one count Information charging him with mail fraud for devising a scheme to defraud the Township of Cherry Hill and its citizens of the right to his honest services as a Cherry Hill official.

Saccomanno admitted that in 2007 and 2008, while he served as director of the Department of Code Enforcement and Inspections for Cherry Hill, Building Inspection Underwriters, Inc. (“BIU”), a third party inspection service company headquartered in Pennsylvania, held a contract with the municipality to provide electrical, plumbing, and elevator inspection services. Further, Saccomanno acknowledged that as director, he held a high-level decision making role in Cherry Hill’s process for selecting third party inspectors like BIU.

Specifically, Saccomanno admitted that he accepted a secret cash payment of approximately $2,500 on September 20, 2007, from a representative of BIU while at an Italian restaurant in Cherry Hill. Saccomanno accepted the $2,500 payment in exchange for his recommendation of a 2008 extension of BIU’s contract with Cherry Hill. Saccomanno also admitted taking a corrupt cash payment of $2,000 in July 2008 from Russell B. McLaughlin, Jr., 56, of Chalfont, PA, until recently the president of BIU, to influence the 2009 contract renewal.

In imposing the sentence, the Judge consulted the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, and other factors. The judge, in departing below the advisory Guidelines range of 24 to 30 months in this case, credited Saccomanno’s cooperation with law enforcement officers between November 2008 and January 2009, which included assisting the Government in developing additional evidence leading to McLaughlin’s arrest. On April 22, 2009, McLaughlin pled guilty to a one count Information charging him with bribery. McLaughlin is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23, 2010 before Judge Bumb.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited Special Agents of the FBI Philadelphia Division, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk in Philadelphia, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge William Offord, for their assistance in the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Skahill.