Monday, April 6, 2009

New Jersey State Department of Labor Investigator and Accomplice Plead Guilty To Bribery Scheme

Joseph Rivera, 53, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, and a former state Department of Labor investigator, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for certifying that some 20 temporary employment agencies were complying with state wage and hour regulations. Rivera accepted $1.86 million in total bribes by charging 25 cents for every hour that each temporary employee worked in those companies between 2002 and 2008. Rivera also pleaded guilty to tax evasion. He faces up to 15 years in prison and must forfeit two vacation homes, vehicles, cash and other assets. Meanwhile, Yohan Wongso, 27, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty paying bribes to a second NJ DOL investigator, James Peyton, from 2006 to 2008. Peyton and two other temporary worker agency operators, Channavel Kong and Thuan Nguyen, both 37 and from Philadelphia, have been charged in this case. Prosecutors allege that Kong, operator of Sunrise Labor, paid Rivera almost $50,000 over a 2 year period.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the DOJ announcement here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The investigator should find the other 20 agencies who bribe's Rivera and clean it up or they have to pay fine or put them in jail. That's it!