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N.J. investigator admits taking bribes

A senior investigator for the New Jersey Department of Labor pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to taking more than $1.8 million in bribes from a series of temporary employment agencies he was supposed to be auditing.

A senior investigator for the New Jersey Department of Labor pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to taking more than $1.8 million in bribes from a series of temporary employment agencies he was supposed to be auditing.

A temp-agency employee who paid bribes to Joseph Rivera also pleaded guilty. A second Department of Labor investigator and two other temp-agency operators were charged yesterday in Camden.

The senior investigator, Joseph Rivera, admitted that he certified the agencies that paid him bribes without inspecting them. He also recommended those agencies to employers despite never checking if they were in compliance with state labor laws.

Rivera, who had a $68,000 state salary, amassed his windfall in bribes in about six years. He owned two homes in Ocean City, N.J., and one in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; a Lexus automobile; gold plates and silver bars; and a valuable coin collection.

He agreed to forfeit those possessions as well as more than $120,000 in cash.

Rivera, 53, of Sicklerville, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and faces up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for July. He was allowed to remain free yesterday on a $100,000 unsecured bond.

Rivera was supposed to ensure that temporary-employment agencies in South Jersey met state wage-and-hour laws, paid appropriate taxes, and carried workers' compensation insurance.

He calculated the amount of his bribe payments by multiplying 25 cents by the total number of hours the employees of the firms worked, prosecutors said.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra said Rivera was "driven by pure greed."

"Rivera's corrupt actions lined his own pockets and provided temporary labor firms with an unwarranted advantage against those employers who operate lawfully," Marra said.

The case grew out of the arrest of Ferry Chandra, who offered a cash bribe to an IRS agent to settle tax liabilities at two temporary-employment agencies he operated, prosecutors said. Chandra was sentenced last year to 18 months in prison.

Prosecutors did not say how the Chandra case led them to Rivera.

Rivera admitted yesterday to taking bribes since 2002 from 20 operators of different firms. Investigators found a ledger in his home that detailed some payments, including those from two other men charged yesterday.

Channavel "Danny" Kong, a Philadelphia man who operated Sunrise Labor, had paid Rivera $47,523 since 2006, according to the ledger.

Thuan Nguyen, a Philadelphia man who operated N & T Staffing Inc. and was involved with two other companies, had paid Rivera $130,100 since 2006, the ledger said.

Nguyen and Kong, both 37, made their first appearances in court yesterday and were each released on $50,000 bond.

Another temp-agency employee, Yohan Wongso, 27, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty yesterday to bribery. Prosecutors would not say where he worked, but Wongso admitted to paying Rivera bribes from several companies.

Wongso faces sentencing in July and was allowed to remain free on $50,000 bond.

James Peyton, a field investigator for the Department of Labor who worked in the same Hammonton office as Rivera, also was charged yesterday with taking bribes.

In an interview with investigators, Peyton said that since 2005, he had taken about $8,000 per quarter from temp agencies, mainly to reduce quarterly payroll-tax figures, according to court documents.

Peyton, 71, of Salem, was captured in secret recordings taking bribes from Wongso, the documents said.

Peyton, released yesterday on $50,000 bond, had submitted paperwork to retire in May, state officials said.

State Department of Labor Commissioner David J. Socolow said yesterday that the department was "pursuing the process of suspending" Rivera and Peyton with the intent of firing them.

He said the FBI contacted the department last year, and the department had been cooperating with the investigation. He said the department was reviewing the Rivera and Peyton cases.

"We are deeply disappointed by the kind of actions and disregard for law represented by these charges," he said in a statement.