Camden man admits stealing $71,000 in government aid

Nathaniel Johnson victimized Camden residents dependent on government aid. And a year before that, he was bad news for the Camden cop who could have prevented it all.

On Thursday, Johnson, 42, of Camden, appeared before U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez and admitted he pillaged postal trucks and mailboxes, taking nearly $71,000 in unemployment and Social Security checks and tax refunds.

It's not the first time he has been in trouble. Johnson's criminal history includes charges of drug possession that put him in prison for more than two years before his release in November 2004.

After that, Johnson allegedly worked as an informant for a police task force in Camden, helping arrest drug dealers, according to police reports.

In May 2008, Johnson was pulled over by Rolan Carter, a Camden police officer, for talking on his cell phone while driving. During the stop, Carter discovered that Johnson was an unlicensed driver and felon wanted on four warrants, including a drug offense.

But Johnson was working for the state police, he told Carter. State troopers and local officers arrived at the scene, and a superior ordered Carter to let Johnson go, according to court records.

Carter, who was hired in 1997, subsequently questioned the department's policy for releasing a fugitive and was fired for insubordination.

The car stop remains at the center of a legal battle Carter has launched to regain the job he lost in 2009, the year Johnson orchestrated the scheme to steal checks.

"If I had been allowed to arrest this man, these crimes never would have happened," Carter said yesterday. "I lost my job because of this person, and I'm trying to clear my name."

On the day Carter pulled Johnson over, two state police plainclothes officers arrived and wanted Johnson freed. By then, Carter had discovered the warrants for Johnson's arrest.

In his lawsuit against Camden and the city's police department, Carter has questioned whether Johnson ever worked officially as an informant. State police officials have said investigators were looking into the matter.

Joseph F. Audino, a hearing officer at Carter's June 2009 departmental hearing on charges of subordination, also raised questions about Johnson.

State police, Audino said, had failed to do a proper background check on Johnson.

"If anyone should have been charged, it should have been state police officers for not doing their job," Audino said.

He recommended the department reinstate Carter, who was then on suspension. Instead, Carter was fired.

By November 2009, Johnson and his wife were overseeing the theft of checks meant for Camden residents, according to court records. They used drug addicts and prostitutes to cash the checks with fake identifications, then gave them a slice of the profits.

"I take the checks and write down the name and I give it to a crackhead," Johnson told the judge on Thursday as he pleaded guilty to theft of government property. He faces 10 years, but hopes for much less.

He's not responsible for stealing the full amount prosecutors say he took, Johnson said, because others were involved. But to get this matter behind him, he said, he pleaded to the full amount. He said he wanted to be out of prison as soon as possible to care for his young son.

According to the plea agreement, Johnson faces a maximum 10-year sentence and a possible $250,000 fine, plus restitution. His wife and another accomplice pleaded guilty to the same charge last month. All are scheduled to be sentenced in May.

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