12 N.J. government gas thieves charged

Two City of Camden workers and four Camden City Board of Education workers were indicted late yesterday on charges that they stole gasoline for personal use from government fueling stations, Attorney General Anne Milgram announced.

Six current or former state Department of Children and Families employees were also charged, along with one private citizen.

"We charge that these government workers literally took a free ride at the expense of state and local taxpayers," Milgram said. "These thefts are a slap in the face to taxpayers who are struggling to afford the gas they need to get to work and to the grocery store. Government agencies in New Jersey pay millions of dollars a year for gas legitimately needed for official business, but we can't afford to pay for employees who steal."

The indictments were announced late this morning.

The defendants are accused of stealing anywhere from a few gallons to several hundred gallons of gas. The charges include second- and third-degree official misconduct. Second-degree crimes carry maximum sentences of 10 years in state prison and a fine of $150,000; third-degree crimes carry maximum sentences of five years in state prison and a fine of $15,000.

Among those indicted were Patrick L. Freeman, superintendent of the City of Camden Bureau of Recreation; Sandra G. Ingram, a clerk for the Camden City Board of Education; Terrance Mayo, an employee in the City of Camden Bureau of Recreation; Urshell Pearson, a plumbing foreman and inspector for the Camden City Board of Education; Charles Rice, a gas attendant at the city pumps for the Camden City Board of Education; and William Elliot, a roofer and gas attendant employed by the Camden City Board of Education.