Feds charge Abate with misuse of WMUA post Former exec. director faces jail time, fines in U.S. allegations Frank G. Abate, the former executive director of the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority (WMUA), has been charged in a federal indictment with taking thousands of dollars worth of free or discounted home improvements and services from contractors and developers in exchange for exercising his authority in favor of those individuals. Abate was arrested on Nov. 21 and an indictment detailing the charges against him was made public by U.S. Attorney Christo-pher J. Christie that same day. Abate, 60, of Marlboro, was arrested by special agents of the FBI at his home. He remains free on bail. According to Christie, Abate is charged with nine counts of defrauding the public of his honest services, each of which carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; two counts of extortion under color of official right, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; and two counts of attempted obstruction of the grand jury investigating him, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The WMUA, with headquarters on Pension Road, Manalapan, operates a waste water sewage treatment plant which provides sewerage treatment service to 25,000 residential customers in Manalapan, Marlboro, Englishtown and part of Freehold Township. Abate is a former commissioner of the WMUA and a former member of the Marlboro Township Council. He was appointed executive director of the WMUA in January 2002 and served in that position until September, when he was fired by the authority commissioners. Abate's firing came several months after his home and the WMUA offices were searched by federal agents. According to the indictment, Abate received significant benefits, including free or discounted home improvements and repairs, property surveys and legal work from contractors and developers seeking work with the WMUA. The indictment refers to, but does not cite by name, six contractors and two commercial and residential real estate developers who sought sewer approvals from the WMUA. In all instances, the contractors or developers received approvals or contracts from the WMUA. Abate, as WMUA executive director, had wide authority to unilaterally award contracts or could recommend to the WMUA commissioners approval of contracts, according to the indictment. "The conduct alleged illustrates a brazen and continuous pattern of corruption by Abate," Christie said. "Again and again, Abate used his position and authority to serve himself and reward favored contractors." The WMUA is directed by a board of four commissioners; two representatives appointed from both Manalapan and Marlboro. Commenting on Abate's arrest, Jeff Meyer, a spokesman for the WMUA, said, "The commissioners of the WMUA worked exceedingly hard to fully cooperate with the federal authorities in their probe. Moving forward, we will continue to provide a reliable and environmentally conscious service to our rate payers." Among the corrupt arrangements alleged in the Abate indictment are the following: • An electrical contractor, who received several contracts from the WMUA worth more than $700,000 between 2002 and 2005, performed approximately $7,184 in free electrical work for an addition at Abate's home. Abate supplied the architect's blueprint to the contractor and solicited the contractor to do the work. • A heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor installed a new water heater and a new furnace in Abate's home for which Abate paid nothing. The contractor also installed a $5,000 heating and cooling system in the Brick Township home of a close relative of Abate at an $1,100 discount. This contractor received contracts with the WMUA totaling approximately $125,000. • A tree services company seeking (and subsequently receiving) WMUA contracts removed approximately 10 trees at Abate's home - a value of approximately $2,500 - for which Abate paid $900. Abate also allowed the contractor to dump approximately 20 loads of wood chips on WMUA property. • A consulting engineer awarded contracts worth approximately $1.2 million - at Abate's request - prepared a revised property survey for Abate's home valued at approximately $600 and a landscaping sketch worth $500, both free of charge. • Two developers collaborating on a 180-unit housing project, in which they were awaiting final approval of a sewer extension application from the WMUA, paid $2,500 for an architect to prepare plans for an addition to Abate's home in 2002, for which Abate paid nothing. The developers paid an additional $1,800 to the architect in 2005 for plans for a second addition to Abate's home. Abate paid only $500 for the architect's total bill of $2,300 in that instance. • The indictment charges that in or about June 2004, a person identified as Contractor No. 6 did legal work for Abate at no cost. In exchange for this benefit, Abate understood that he would take steps necessary to ensure that Contractor No. 6 was annually named the WMUA's attorney. Contractor No. 6 was named the WMUA's attorney in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and Abate signed the checks paying that individual for services rendered. Between Jan. 1, 2002 and Oct. 31, 2006, Contractor No. 6 was paid approximately $807,100 for services it provided as attorney, according to the indictment. When asked who was appointed as the WMUA attorney during those years, WMUA spokesman Jeff Meyer said, "the law firm of Art Goldzweig." Goldzweig was Marlboro's mayor in the late 1970s. His law firm has offices in Manalapan. The indictment also describes acts by Abate to allegedly conceal and obstruct the grand jury investigation. On Jan. 30, 2006, a subpoena was served on the electrical contractor - identified in the indictment as Contractor No. 3 - seeking all records related to work performed on Abate's home. Special agents of the FBI also interviewed representatives of the contractor on Feb. 28, 2006, to inquire why Abate was never billed for the electrical work valued at $7, 184. On the same day, Feb. 28, 2006, Abate mailed a letter to the contractor saying that he had "recently reviewed my records and recognized that I never received an invoice for work performed at my home. Please send a bill immediately so payment can be forthcoming." A few days later, Abate sent a second letter with the same request. On March 8, Abate paid the contractor the full amount of $7,184.68 by check. Similarly, the architect discussed above received a grand jury subpoena on Feb. 14, 2006, seeking his testimony. Three days later, the architect discussed the subpoena with the two developers discussed above. On March 6, Abate sent a letter to the architect with a check for $250. The note said, "... for your services Thanks! Frank." The architect subsequently telephoned Abate to say the check was redundant since he had already been paid by the developers. In a recorded conversation, Abate said he was aware of the payment from the developers. The following exchange occurred, according to the indictment: Abate: "Well, here's my dilemma, um, I don't know if you know, but everybody's being looked at." Architect: "Yeah, I already received a subpoena to send in my documents, ya know. Ya know, they wanted copies of the drawings." Abate: "So, that's why I sent you that money."