Feds charge Abate with misuse of WMUA post
Local officials react to news of Abate's indictment
BY KATHY BARATTA & TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writers

Municipal officials in Manalapan and Marl-boro reacted to the federal indictment last week of Frank G. Abate, the former executive director of the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority (WMUA).

Abate, 60, of Marlboro, was charged 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 as they sought contracts with the WMUA.

The WMUA, with headquarters on Pension Road, Manalapan,

operates a wastewater sewage treatment plant that provides service to 25,000 residential customers in Manalapan, Marlboro, Englishtown and part of Freehold Township.

Abate 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.

Speaking as a representative of a community that is served by the WMUA, Marlboro Mayor Robert Kleinberg said Abate's arrest "is no surprise to me and I hope the arrest and indictment of Mr. Abate restores the confidence with the residents of Marlboro.

"I can assure you that we are as vigilant as ever at stopping corruption. This is the fifth indictment [of individuals involved in Marlboro business] since I've been mayor. Someone has to be doing something for all this to happen," he said.

Kleinberg applauded the efforts of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and the IRS for their work.

The mayor said that when he questioned Abate at a Marlboro Township Council meeting with WMUA representatives in October 2005, he did not believe Abate was being truthful in his responses.

Kleinberg said law enforcement authorities will pursue their investigations until the people who stole from Marlboro are brought to justice. He said his administration will work with the authorities to assist in the fight against political corruption.

"There's plenty more coming," Kleinberg said.

The News Transcript reached out to all five members of the Manalapan Township Committee for reaction to Abate's arrest.

Committeemen Andrew Lucas and Anthony Gennaro were unavailable for comment.

Mayor Drew Shapiro, Deputy Mayor Michelle Roth and Committeeman Joseph Locricchio responded.

Shapiro, Roth and Locricchio were asked if they found it troubling that the WMUA's rates have risen more than 30 percent in the past two years; a period of time Abate is alleged, according to the indictment, to have benefited personally from his relationship with WMUA vendors.

Locricchio said he was very upset by the developments of the past week. He said the indictment of Abate vindicated his previous call for a municipal hearing in Manalapan regarding the finances and operation of the WMUA.

The hearing that was held in Marlboro in October 2005 included officials from Manalapan and Marlboro questioning the WMUA commissioners and Abate.

Locricchio said Shapiro and former Manalapan committee members Rebecca Aaronson and William Scherer rejected his call for a similar public hearing to be held in Manalapan.

Locricchio said he had also been against the appointment of Eric Abraham of Manalapan as a WMUA commissioner. Locricchio said Abraham's work at the WMUA is "politically motivated" and he accused Abraham of making "false claims in the press" regarding the operations of the WMUA.

Locricchio said Abraham "was an advocate for the rate increase and for Mr. Abate. I think it's an abomination that the residents of Manalapan and Marlboro are forced to pay the rates they now face due to the incompetent management of funds."

On Monday, Abraham called Locricchio's criticism "uniformed." According to Abraham, despite many invitations to attend WMUA meetings, Locricchio has never attended a WMUA meeting nor "set foot in the building."

Abraham said Locricchio "has been invited to participate in the budget-making and rate-making process and he has never once accepted our invitation. Mr. Abate's alleged crimes had nothing to do with the rates.

"If Mr. Locricchio had bothered to read the indictment he would have seen that the price charged by one of the vendors was actually lower, not higher.

"Finally," said Abraham, "Frank Abate did not select the vendors or other professionals that worked for the authority, nor is there any allegation in the indictment of the mismanagement of funds. Frank's alleged crimes are related to his getting cheap work done at his residence, but there are no allegations of any impropriety regarding WMUA funds."

Shapiro said that from the beginning, he had opposed appointing Abate to the position of the WMUA's executive director.

"To this day I am puzzled regarding his appointment," he said.

However, said Shapiro, there had never been any hearings canceled as asserted by Locricchio.

According to Shapiro, there had been a request by the Marlboro and Manalapan mayors to question Abate regarding the rising rates and the expenditures being made by the sewer authority.

As to explanations not being forthcoming from WMUA commissioners, Shapiro said any member of the governing body has always been free at any time to request that a particular commissioner appear before the governing body to give a report regarding the utility.

"What Mr. Locricchio wanted was a politicized spectacle when all he had to do was ask them to appear with any information," Shapiro said.

Roth said she was out of town on business at the time of Abate's arrest and only returned the day before Thanksgiving. She said that since she had not read the allegations contained in the 28-page federal indictment brought against Abate, she did not feel comfortable addressing any remarks regarding the indictment itself.

"I can't comment on that until all the facts are known," Roth said, noting, "All four WMUA commissioners terminated Mr. Abate's employment. I support all four commissioners and the internal investigation they conducted when they thought Mr. Abate had breached the boundaries of his office."

Regarding the rates now being paid by WMUA customers, Roth said she believes that like anything else, such as a house, a facility like the WMUA building is going to be subject to capital improvements.

"As with any facility, capital improvements need to be made. My understanding is that money raised went for these improvements; improvements needed to bring the facility up to homeland security standards."

In 2005, the WMUA commissioners instituted a 30 percent rate hike which raised rates from $81 to $105 per quarter for regular customers.

The commissioners attributed the WMUA's financial situation to a drop in connection fees, which is one of the authority's primary sources of revenue. The commissioners also attributed the rate hike to what they said was a significant increase in operating expenses including employee benefits, chemicals, fuel and plant repairs.

In 2006, the commissioners adopted a $13.12 million budget that contained a $4 per quarter increase in user fees. Regular customers saw their quarterly bill rise from $105 to $109.

The vote to approve the 2006 budget was 3-1. Abraham and commissioners Steve Toubin and Jeffrey Hymowitz voted in favor of the budget.

Commissioner Ralph Zulferino voted against the budget, saying, "I want to commend my fellow commissioners for their hard work on this budget. Some tough decisions were made by all. However, I voted against this budget because we need to continue to made the hard decisions and move forward with a long-term strategic plan concerning the WMUA and its rate payers. This will guarantee that we maintain a reliable service for our customers ongoing at a reasonable cost."

Abraham and Toubin are appointees of the Manalapan Township Committee and Hymowitz and Zulferino are appointees of the Marlboro Township Council.

WMUA spokesman Jeff Meyer said on Nov. 27 that the authority has introduced a budget for 2007 and that budget does not contain a rate increase.