Court Administrators in Carlstadt Municipal Court Allegedly Falsified/Tampered with Records
By Travis Tormey posted in Fraud charges on Thursday, December 12, 2013
The court administrator and deputy of the Carlstadt Borough Municipal Court in Bergen County, New Jersey are currently facing charges for falsifying or tampering with records and conspiracy to falsify or tamper with records, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
69-year-old Joyce Rotondo, the Carlstadt Court Administrator, and 41-year-old Lori D’Amore, the Deputy Court Administrator, are accused of collaborating to alter records pertaining to parking summonses as well as drivers license suspensions. According to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli, the two women falsified documents to allow D’Amore and others to evade the payment of fees associated with parking tickets.
In addition, they allegedly sent requests to the Division of Motor Vehicles in order to rescind the suspension of D’Amore’s drivers license and to have the fees waived for the reinstatement of the license. Officials believe that Rotondo and D’Amore conspired to achieve these ends on behalf of two other residents in Bergen County as well.
Falsifying or Tampering with Records is governed under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-4, which sets forth:
a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, a person commits a crime of the fourth degree if he falsifies, destroys, removes, conceals any writing or record, or utters any writing or record knowing that it contains a false statement or information, with purpose to deceive or injure anyone or to conceal any wrongdoing. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by a period of incarceration of up to 18 months in New Jersey State Prison.
b. Issuing a False Financial Statement: A person is guilty of issuing a false financial statement, a crime of the third degree, when, with purpose to deceive or injure anyone or to conceal any wrongdoing; he by oath or affirmation:
(1) Knowingly makes or utters a written instrument which purports to describe the financial condition or ability to pay of some person and which is inaccurate in some substantial respect; or
(2) Represents in writing that a written instrument purporting to describe a person’s financial condition or ability to pay as of a prior date is accurate with respect to such person’s current financial condition or ability to pay, whereas, he knows it is substantially inaccurate in that respect.
A crime of the third degree is punishable by a period of incarceration of between 3 and 5 years in New Jersey State Prison. Offenses of this kind are categorized under fraud offenses in the New Jersey Criminal Code. In this case, each of the defendants could be facing a term of incarceration of up to 18 months in New Jersey State Prison if convicted.
For more information pertaining to this case, access the following article: Carlstadt court administrators charged with falsifying parking tickets, DMV records