— 46 COUNTY COPS COLLECT $8.3M/YR IN PENSIONS PLUS SALARIES
Investigative Report by Mark Lagerkvist
Posted on October 24, 2013
Eighty percent of New Jersey’s county sheriffs are double-dippers. Next month’s election will do little, if anything, to change that fact.
A New Jersey Watchdog investigation found that 17 of the 21 sheriffs collect state pensions as law enforcement retirees in addition to their six-figure salaries. Their payrolls include 29 undersheriffs who are also double-dipping.
Overall, those 46 top cops rake in $8.3 million a year – $3.4 million in retirement pay plus $4.9 million in salaries. (Click here for complete list.) On average, they get $181,033 a year – $107,145 in county pay and $73,888 from pension.
Ten counties will elect sheriffs on Nov. 5, but voters in eight of those counties will be stuck with a double-dipper no matter what.
In five counties – Bergen, Passaic, Middlesex, Morris and Hunterdon – either major party candidate, if elected, would join the ranks of twin-scoopers. Here are the current sheriff salaries and the annual state retirement pay received by each contender:
Bergen County, $138,000 salary. Incumbent Michael Saudino (R), $129,984 pension; James Mordaga (D), $75,600 pension.
Passaic County, $151,887 salary. Incumbent Richard Berdnik (D), $102,060 pension; Frank Feenan (R), $101,460 pension.
Middlesex County, $129,950 salary. Incumbent Mildred Scott (D), $61,248 pension; Jose A. Martinez (R), $78,060 pension.
Morris County, $129,636 salary. Incumbent Edward Rochford (R), $61,452 pension; Mark Dombrowski (D), $48,252 disability pension.
Hunterdon County, $109,185 salary. Incumbent Frederick Brown (R), $81,828 pension; Paul Carluccio (D), $29,172 pension.
In three counties – Union, Warren and Sussex – the double-dipping incumbents are unopposed.
For the other two counties – Ocean and Somerset – the outcome is not as automatic.
Ocean County voters will decide on a successor to the late Sheriff William Pohemus, who died last December. Pohemus drew $122,669 in salary plus $43,272 from pension. Acting Sheriff William Sommeling – who collects $89,000 in salary and $27,540 from pension – is not running.
If elected sheriff, Republican nominee Michael Mastronardy is almost certain to retire as Toms River police chief to start collecting a six-figure pension. Democratic opponent George “Bob” Armstrong gets a modest pension – $7,836 a year from the five years he worked at the State Commission on Investigation.
In Somerset County, GOP incumbent Frank Provenzano receives a $75,924 pension on top of his $124,910 salary. Democratic challenger Richard Arline is the only major party candidate in this year’s sheriff elections who does not receive a state pension, but he is a long shot in a county dominated by Republicans.
Because of loopholes, the practice of double-dipping by law enforcement officials is generally legal in New Jersey. The system offers strong economic incentives for officers to retire at a full pension at a relatively young age – often in their 40s – and then return to the public payroll for a second income.
“It’s not appropriate,” Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Red Bank) told New Jersey Watchdog earlier this year. “The pension system is intended to support you at a time you are no longer working.”
A reform proposal co-sponsored by Beck would end most of the double-dipping. If enacted, Senate Bill 601 would suspend state pension payments to retirees who return to public jobs that pay more than $15,000 a year. Their retirement benefits would resume after they permanently leave public employment.
The measure has been trapped in committee and unable to reach the floor for a vote since it was first introduced in February 2011.
Meanwhile, state pension funds — which face a $47.2 billion deficit — continue to be drained by retirement payouts to government workers who are still employed.
“You’re really destroying the fabric of the pension system,” Beck said. “You just can’t afford to do this stuff.”
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NEW JERSEY’S WATCHDOG’S LIST OF 46 DOUBLE-DIPPING COUNTY COPS
COUNTY
LAST
FIRST
TOTAL/YR
SALARY
PENSION
SHERIFF
Bergen
Saudino
Michael
$ 267,984
$ 138,000
$129,984
Passaic
Berdnik
Richard
$ 253,947
$ 151,887
$102,060
Union
Froehlich
Ralph
$ 228,024
$ 142,728
$85,296
Camden
Billingham
Charles
$ 219,141
$ 144,753
$74,388
Mercer
Kemler
John
$ 219,108
$ 134,280
$84,828
Warren
Gallant
David
$ 206,464
$ 124,084
$82,380
Somerset
Provenzano
Frank
$ 200,834
$ 124,910
$75,924
Essex
Fontoura
Armando
$ 200,221
$ 137,917
$62,304
Gloucester
Morina
Carmel
$ 191,907
$ 128,547
$63,360
Middlesex
Scott
Mildred
$ 191,198
$ 129,950
$61,248
Morris
Rochford
Edward
$ 191,088
$ 129,636
$61,452
Hunterdon
Brown
Frederick
$ 191,013
$ 109,185
$81,828
Salem
Miller
Charles
$ 183,222
$ 107,250
$75,972
Cumberland
Austino
Robert
$ 166,854
$ 107,250
$59,604
Cape May
Schaffer
Gary
$ 161,572
$ 107,500
$54,072
Sussex
Strada
Michael
$ 135,642
$ 107,250
$28,392
Ocean
Sommeling
William
$ 116,540
$ 89,000
$27,540
UNDERSHERIFF
Middlesex
Harris
Kevin
$ 221,985
$ 116,505
$105,480
Bergen
Librie
Steven
$ 219,448
$ 115,000
$104,448
Bergen
Smith
Brian
$ 217,676
$ 110,000
$107,676
Bergen
Colaneri
Robert
$ 204,344
$ 110,000
$94,344
Morris
Dempsey
John
$ 195,121
$ 131,905
$63,216
Mercer
Medina
Pedro
$ 191,124
$ 112,200
$78,924
Monmouth
Dawson
Robert
$ 190,412
$ 93,980
$96,432
Bergen
Shortway
Harry
$ 185,804
$ 110,000
$75,804
Gloucester
Bay
Andre
$ 180,663
$ 93,603
$87,060
Sussex
Wanamaker
Homer
$ 179,721
$ 103,473
$76,248
Monmouth
Donovan
Michael
$ 179,699
$ 93,767
$85,932
Passaic
Dennis
Joseph
$ 178,536
$ 101,820
$76,716
Salem
Mabey
Warren
$ 174,662
$ 87,062
$87,600
Atlantic
Kammer
Theodore
$ 173,709
$ 96,525
$77,184
Sussex
Armstrong
Keith
$ 172,797
$ 96,525
$76,272
Warren
McCarthy
Kenneth
$ 167,516
$ 81,200
$86,316
Camden
Fontanez
William
$ 165,123
$ 113,679
$51,444
Hudson
Lamparello
Bruce
$ 163,571
$ 102,023
$61,548
Somerset
O’Neill
Charles
$ 162,284
$ 99,800
$62,484
Warren
Lundon
William
$ 161,507
$ 78,155
$83,352
Cape May
Maher
John
$ 161,408
$ 90,632
$70,776
Hudson
Conti
Andrew
$ 160,443
$ 102,723
$57,720
Cape May
Nolan
Robert
$ 155,024
$ 90,632
$64,392
Monmouth
Freeman
Theodore
$ 151,345
$ 92,137
$59,208
Hunterdon
DellaSerra
Frank
$ 147,692
$ 65,000
$82,692
Somerset
Gandolfe
Roy
$ 146,138
$ 89,402
$56,736
Essex
Padilla
Jesus
$ 145,578
$ 99,882
$45,696
Hunterdon
Smith
Robert
$ 142,179
$ 76,935
$65,244
Cumberland
Franckle
Norman
$ 107,292
$ 60,000
$47,292
TOTAL
$8,327,560
$4,928,692
$3,398,868
AVERAGE
$ 181,033
$ 107,145
$73,888
SOURCE: New Jersey state pension databases and county payroll records.
- POSTED HERE WITH PERMISSION http://newjersey.watchdog.org
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EIGHTY PERCENT OF NEW JERSEY’S SHERIFFS ARE DOUBLE-DIPPERS
— 46 COUNTY COPS COLLECT $8.3M/YR IN PENSIONS PLUS SALARIES
Investigative Report by Mark Lagerkvist
Posted on October 24, 2013
Eighty percent of New Jersey’s county sheriffs are double-dippers. Next month’s election will do little, if anything, to change that fact.
A New Jersey Watchdog investigation found that 17 of the 21 sheriffs collect state pensions as law enforcement retirees in addition to their six-figure salaries. Their payrolls include 29 undersheriffs who are also double-dipping.
Overall, those 46 top cops rake in $8.3 million a year – $3.4 million in retirement pay plus $4.9 million in salaries. (Click here for complete list.) On average, they get $181,033 a year – $107,145 in county pay and $73,888 from pension.