Former Atlantic City Inspector Sentenced to Prison for Taking Bribes
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a former Atlantic City inspector was sentenced to state prison today for accepting cash bribes from a taxi operator and operators of massage parlors and “stress therapy centers.”
Logan F. Holt Jr., 55, of Galloway Township, was sentenced to five years in state prison, including two years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Mark H. Sandson in Atlantic County. Holt pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to a second-degree charge of official misconduct. He is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.
Deputy Attorney General Peter W. Lee, Deputy Chief of the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, and Deputy Attorney General Jonathan Gilmore prosecuted Holt. Gilmore handled the sentencing today. Holt was indicted in November in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
Holt was an inspector with the Atlantic City Department of Licenses and Inspections, Mercantile Department, from 2002 until February 2012. In pleading guilty, Holt admitted that on April 1, 2010, he accepted an $800 cash bribe from a taxi operator, and in return, appeared in municipal court that same day to request that the court dismiss two tickets that had been issued to the taxi operator by another inspector for violations involving the condition of his vehicle. The count of the indictment to which Holt pleaded guilty also charges that on May 11, 2010, he accepted a $250 payment from the same taxi operator for allowing his cab to pass its annual city vehicle inspection.
“We simply can’t afford to have public officials at any level putting the authority entrusted to them up for sale by taking bribes, particularly when their authority relates to matters of public health and safety, as was the case with this defendant,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “We will meet such corrupt conduct with stern punishment, including prison time.”
“Bribery involving government employees is a serious crime, and we urge businesses and members of the public to alert us confidentially if any official solicits a bribe from them,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We will aggressively pursue any leads, and we will prosecute corrupt officials to the full extent of the law.”
Acting Attorney General Hoffman and Director Honig noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free Corruption Tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to confidentially report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The public also can log on to the Division’s web page at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing confidentially.
The state’s investigation revealed that, in addition to the incidents to which he pleaded guilty, Holt accepted cash bribes from owners and operators of several “stress therapy” and massage businesses on Atlantic and Pacific Avenues in return for refraining from enforcing ordinances and regulations governing the operation of those businesses.
The investigation was conducted for the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau by Detective Matthew Peeke, Lt. David Caracciolo, Detective Anthony Carugno, retired Lt. John Redkoles and retired Detective Sgt. 1st Class Karl Ulbrich.
The investigation began with a referral from the Atlantic City Department of Licenses and Inspections, which allegedly received a complaint that Holt had been soliciting bribes.