http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2010/10/25/114308.htmNew Jersey School Chief Charged in Insurance Kickback Scheme
New Jersey School Chief Charged in Insurance Kickback Scheme
By Wayne Parry & Samantha Henry
October 25, 2010
The superintendent of New Jersey's fourth-largest school district surrendered to the FBI on Thursday and was charged with fraud and bribery over an alleged insurance-kickback scheme that federal officials called "staggering'' in its scope.
Toms River Schools Superintendent Michael Ritacco, who makes $234,000 a year from his job leading the school district, was implicated earlier this week when a school district supervisor and a Morris County insurance broker admitted in court they had been part of a scheme to inflate school insurance charges and kick back part of the money to Ritacco as bribes.
Officials from the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office announced an 18-count indictment last Thursday against Ritacco and an insurance broker, Francis Gartland, who did business with the district.
Officials say the 62-year-old Ritacco, of Seaside Park, and 69-year-old Gartland of Baltimore, Md., concealed more than $1 million in bribes between 2002 and 2010 from insurance brokers and other service providers. Court documents say the men spent money on home renovations, watches that cost tens of thousands of dollars, and other personal expenses. Ritacco also allegedly bought a girlfriend -- also on the district payroll -- a car and other gifts, including money for the college tuition of one of her relatives, according to court papers.
-------------------------------------
You can be sure this kind of stuff is going on all over the place. Your own employer is probably doing it to you.