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Rodman Lucas, 62, of Pemberton Township, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy to tamper with public records, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.Lucas' criminal case was part of a lengthy corruption probe by the state Comptroller's Office
Lucas is an ex-operator of the Wrightstown Municipal Utilities Authority (WMUA). He admitted to using the public works authority to improperly dump waste from his private septic business and fail to report the sewage disposal to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. (DEP), according to Grewal.
Lucas entered his guilty plea before Superior Court Judge Terrence R. Cook, Grewal said.
The Attorney General's office is recommending that Lucas serve ip to a year in the Burlington County Jail plus probation and be permanently banned from public office and employment. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 30.
Lucas' private company called Aqua Clean Toilet Systems LLC illegally disposed more than 600,000 gallons of septic waste at WMUA from 2013 until 2018, an investigation by the state Comptroller General found.
Lucas was hired as WMUA's plant operator/operations manager.in October 2012. Within a few months of taking the public job, Aqua Clean began dumping septic waste collected by Lucas' private company’s trucks directly into a manhole at the WMUA without proper authorization, according to Grewal's criminal complaint.
Local residents had complained about what they witnessed at the WMUA, according to Grewal, who said, "We urge members of the public to contact our corruption tip line – 844-OPIA-TIPS – if they have reason to suspect that a public official is abusing his or her position and authority.”
Lucas' defense attorney is Robert M. Perry of Mount Holly.
Deputy Attorney General Brian Uzdavinis accepted Lucas' guilty plea for the Corruption Bureau within the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), Grewal said.
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