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Gicella Sanchez, 36, struck a plea deal with the government rather than go to trial for the scheme after it was sniffed out by the FBI.
Police departments routinely provide off-duty officers to direct traffic on certain jobs by private contractors. The officers are required to “complete and provide…a voucher that indicated, among other things, the hours worked on particular off-duty assignments,” Carpenito said.
For nearly two years, beginning in 2014, Sanchez conspired with another officer who was authorized to assign off-duty work and sign the vouchers, the U.S. attorney said.
That officer – who wasn’t identified by federal authorities – submitted bogus vouchers for work that Sanchez never provided, Carpenito said.
“In other instances, Sanchez showed up to off-duty job sites but left before her shift ended,” he said.
As part of her plea deal, Sanchez must forfeit $9,095 that she received from her role in the scheme and pay restitution of $2,490.
U.S. District Judge John M. Vazquez scheduled sentencing for Feb. 2 on her guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud a local government receiving federal funds.
Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI with the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell of his Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
Sanchez is "currently suspended without pay, and the city will continue to cooperate fully to hold any officers who participated accountable," Mayor Steve Fulop said.
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