The former chief financial officer of Guttenberg has been arrested and charged with official public misconduct for allegedly misappropriating funds in both Kearny and Guttenberg.
John Florentino was arrested by Hudson County Prosector’s Office investigators on Feb. 6 and held at the Hudson County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. He was charged with allegedly misappropriating more than $15,000 in funds in Kearny, where he also served as the town’s financial officer, as well as misappropriating more than $18,000 in funds in Guttenberg. He was released after posting bail.
According to Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Terrence Hull, Florentino posted bail after undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, which was requested as part of the bail procedure.
If convicted of the second degree offense (misconduct while serving as a public officer), Florentino could face as much as 10 years in prison.
For the offense to be classified as a first degree theft, Florentino would have had to allegedly taken more than $75,000, not the total $33,000 which is he currently allegedly accused of misappropriating.
“The exact amount is unknown at this time,” Hull said. “We have not confirmed the exact amounts. Our investigation is ongoing to determine the full amount of money involved. Both towns are conducting their own audits and the results of the investigation will be turned over to a grand jury, which will determine if he [Florentino] should be indicted.”
Guttenberg’s audit, which was not released at first, has now turned up that as much as $18,000 in township assets could be unaccounted for.
That number could rise, depending upon the outcome of the audit.
“Regardless, one dollar, one penny is too much,” said Mayor David Delle Donna last week. “One thing is certain. We are going to be able to recoup all of the money. Mr. Florentino was bonded for up to $150,000, so we’re protected. We’re going to see if we can get the costs of the audit as well.”
Last month, a routine year-end review of the town books by auditor Steve Wielkocz uncovered what officials have described as “a series of financial irregularities,” which, in turn, led to the resignations of Florentino as CFO and Councilman Carlos Garcia.
It is believed that Garcia took an unapproved advance on his $4,400-a-year salary from Florentino, who was allegedly cutting a slew of emergency payroll checks, more than 50 in total, over the last two years.
The audit turned up the irregularities, which were in turn, were presented to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office as evidence.
Garcia has not been charged criminally, and might not be charged as part of the investigation.
New CFO
Delle Donna said that there have already been plans implemented to prevent such a problem from happening again. One has been to hire a new CFO, Patrick DeBlasio, who Delle Donna said has been meticulous with the township’s books.
“We are no longer writing any manual checks,” Delle Donna said. “When there are procedures in place, then it’s easier to be followed. Right now, nothing gets paid without a request form and a voucher. No bills will be paid. Our vendors have been told that. The majority of what went on before has been changed. Pat DeBlasio knows the procedure and what has to be followed. A lot of things are being done to try to [stop] this from never happening again.”