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Monmouth County Developer Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Bribing Authority Executive Director, Obstructing Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office March 31, 2009
  • District of New Jersey (973) 645-2888

NEWARK—Monmouth County developer Steven Meiterman was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for bribing a sewer authority official with thousands of dollars in architectural drawings to gain favor in getting sewerage service to Meiterman projects in Marlboro Township, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced.

U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton also fined Meiterman $10,000. Meiterman will surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be determined.

Meiterman, 46, of Marlboro, and his brother Bernard Meiterman, 44, of Manalapan, pleaded guilty Oct. 29, 2007, to a violation of a federal law known as the Travel Act (using the U.S. mail to facilitate corrupt payments to a public official). During the plea to that charge, the Meitermans also admitted obstructing the grand jury investigation into their dealings with Frank G. Abate, the then-Executive Director of the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority, by coaching the architect on how to testify falsely before the federal grand jury investigating their dealings in Monmouth County.

Edward Kay, 40, of Marlboro, the Meitermans’ business partner, an investor and bookkeeper in some of their real estate ventures, also pleaded guilty to the bribery charge on the same day as the Meitermans.

On June 5, 2008, Judge Wigenton sentenced Bernard Meiterman to two years in prison and fined him $7,500. The next day, Kay was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $4,000.

At the defendants’ plea hearings, all three admitted bribing Abate by paying thousands of dollars in architectural drawings for Abate’s home in exchange for Abate exercising his authority for their benefit. Steven Meiterman and Bernard Meiterman further admitted to coaching the architect to conceal the fact they had paid him for services on behalf of Abate, and to falsely inform law enforcement and a federal grand jury that he, the architect, “forgot” to bill Abate for the work.

Abate, of Marlboro, was convicted on May 25, 2007, following a two-week jury trial. On Aug. 13, 2007, Judge Wigenton sentenced Abate to 51 months in federal prison and fined him $10,000.

Marra credited Special Agents of the FBI’s Red Bank Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun in Newark, with the investigation of the Meitermans and Kay.

Marra also credited Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith H. Germano who prosecuted the case.

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