Birdsall Services Charged in Election Law Violations

Seven current or former executives of Birdsall Services Group, a Monmouth-County-based engineering firm, face formal indictments of violating New Jersey pay-to-play laws.

The engineering firm, which does business with municipalities throughout the state is accused of skirting pay-to-play laws by reimbursing employees for their personal, unreportable political contributions, according to a release from the state Attorney General's Office.

Instead of making corporate political contributions to campaigns and political organizations that would disqualify it from also earning public contracts awarded by certain government agencies, Birdsall shareholders and employees allegedly made personal contributions of $300 or less, which do not have to be reported to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Birdsall criticized the indictments in a statement from spokesman Joe Orlando:

We find it regrettable that the state has made this decision after the company has voluntarily made sweeping changes to its leadership and internal processes over the past 10 months to ensure that such actions could never occur again.

Birdsall Services Group will continue to serve its many clients in full compliance with the new standards it implemented along with its long history of professional competence.

'You've just got to follow the rules'

Collingswood has not contracted any work with Birdsall "in seven or eight years," said Mayor James Maley.

He recalls the borough having done work with an engineering firm called PMK Group, which was bought out by Birdsall in 2008, but that "they're certainly not working on anything currently" in the borough.

Maley said he was only familiar with the indictments in passing, but that the campaign finance laws in New Jersey can be a minefield for the unwary.

"We’re constantly trying to keep an eye on it," he said. "You have to watch for mistakes" because the state limits campaign donations per four-year election cycle, and municipal election cycle limits in Collingswood are annual.

"The rules are what the rules are," Maley said. "You’ve just got to follow the rules."

Indictments

The state's Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau on Tuesday obtained a nine-count, state grand jury indictment charging Birdsall and several of its employees and shareholders, including:

• Howard C. Birdsall, 69, of Brielle, the largest shareholder of Birdsall, who retired late last year as CEO.  He allegedly made at least $49,808 in illegally reimbursed political contributions.

• Thomas Rospos, 61, of Belmar, a former executive vice president of Birdsall.  Rospos was charged in a prior indictment in the case, but this indictment supersedes the earlier one. He allegedly made at least $241,000 in illegally reimbursed political contributions.

• William Birdsall, 64, of Manchester, Howard’s brother. He holds the title of senior vice president and is a significant shareholder of the firm. He is semi-retired.  He allegedly made at least $74,459 in illegally reimbursed political contributions.

• Alan Hilla Sr., 73, of Brielle. He is executive vice president for business development for Birdsall and a significant shareholder of Birdsall. He also is semi-retired.  He allegedly made at least $148,309 in illegally reimbursed political contributions.

• Scott MacFadden, 58, of Brick, chief administrative officer of Birdsall. He allegedly made at least $77,957 in illegally reimbursed political contributions.

• James Johnston, 51, of North Brunswick. He is president of the Environmental Consulting Division of Birdsall and a significant shareholder. He allegedly made at least $45,797 in illegally reimbursed political contributions.

• Robert Gerard, 52, of Wall. He is the former chief marketing officer of Birdsall and was formerly a significant shareholder. He allegedly made at least $48,700 in illegally reimbursed political contributions.

Each of the defendants is charged with:

• Conspiracy
• Two counts of money laundering
• Making false representations for government contracts
• Misconduct by a corporate official
• Tampering with public records or information
• Falsifying records
• Prohibited corporation contributions through employees
• Concealment or misrepresentation of contributions or expenditures

The amounts listed for illegal contributions by the defendants are approximate figures based on the investigation to date, and the investigation is ongoing, the attorney general's office said. 

If convicted, the defendants could face 10-20 years in prison on each count of conspiracy and money laundering alone. The remaining charges all carry prison terms of three to 10 years. Each defendant also could face fines in excess of $1.3 million.