03/27/2014
With an agreement to step down from the Emerson Borough Council and forego public service for life, Ronald Griffin was allowed to enter a diversionary program on Wednesday to resolve charges that he engaged in election fraud during the June 2013 primary.
During a brief hearing in Hackensack, Daniel Keitel, an assistant Bergen County prosecutor, told Superior Court Judge John A. Conte that Griffin has met all the conditions required of him to be admitted to the Pretrial Intervention program for a one-year period.
If he completes the probationary period without any violations the charges against him could be dismissed at that time. The program is usually offered to first-time, non-violent offenders.
“Ron didn’t admit to committing any criminal offense or engaging in any wrongdoing,” said defense attorney Donald A. DiGioia. “PTI is designed for people like him who despite asserting their innocence have the right to apply to PTI in order to avoid the stress and expense of going to a trial in order to seek vindication.”
Griffin, 69, a retired production manager who is active in volunteer work for military veterans, resigned from the council in late February, just two months into his first term. He also stepped down as chairman of Emerson’s Republican Municipal Committee, a post he had held for three years.
Griffin and then-borough attorney Scott Mooney were charged last year with altering a petition signed by 25 residents nominating Republican incumbent Elizabeth Garis to the council. Prosecutors alleged that Mooney and Griffin added the name of newcomer Keith Smith after residents had already signed the petition for Garis.
Last month, Mooney, 38, agreed to never again hold a public office and was admitted to a two-year PTI program. He also agreed to resign as the municipal prosecutor in the Central Municipal Court in Hackensack and the Demarest Municipal Court and to be barred from seeking public employment for the rest of his life.
Prosecutors also said that Mooney and Griffin similarly added the name of incumbent Stephen Paino to a blank petition after it was signed by 15 residents.
The borough clerk later invalidated the petition of Smith and Garis, making it impossible for Garis to run for reelection. Paino was reelected in November.
Griffin and Mooney were later charged with conspiracy, tampering with records and defacing a primary petition. Paino and Smith were not charged with any offense.
During the hearing, the prosecutor said that after lengthy negotiations the state was satisfied that the matter was resolved “in a way that does justice to both the state and the defendants.”
Asked later about Griffin and Mooney’s possible motivations for altering the petitions, Keitel said “expediency” and that they were taking a short cut.
source
KEVIN R. WEXLER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Ronald Griffin in court Wednesday.
With an agreement to step down from the Emerson Borough Council and forego public service for life, Ronald Griffin was allowed to enter a diversionary program on Wednesday to resolve charges that he engaged in election fraud during the June 2013 primary.
During a brief hearing in Hackensack, Daniel Keitel, an assistant Bergen County prosecutor, told Superior Court Judge John A. Conte that Griffin has met all the conditions required of him to be admitted to the Pretrial Intervention program for a one-year period.
If he completes the probationary period without any violations the charges against him could be dismissed at that time. The program is usually offered to first-time, non-violent offenders.
“Ron didn’t admit to committing any criminal offense or engaging in any wrongdoing,” said defense attorney Donald A. DiGioia. “PTI is designed for people like him who despite asserting their innocence have the right to apply to PTI in order to avoid the stress and expense of going to a trial in order to seek vindication.”
Griffin, 69, a retired production manager who is active in volunteer work for military veterans, resigned from the council in late February, just two months into his first term. He also stepped down as chairman of Emerson’s Republican Municipal Committee, a post he had held for three years.
Griffin and then-borough attorney Scott Mooney were charged last year with altering a petition signed by 25 residents nominating Republican incumbent Elizabeth Garis to the council. Prosecutors alleged that Mooney and Griffin added the name of newcomer Keith Smith after residents had already signed the petition for Garis.
Last month, Mooney, 38, agreed to never again hold a public office and was admitted to a two-year PTI program. He also agreed to resign as the municipal prosecutor in the Central Municipal Court in Hackensack and the Demarest Municipal Court and to be barred from seeking public employment for the rest of his life.
Prosecutors also said that Mooney and Griffin similarly added the name of incumbent Stephen Paino to a blank petition after it was signed by 15 residents.
The borough clerk later invalidated the petition of Smith and Garis, making it impossible for Garis to run for reelection. Paino was reelected in November.
Griffin and Mooney were later charged with conspiracy, tampering with records and defacing a primary petition. Paino and Smith were not charged with any offense.
During the hearing, the prosecutor said that after lengthy negotiations the state was satisfied that the matter was resolved “in a way that does justice to both the state and the defendants.”
Asked later about Griffin and Mooney’s possible motivations for altering the petitions, Keitel said “expediency” and that they were taking a short cut.
source
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