|
Read News
|
Pocono News Section
I-Team: James R. Lambert: Convicted Felon, Head of Authority
I-Team: James R. Lambert: Convicted Felon, Head of Authority - Monday, January 21, 2008 at 7:53PM EST
Reported by: Joe Holden
Monday, Jan 21, 2008 @07:53pm EST
BLAKESLEE, MONROE COUNTY- A man who admitted to funneling taxpayer money into his pockets by pleading guilty to corruption-related charges two years ago is today the executive director of the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority (MCMWMA).
James R. Lambert, Sr., has held the position with Monroe County since November. The waste authority tells the I-TEAM Lambert is doing an "excellent" job and that he has the full faith of the board.
But WBRE News investigators have learned Lambert spent five months incarcerated at Fort Dix Federal Prison. He spent another five months on house arrest. The punishment came as a result of his 2005 guilty plea to participating in a mail fraud scheme to defraud the public of honest services and conspiracy to bribe a local government official, according to the US Attorney's Office in Newark, NJ.
Despite his apparent troubles, Lambert was still the best candidate for the job according to an attorney for the MCMWMA.
When asked about Lambert's track record, solicitor Peter Quigley replied "He (Lambert) advised the authority in the hiring process. The email started coming after he was hired."
Lambert refuses to comment. The I-TEAM has extended him several opportunities.
In an email to WBRE News, Lambert wrote:
"The Authority's Board of Directors, who have given me a tremendous amount of support, have requested that I do not make any comments and that I forward all questions to Peter Quigley the authority's Solicitor. I apologize for any inconvenience."
The story goes back nearly 10 years when James Lambert was executive director of the Mercer County Improvement Authority. There, he oversaw major projects. Years later, in 2004, Lambert made a plea deal with prosecutors to cooperate in an ongoing political corruption investigation.
According to the probe, Lambert admitted to bid-rigging.
He and Mercer County's chief of staff, Harry Parkin, colluded in 1999 to gain controlling interest of Central Jersey Waste, a recycling company that was doing millions of dollars in business through county contracts, contracts and relationships Jim Lambert had secured while head of the Mercer County authority.
Lambert would soon leave his post with Mercer County and become president of Central Jersey Waste.
Some time in 2006, Lambert relocated to the Poconos. Sources tell the I-TEAM this would coincide with the conclusion of Lambert's jail term.
He would find old friends up north, including his former boss, Richard Van Noy. Van Noy is chairman of the Tunkhannock Township Board of Supervisors and a member of the MCMWMA.
The I-TEAM caught up with Van Noy a couple weeks ago at a township meeting.
"I can tell you this, he has the full faith of the board behind him. He did an excellent job for me when he worked at the Mercer County Improvement Authority. Anything that happened after that, I can't comment on," Van Noy said.
The second edition of this three-part investigation airs Tuesday evening at 6 on WBRE News.
| | |
|
|
|