HILLSBOROUGH -- After a seven-month investigation into his department, the township's chief code enforcement officer was charged Monday with receiving $14,000 worth of work on his home and free meals in exchange for approving a construction project without proper inspections or permits.

Ronald Estepp, 57, surrendered to authorities at the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office at about 4:30 p.m. and was charged with second-degree official misconduct after authorities said he received bribes from Burlington County-based contractor Burlington Group, LLC/Lenape Industries Inc., Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest said.

Estepp was in Somerset County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail Tuesday night.

According to court documents, Burlington Group, LLC/Lenape Industries Inc. paid for at least three dinners, a lunch, a car service and "substantial repairs" and renovations to Estepp's Hamilton home between March and June 2004.

Estepp allowed the contractors to begin construction on a building at 11-1 Ilene Court in July 2002 without any construction plans being approved or any permits issued by the Building Department, the documents state. The company didn't file for a building permit until two months later, on Sept. 19, 2002, and finally was issued a permit Dec. 12, 2002, according to court documents.

Estepp also signed off on a certificate of occupancy -- which is issued after the inspectors have verified that the work complies with all applicable building codes -- even though he was told the fire code inspector had not given the Ilene Court building final approval, court documents state.

All of this was in violation of New Jersey State Uniform Construction Code -- a set of regulations and safe building standards that Estepp himself had helped to create as a member of the International Building Code Council and a former president of the New Jersey Building Officials Association. Estepp was named Builder of the Year by the association in 1999 and also sat on several committees that made amendments to the state Uniform Construction Code.

Steve Lieberman, a Somerville attorney representing Estepp, said the charges against his client were "wrong" and stemmed from violations and fines Estepp filed against the property owner in 2004.

Consumer Graphics, a company that currently occupies the building at 11-1 Ilene Court, has since filed a lawsuit against the builder stemming from building code violations.

Estepp was not aware Burlington Group, LLC/Lenape Industries Inc., was working without the proper permits, nor that they were working in Hillsborough at the time he hired them to work on the foundation of his home in 2002, Lieberman said.

"The work (on Estepp's home) was not expected to be free," Lieberman said, adding that Estepp has not yet paid for it because of a dispute with the contractor.

Neither the contractor nor the property owner could be reached for comment.

Estepp, who has been Hillsborough's construction official since August 1991, has been on medical leave from his $85,000-per-year job since late May, Hillsborough Township Administrator Kevin Davis said.

At that time, Estepp announced he would resign Dec. 1, citing his ongoing medical problems. But two months earlier, Davis had asked the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office to investigate Estepp's department after several files and contracts were discovered to be missing, Davis said.

Since Davis became the township administrator in January 2004, the Building Department has been a source of complaints by residents and businesses, he said.

"It just got to the point where I felt it had to be looked into," Davis said.

Mayor Robert Wagner said he also received complaints about the lack of professionalism in the building department, which led him and the Township Committee to reorganize it and hire former Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Detective Ron Skobo as its new director last month.

The township still is looking for a replacement for Estepp, whose resignation status will be discussed at the next Township Committee meeting Oct. 25, Wagner said.

Estepp is the third Somerset County official to face corruption charges in recent weeks.

On Oct. 11, South Bound Brook mayor Jo-Anne Schubert pleaded guilty to a charge she illegally approved payments from the borough to the company that she works for and that her brother owns.

On Sept. 29, former Raritan Borough Mayor Philip Possessky pleaded guilty to charges he took municipal funds to buy a riding mower and pay cell phone bills for his landscaping business.

from the Courier News website www.c-n.com