FBI seizes documents of builder and lawyer Federal agents swarmed the offices of a Freehold lawyer and developer yesterday, carting away boxes of documents for a criminal probe. Marlboro Township has been a focal point of one of the most extensive corruption investigations in the state. Former Mayor Matthew Scannapieco pleaded guilty to charges last spring and admitted accepting $245,000 in payoffs. Developer Anthony Spalliero is awaiting trial on charges that he paid most of those bribes.
FBI seizes documents of builder and lawyer
Developer rooted in fast-growing Marlboro Friday, March 17, 2006 JOHN P. MARTIN AND MARYANN SPOTO Star-Ledger Staff Federal agents swarmed the offices of a Freehold lawyer and developer yesterday, carting away boxes of documents for a criminal probe. Agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service spent more than eight hours executing a search warrant at the West Main Street offices of Bernard Meiterman and Meiterman Custom Built Homes.
No one was charged. Spokesmen for the agencies and for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the raid or say if it was related to a long-running probe of public corruption in Monmouth County. Meiterman did not appear to be at the office and attempts to reach him later were unsuccessful. Calls left at both offices were not returned; the phone number at his Manalpan home is unlisted. About two dozen agents, most clad in FBI and IRS jackets, arrived at the two-story dormered Victorian house that housed the offices at around 8:30 a.m. yesterday. Many were still there by 5 p.m. At one point, agents carried about five cartons filled with documents from the offices. Agents also scoured a red Dumpster in a parking lot behind the building. Meiterman's brother, Steven Meiterman, runs the development firm their father founded, and one that has been active in the rapid growth in Marlboro Township. Meiterman Custom Built Homes has built at least four residential projects in the township. Marlboro Township has been a focal point of one of the most extensive corruption investigations in the state. Former Mayor Matthew Scannapieco pleaded guilty to charges last spring and admitted accepting $245,000 in payoffs. Developer Anthony Spalliero is awaiting trial on charges that he paid most of those bribes. Two other former township officials, planning board member Stanley Young and councilman Richard Vuola, have also admitted taking or passing bribes. The men are among nearly 20 former elected or appointed officials, public employees and contractors in Monmouth County who have been charged or convicted of federal corruption charges in the past year.
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