FBI: Linden inspector
took payoffs
By KEN SERRANO,
thnt.com Online, August 10, 2007
LINDEN — A city building
inspector has been charged with demanding and taking bribes from a contractor's
employee during meetings that were secretly recorded by the FBI, authorities
said.
Matthew P. Valvano, 49, of Linden allegedly accepted three cash payments since
March totaling $10,500 from the employee, who was cooperating with federal
authorities.
Valvano was questioned by the FBI immediately after accepting a third payment of
$3,500 on Aug. 1, authorities said.
Michael Hensle, an FBI special agent, said in the complaint charging the
building inspector that Valvano acknowledged taking the bribes when FBI agents
questioned him.
Valvano turned himself in to the FBI Thursday.
Valvano made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Newark later in the
day before Magistrate Judge Claire Cecchi, who set bail at $150,000. It
was not known Thursday evening if Valvano had posted that amount.
His attorneys, Joseph Hayden and Michael D'Alessio, both of Roseland, could not
be reached.
The complaint charges Valvano with one count of extortion under color of
official right. It carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine. Sentencing guidelines frequently call for far less than
maximum prison time.
Authorities allege that Valvano told the employee of the contractor looking to
renovate a commercial building in Linden that he would have to pay Valvano for
favorable treatment with inspections and permits.
"If you wash my hands, I'll wash yours," Valvano allegedly told the employee
during a March 14 meeting at Valvano's office.
Later that day, at the contractor's construction site, Valvano told the
cooperating witness he would have to pay between $4,000 and $5,000, authorities
allege.
Along with the Aug. 1 bribe, Valvano took $4,500 from the employee on March 29
and $2,500 on May 10, according to the complaint.
It was unknown Thursday whether the allegations against Valvano are tied in any
way to the criminal investigation into the city's Neighborhood Preservation
Program.
Federal authorities subpoenaed documents from the office last week and they were
turned over Wednesday, authorities said
kserrano@thnt.com
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