U.S. authorities last week indicted Bergen County Democratic Party chairman Joseph Ferriero and counsel Dennis Oury on eight counts of conspiracy and mail fraud in a scheme to secure local government contracts.
According to the indictment, Ferriero and Oury in December 2001 formed Government Grants Consulting, a company that consults with municipalities on obtaining state and local grants. The two men allegedly conspired to downplay their involvement in GGC while using their influence to obtain contracts with municipalities.
At a meeting in early 2002, Bergenfield Borough officials picked Oury to serve as its attorney and selected GGC to advise the borough on obtaining grant money. Yet at that meeting, Oury allegedly did not disclose his partial ownership of company. The charges also claim that Ferriero concealed his true relationship with the consulting firm.
“Despite the fact that Ferriero was the moving force behind [GGC] and was its largest shareholder, he drafted a shareholder agreement assigning positions of president and secretary to others with only minimal involvement with [the company],” according to a press release from the U.S. attorney’s office. “The indictment also charges that Ferriero and Oury used other individuals’ office addresses as the [GGC] office address in order to conceal their involvement with the company,”
In August 2002, Bergenfield was awarded $1.4 million in grants and loans from state and local programs for open-space and historic preservation projects. GGC filed the applications to state and local authorities requesting those funds. In return for its work and assistance, Bergenfield in late 2002 paid the consultant $128,625. Of that amount GGC paid Ferriero $27,538 and Oury $25,016, with Ferriero’s signature authorizing the checks.
Both Ferriero and Oury surrendered to authorities last week and were released on bond.
