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EdPDLaw Editorial
April 2, 2016

FORMER LT. NOEL CONYERS LOSES 6 YEARS OF PENSION SERVICE

On March 14, 2016 Noel Conyers' pension matter was heard by the Pension Bureau:

Conyers, Noel - Hudson County - Honorable Service

On the same date it was determined:

Conyers, Noel - Hudson County - Honorable Service
Partial Forfeiture of service and salary from August 1, 2007 until the end of employment applied retroactively.

Someone close to the matter has interpreted this to mean:

Conyers went from 25 years of Honorable Service (Special Pension 65% of initial salary which amounts to $5666 per month) plus free health prescription benefits to: 19 years of Honorable Service which means he will only be eligible to collect 38% of his salary beginning at at age 55. He was born in 1965. He ends up with 19 years of service and no health benefits.

He also has to pay the Union back nearly $75,000.00.

EdPDLaw Editorial
December 1, 2015

OFFICER SAMUEL FELIX ARRESTED FOR ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD (PORNOGRAPHY)

Officer Samuel Felix, hired by the Hudson County Corrections Department on April 22, 1988 was arrested on November 24, 2015 on endangering charges after he downloaded photographs depicting the sexual exploitation and abuse of children to his cell phone in violation of NJSA 2C:24-4B(5)(B). It is believed that he downloaded the pictures from a site run by the State Police and they have confirmed that the arrest was made by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office.

2C:24-4. Endangering Welfare of Children.

Any person who knowingly possesses or knowingly views any photograph, film, videotape, computer program or file, video game or any other reproduction or reconstruction which depicts a child engaging in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such an act, including on the Internet, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

Bail was set at $20,000, 10%. He was processed at the Hudson County Jail and released. It is unusual that the Prosecutor's Office is handling the matter since he has been assigned there for the past 3 years on loan from the Hudson County Corrections Department. The Prosecutor's Office should have explained to the State Police that they had a conflict and that another agency would have to handle the case to avoid the appearance of any impropriety. Moreover, processing him at the Hudson County Correctional Center where he has been employed since 1988 just compounds the problem.

It has been rumored that the County is going to just let him retire? So they are going to let the pedophile retire but they terminated their Veteran for missing work while he was in the VA Hospital......

As part of his condition of bail Felix is not permitted to have any contact with children. It is unknown if he is married or has children of his own.

Comment Posted by Makingit on NJ.com on October 3, 2015

"This thief retired in 2013 with full pension and benefits ($67K per year). But he was robbing the PBA from 2008 to when he retired in 2013. That is 5 years of being a thief while employed in law enforcement. Why does he get a pension? Those five (5) years (5 that we know about) should be subtracted from his 25 years of service and he should not get a pension, or at the very least his pension should be based on what he was making in 2008, not 2013. I personally believe he should not get a pension at all as the PBA is job related and many donations into his, I mean their treasury, are based on the members being law enforcement people and based on the dues they must pay as part of their employment. Him being treasurer of the PBA is definitely job related and he should get no pension. Was he allowed to retire while being investigated? That is a no no. His retirement should have waited until the investigation was concluded and he should have been suspended while the investigation was in process. The county should not have signed off on his retirement papers to the state if they knew about this before. Maybe the investigation started after he high tailed it out of there and retirement knowing the consequences? No problem, I will be forwarding a copy of this story and my post to the NJ Div of Pensions Fraud Unit for review and possible action."

EdPDLaw

October 2, 2015

FORMER SOA PBA TREASURER NOEL CONYERS SENTENCED TO JAIL

Read New Release from Division of Criminal Justice

Former SOA PBA Treasurer Noel Conyers appeared in Union County Superior Court before Judge Mega today for sentencing on a single count of Theft by Unlawful Taking, 2C:20-3 of $74,887.21 from the SOA PBA Union while he was the Treasurer. Conyers was Treasurer of the SOA PBA for at least the past 10 years and was the Treasurer of the rank and file Union prior to that.

The sentencing began at 9:00 a.m. Conyers and his wife were present at the sentencing which consisted of 364 days in County Jail, 3 years probation and restitution of the full amount to the Union. Conyers was represented by Peter Willis, Esquire (same attorney as Eady) and had a check in hand for $10,000 to go towards his restitution and fines.

After apologizing to his family, friends and coworkers Conyers was taken from the Courtroom to begin his 364 day sentence.

Questions about Restitution: EdPDLaw has received numerous inquiries as to the amount of restitution that Conyers would have to pay. There is a rumor that Conrad and Neives agreed to accept $10,000 instead of the full $75,000 on behalf of the Union. I have no knowledge of this but for that to occur it would have to be put to a vote.

Moreover, Conrad and Neives were not in office during the time of the theft so the decision would fall to the President and Vice President during the time the monies were taken, Ortiz and Caraccio who told investigators they wanted the full amount returned to the Union. They are both expected to submit Victim Impact Statements on behalf of the Union detailing which Administrators and Union Candidates who assisted Conyers with the coverup.

Ultimately the Judge makes the final determination, you can click on the following link for additional information.

http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/victim-witness/restitution

EdPDLaw Editorial
August 5, 2015

Hudson County Former PBA SOA Treasurer Noel Conyers Arrested for Theft/Unlawful Taking

Faces up to 5 Years in Prison

Lieutenant Noel Conyers will face Judge Robert J. Mega, Union County Superior Court on September 25, 2015 for sentencing in connection to Theft by Unlawful Taking, 2C:20-3 of $74,887.21 from the SOA PBA Union while he was Treasurer. Conyers was Treasurer of the SOA PBA for at least the past 10 years and was the Treasurer of the rank and file Union prior to that.

Theft of Movable Property: N.J.S. 2C:20-3(a)

Theft of movable property (also known as “theft by unlawful taking”) is a criminal offense in New Jersey governed by N.J.S. 2C:20-3(a) which provides in pertinent part:

Movable property. A person is guilty of theft if he unlawfully takes, or exercises unlawful control over, movable property of another with purpose to deprive him thereof.

Theft of movable property under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3(a) occurs when an individual “unlawfully takes” or “exercises unlawful control” over the property of another. The accused must have knowingly taken or unlawfully exercised control over or dispose of the property of another. In addition, the accused purpose at the time of the taking must have been to “deprive” the true owner of the property. “Deprive”, according to the law, includes both permanent takings and temporary situations.

The grading of the offense is determined by the value of property or money involved in the crime: (a) it is a second degree offense if the theft involved a value of $75,000 or more; (b) it is a third degree offense if the value involved is between $500 and $75,000; and (c) it is a fourth degree offense if the value involved is between $200 and $500.

The sentencing for a crime is determined by the degree of the offense committed: (a) if it is a second degree offense then you will be facing a sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison; (b) if it is a third degree offense then you will be facing a sentence of up to 5 years in prison; and (3) if it is a fourth degree offense then you will be facing a sentence of up to 18 months in prison.

Conyers was charged on June 10, 2015 on Accusation# 15-07501A. Although originally the amount totaled over $100,000, Conyers successfully reduced the amount to $74,887.21, just under $75,000 making it a third degree crime punishable by up to 5 years as opposed to a second degree crime where he would have faced 5 to 10 years in prison. The 49 year old Conyers was hired by the Hudson County Department of Corrections on 8/8/1988 and obtained the rank of Lieutenant before retiring in 2014.

Director Nalls-Castillo, I want you to keep your dates straight, you need to be in Judge Linares courtroom, USDC on September 10, 2015 for the sentencing of Deputy Director Kirk Eady and in Judge Mega's courtroom on September 25, 2015, Union County Superior Court for the sentencing of Lt. Noel Conyers. They are both fine examples of the caliber of Administrators in Hudson County as evidenced by your appointment to Director.

EdPDLaw Editorial
May 28, 2015

Another Hudson County Supervisor Being Investigated
PBA SOA Treasurer Noel Conyers Under Investigation for Embezzling PBA Funds

Lieutenant Noel Conyers is allegedly under investigation for embezzling over $100,000 from the PBA Superior Officers Association #109 Treasury. Conyers was Treasurer of the SOA PBA for at least the last 10 years before retiring in 2014. Prior to that he held the position of Treasurer for the rank and file officers for approximately 4 years. The 49 year old Conyers was hired on 8/8/1988 and retired in 2014.

After retiring, Conyers reportedly turned the Treasury Books over to the new treasurer, Lt. Bill McCleary, Sgt. Rhodes reviewed the books and found that the Union was approximately $50,000 in the red. This was brought to light at a SOA PBA Meeting. Then PBA President Ortiz and Vice President Caraccio had been asking to see the books for sometime prior to Conyers retirement and were always met with excuses. "I forgot." "I left them at my house." Then Conyers told them that he dropped the books off at the Attorey General's Office which apparently was a lie as they books were really given to former Deputy Director Eady.

Eady blamed the "discrepencies" in the books on SOA PBA President Omar Ortiz and Vice President Caracccio, who Eady and Nalls had been retaliating against and trying to terminate for years, In fact, Lt. Michael Conrad told everyone that the current administration (Ortiz and Caraccio) stole the money when he was running against Ortiz for the position of the SOA PBA President. The PBA really turned the books over to the AG's Office thinking they were catching Ortiz and Caraccio. The AG's Office assigned the investigation to the Department of Justice.

After reviewing the books and examing them it was determined that is was not Ortiz or Caraccio but in fact the Treasurer Lt. Noel Conyers that was responsible for the missing money. However, in the interim Eady and Nalls crony Lt. Michael Conrad had already defeated Ortiz for the position of SOA PBA President. In fact, at the first meeting wherein Conrad was President (which occured before they knew it was Conyers) Conrad gave an award winning backstabbing performance wherein he told the membership that first and foremost he was a law enforcement officer and took an oath to uphold the law and that there was no way the prior administration (Ortiz and Caraccio) was not involved or at least aware of the missing money.

Then, in typical Hudson County fashion, when they found out it was Eady and Nall's crony Lt. Conyers and not their nemesis' Ortiz and Caraccio that in fact stole the money, they tried to downplay how much money was invovlved stating it was between $1500 and $5000 and they were going to allow Conyers to pay it back instead of bringing criminal charges against him.

The charges to the SOA PBA include items like: manicures, a $3500 dollar purchase from the Diamond Hut in the Mall, expensive perfume, professional football jersey, a Motor Vehicle Violation Fine, hotels in Atlantic City, trips to a Day Spa, 3 cell phones, a Time Share, golfing, golf equipment, Pep Boys, Victoria Secret, 2 different colleges that his daughter attended, Direct TV, Polan Spring Water, iTunes gift cards, breakfast every morning, gas, Home Depot, Lowes...

Basically he used the card as his personal ATM card.

If charged, Conyers would face:

In New Jersey, embezzlement is punished according to the value or type of property stolen. (N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:20-2.)

Money or property worth $75,000 or more. Penalties include any or all of the following: restitution of the amount embezzled to the victim; a fine of up to $150,000, or up to double the amount embezzled (whichever is more); and between five and ten years in prison.

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