State Charges Manahawkin Man Who Was A Lakewood Electrical Inspector With Accepting Bribes

A Manahawkin man who was employed as a Lakewood electrical code inspector has been indicted on bribery and official misconduct charges for accepting money from contractors to speed up inspections, the state Attorney General's Office said.

A state grand jury indicted Mitchell B. Perkins, 67, Stafford Township on Wednesday for accepting bribes from contractors in exchange for preferential treatment in scheduling and conducting inspections more quickly, Acting Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said.

In at least one instance, Perkins approved work that was not inspected, he said.

Perkins was indicted on one count of bribery, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of acceptance or receipt of an unlawful benefit by a public servant for official behavior, and one count of pattern of official misconduct, according to a release from Porrino's office.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau South Unit and the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.

The investigation began after New Jersey State Police received information that Perkins had accepted bribes from contractors between May 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2015. Perkins accepted four separate payments of $300 from an electrical contractor as consideration for preferential treatment.

But the contractor was a cooperating witness for the State Police who asked Perkins to inspect his work more quickly. Perkins returned the first payment, but he then kept the three later payments. Perkins had previously inordinately delayed inspections of the contractor’s works sites, but began to conduct timely inspections. Perkins once approved electrical work performed by the contractor without first inspecting the work. He then accepted the fourth $300 payment, the release states.

He is charged with a second count of official misconduct and a second count of acceptance or receipt of an unlawful benefit by a public servant for official behavior based on multiple instances dating back to 1997, when he accepted other payments from contractors to influence the performance of his work as an electrical sub-code official and inspector for Lakewood Township.