Morristown Lawyer Faces Corruption Charges

MORRISTOWN, NJ - She was known as "Lawless Lizzie" when she was partof the Morristown Corporal Punishers roller derby squad, but now 47-year-old Elizabeth Valandingham is being charged as part of a major corruption probe, according to Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

The corruption probe by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) that previously led to five former public officials and political candidates in New Jersey being charged with taking bribes.

Valandingham was served with complaint-summonses on Wednesday, charging her with second-degree false representation for government contracts and second-degree misconduct by a corporate official.

The charges against Valandingham relate to alleged conduct between 2012 and 2017 at the law firm where she worked. One of her duties at the law firm was to prepare and submit annual proposals to various municipalities in order for the firm to garner public contracts for legal services.

According to authorities:

• Between 2012 and 2016, Valandingham submitted proposals to the Township of Bloomfield to provide legal serves for the years 2013 through 2017. For each submission, Bloomfield required the firm, as a material part of its submission, to disclose any reportable political contributions the firm made to an enumerated list of candidates and party committees. For each year, Valandingham indicated the firm made no political contributions, and for each year, Bloomfield awarded the firm its contracts for legal services, valued in the aggregate at approximately $120,000. It is alleged, however, that in each year for which Valandingham indicated no reportable political contributions, the firm in fact made contributions.
• It is alleged in the complaints that Valandingham, along with an unnamed co-conspirator, recruited friends and family members to act as straw donors— people who made political contributions and would subsequently be reimbursed in cash by the firm for those contributions. It is alleged that, in total, during the time that Valandingham indicated that the firm made no contributions, the firm made tens of thousands of dollars in straw contributions.
• In 2016, Valandingham submitted a proposal for legal services to the Borough of Mount Arlington for the year 2017. Mount Arlington required that Valandingham certify that the firm made no reportable political contributions in the year preceding the award of the contract. She certified that no reportable contributions were made in 2016, and the borough awarded the firm a lucrative contract, earning the firm in excess of $470,000. It is alleged that, in fact, Valandingham made contributions through her straw donors to Mount Arlington officials in the amount of $7,500 in 2016.

Valandingham is charged in connection with conduct that is not directly related to the bribery allegations against the other five defendants, officials said. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.