Wall Ex-Superintendent Guilty On Five Counts As Jury Deadlocks On Others: Report

James Habel, the former Wall Township School District superintendent, has been found guilty of one of the more serious charges against him, but the Monmouth County jury hearing the case deadlocked on others, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

Habel, who retired from the district in June 2012, was found guilty of official misconduct for taking 105 vacation days but not reporting them to the school district, according to the report. He also was found guilty of four counts of falsifying records for underreporting his personal use of a $60,000 Yukon Denali issued to him by the school district.

But the report says the jury of eight women and four men acquitted Habel of destroying records in his personnel file and failing to return electronics equipment to the district upon his retirement. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the charges of theft of vacation days, money laundering and a portion of the misconduct charge alleging that Habel took cash payments for unused vacation days he wasn’t entitled to.

The official misconduct charge for which Habel was convicted carries a mandatory, five-year prison term without the possibility of parole.

Defense attorneys Robert A. Honecker and Tara Walsh argued that Habel often worked nights and weekends, and his contract allowed him to take vacation time at his discretion. They have argued that Habel didn’t intend to take payouts for days he wasn’t owed, but that the school district failed to properly keep track of his time. The defense team also disputed the number of days the state alleges Habel took off without reporting the time off, arguing that he was working from his home office in Florida on many of the days.

Habel served as schools superintendent in Wall from March of 2003 until his retirement in June of 2012. In that position, he earned an annual salary that started at $145,000 and escalated to $225,000.