PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A former Passaic County zoning official has been sentenced to prison after admitting to a long-term zoning permit scheme, officials said.
In May, Jose Fermin, 54, of Prospect Park, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit official misconduct. On Friday, he was sentenced to three years in state prison.
According to court documents, between December 2020 and February 2022, Fermin and two co-conspirators were providing Paterson city permit applicants with phony zoning permits for cash.
Forging the signature of the Paterson Planning and Zoning Director, the trio said they would provide the phony permits to people who didn't even apply for them.
Fermin's co-conspirators, Jose Juan Guerrero-Cruz, 46, of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, and Alfonlly Monegro-Camilo, 28, of Paterson, also pleaded guilty to similar charges. They were each sentenced to non-custodial probation.
Officials say that no evidence suggests that the scam resulted in "the construction of any unsafe structures that would put the public in jeopardy."
In addition to the three-year prison sentence, Fermin is forced to forfeit all public employment and is permanently disqualified from holding any future public office or employment in New Jersey.
"This case illustrates how corruption hurts our communities financially and erodes the credibility of government and public workers," said Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. "Residents looking to make home improvements thought they were getting legitimate permits to move forward with renovations, but they were getting scammed by these defendants. We take abuses of the public trust seriously and will bring offenders to justice."
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