Hillsdale Man Bribed Passaic Valley Sewerage Official: NJ AG

HILLSDALE, NJ — A Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission employee is charged with paying a $1,200 bribe to a senior official at the agency, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced.

On Jan. 7, Omid Bayati, 39, of Hillsdale, was charged with bribery in official and political matters, and offering an unlawful benefit to a public servant for official behavior. If convicted, Bayati could face five to 10 years in state prison and a fine up to $150,000.

While employed at the PVSC in Newark, the AG's Office said Bayati made the $1,200 payment to "at least one senior official" at the state agency, seeking help in "procuring promotional opportunities within the PVSC and in politics broadly."

Bayati, according to the allegations, specifically asked for special consideration and assistance from the PVSC senior official in exchange for the funds, the AG's Office said.

Bayati furnished the payment first by check from an account opened under the name PVSC PAC, an organization unaffiliated with the PVSC, then by hand-to-hand cash transfer, the AG's Office said.

The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission referred this matter to the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, and is cooperating with the investigation, authorities said.

A state agency, the PVSC is responsible for managing and regulating collection and disposal of wastewater generated in a four-county area along the Passaic Valley River Basin, encompassing parts of Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Hudson counties.