Brokers Behaving Badly

Two former brokers were sentenced to 15-year and 5-year prison terms in separate incidents.

Two insurance brokers were sentenced to prison in separate incidents involving public entities in New Jersey.

Francis Gartland, of Baltimore, was sentenced in December to 15 years in state prison for a money-laundering scheme and theft.

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That sentence runs concurrently with an 11-year federal prison term Gartland was given for funneling bribes to the former superintendent of Toms River Regional School District as part of an 8-year-long scheme to keep his contract as the district's insurance broker, according to published reports.

Gartland, who was owner of Federal Hill Risk Management, pleaded guilty to submitting $2.6 million in fraudulent bills to the Perth Amboy school board and stealing more than $200,000 from the city of Perth Amboy by collecting payments for a nonexistent wellness program.

He previously pleaded guilty in federal court to mail fraud, conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and perjury.

Another broker with ties to New Jersey public entities, Joseph Bigica of Franklin Lakes, N.J. was sentenced to five years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to violating tax laws and conspiring to break federal campaign laws by making illegal contributions to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's campaign, according to published reports.

Bigica, who headed Bigica Cos., which won contracts with several municipalities and public agencies in the state, failed to pay $2.2 million in income taxes, authorities said.

--By Anne Freedman

February 19, 2013

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