The following newspaper accounts may help you develop a greater understanding of the Warren Wallace history. There is much to discover!

FBI raids UMDNJ at Stratford over shredding

A caller at the osteopathic campus called a hotline. The influence there of State Sen. Wayne Bryant has come under federal scrutiny.

By Troy Graham and Jennifer Moroz | May 19, 2006 | 858 words (Philadelphia Inquirer)

FBI agents swiftly raided the scandal-plagued University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's Stratford campus after a tipster said university employees were shredding records.

The tipster dialed a hotline about 2 p.m. Wednesday and said the secretary for Warren Wallace, an associate dean at the School of Osteopathic Medicine, was shredding documents "important to the federal investigation," sources close to the investigation said.

Federal authorities have been investigating the influence of State Sen. Wayne Bryant (D., Camden) at the osteopathic school.

Bryant, who chairs the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, resigned in January from a part-time university position that had been created for him. He had held the job, which paid him $38,220 a year to maintain government relations for the school, since February 2003.

In last year's state budget, Bryant steered a last-minute $2.7 million grant to the Stratford campus for debt service, according to legislative sources.

Bryant and Wallace, who is a Gloucester County freeholder, are political allies.

Bryant, at the Statehouse yesterday for a voting session, ignored reporters who asked him repeatedly to comment on the FBI raid. He looked away, hummed, and rearranged the water bottle and microphone on his desk in the Senate chamber.

U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie appointed a federal monitor, former U.S. District Judge Herbert J. Stern, to investigate the university in a deal that deferred prosecution on Medicaid-fraud allegations.

Since then, Stern has launched at least 14 investigations and accused two high-ranking university officials of misusing school funds, forcing them to resign.

His next report to the U.S. attorney is due June 30, when more information on the investigations could be made public.

Investigators also are exploring whether Wallace campaigned for office using university equipment and staff during office hours. He did not return phone calls seeking comment yesterday.

State Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), who serves on the freeholder board with Wallace, defended his colleague yesterday.

"I have confidence in Chris Christie that he will do a thorough investigation, as he always does. But every investigation doesn't bear out criminal intent, and I predict he will find Warren Wallace to be totally innocent," he said. "At the end of the day, Warren Wallace is one of the most upstanding people I know."

The hotline called by the tipster was established by the federal monitor's office. John Inglesino, a lawyer who works with Stern, took the call and immediately contacted the university's interim president, Bruce C. Vladeck, according to the sources.

University officials in Newark, where the school is based, then contacted the dean of the Stratford campus, Thomas Cavalieri, and ordered the shredder unplugged.

FBI agents rushed to the scene and confiscated the shredder. The monitor's office has asked for a list of everything shredded, and the U.S. Attorney's Office subpoenaed documents, including datebooks, sources said.

"We've had an inquiry from the U.S. Attorney's Office, and we've responded as quickly as we can, as always," a statement from the school said.

Cavalieri, a geriatrics specialist, took over as dean after his predecessor, R. Michael Gallagher, was forced to resign in March amid the widening federal probe.

Last month, the monitor accused Gallagher of "unethical" and "potentially illegal" behavior, saying Gallagher had expensed extravagant drinks and meals and had the university's books doctored to make sure he got an annual bonus.

Vladeck, the interim president, was not available for comment yesterday, university spokeswoman Anna Farneski said. Messages left at his home and office went unanswered.

Gov. Corzine said yesterday that he would let the investigation unfold "before I start opining."

"I have no idea if this was normal shredding or something untoward," he said. "That's what this investigation is about."

Key Events in UMDNJ Scandal

December: With the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey under threat of indictment by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie on allegations of Medicaid and Medicare fraud, trustees agree to the appointment of a federal monitor. Former federal judge Herbert J. Stern is named to oversee the university's finances, investigate wrongdoing and recommend changes.

Feb. 28: President John Petillo steps down in a deal hammered out at Gov. Corzine's behest.

March 2: Trustees approve Bruce C. Vladeck as interim president.

April 3: The federal monitor, conducting more than a dozen investigations into allegations of wrongdoing, releases his first report. Among the abuses listed are a hiring system, allegedly instituted by Petillo, that scored job candidates on their political connections.

April 24: The federal monitor releases a second report, accusing trustee Donald Bradley and R. Michael Gallagher, dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, of "unethical" and "potentially illegal" behavior. Gallagher is cited for expensing thousands of dollars in extravagant meals and drinks. He is also accused of doctoring the school's finances in order to secure a bonus for himself.

April 29: Gallagher, who announced his resignation in March, steps down. Thomas Cavalieri replaces him.

SOURCE: Staff and wire reports

Report to lay out allegations against Wallace Amid a federal probe, the freeholder lost his job with UMDNJ. Three lawmakers now want him fired as an agency chairman.

By Sam Wood and Troy Graham | Jun 3, 2006 | 667 words (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The pressure on Warren Wallace is mounting.

On Thursday, the scandal-ridden University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey fired Wallace from his $166,000-a-year job as an associate dean of the school's Camden County campus. The move came in advance of Monday's release of a report from a federal monitor investigating UMDNJ that will detail allegations against Wallace.

The FBI raided Wallace's office in Stratford last month after receiving a tip that his secretary was shredding documents possibly related to the investigation.

Yesterday, three Republican legislators called for Wallace to be removed from his state-appointed position as chairman of the Delaware River and Bay Authority.

Wallace, who also is a Gloucester County freeholder, said he could not discuss his situation.

"I'm not really allowed to comment on it," Wallace said. "I'd like to, but my attorney told me it's not appropriate."

Wallace's attorney, Carl D. Poplar, did not return four calls to his office.

With a $1.6 billion budget, five campuses and numerous satellite facilities scattered across the state, UMDNJ is billed as the country's largest free-standing health-care university.

Wallace, 57, had been the senior associate dean for academic and student affairs at the Stratford campus since the 1980s and an untenured professor of family medicine.

"A number of issues have come to light, some of which resulted in the termination of Dr. Wallace's employment," Anna Farneski, a university spokeswoman, said yesterday, without elaborating.

Sources with knowledge of the probe have previously said one issue involving Wallace was whether he had campaigned for office using UMDNJ equipment and staff members on the school's time.

Wallace is a close ally of State Sen. Wayne R. Bryant (D., Camden), powerful chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Federal authorities have been investigating Bryant's involvement at the school, which hired him in February 2003 as a part-time program-support coordinator. In January, Bryant resigned the $36,750 position. His responsibilities included maintaining government relations. As last year's state budget was being completed, the Stratford campus received a last-minute $2.7 million grant for debt service.

John P. Inglisino, a lawyer in the federal monitor's office, said yesterday that a copy of the latest UMDNJ report had been filed with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark.

"It's about Wallace and allegations that we have received concerning Wallace," Inglisino said. "I can't get into contents of the report. That will have to wait until Monday."

In calling for Gov. Corzine to remove Wallace from his position as chairman of the Delaware River and Bay Authority, State Sen. Gerald Cardinale and Assemblywomen Jennifer Beck and Amy Handlin said Wallace's part in the FBI investigation made it inappropriate for him to serve on a public agency.

Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley noted that Wallace's term expires July 1 and said that "the counsel's office is currently reviewing the matter."

Handlin also said Wallace should step down as a county freeholder.

Stephen M. Sweeney, a Democratic state senator and Gloucester County freeholder director, came to the defense of Wallace.

"Warren has told me that he's done nothing wrong. I believe in Warren Wallace," Sweeney said.

"When the [Delaware River and] Bay Authority was in trouble, who was the one who spearheaded the straightening and cleaning up? Warren Wallace. I can't imagine or believe he would do anything wrong," Sweeney said.

In December, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie appointed a federal monitor, former U.S. District Judge Herbert J. Stern, to investigate the university in a deal that deferred prosecution on allegations it defrauded the state and federal governments of tens of millions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid funding.

Since then, Stern has launched at least 14 investigations and accused two high-ranking university officials of abusing expense accounts.

R. Michael Gallagher, dean of the Stratford campus, was forced to step down April 30. Robert Saporito, the university's senior vice president for academic affairs, resigned March 31.

Letter hints at a scandal's tangled roots

By Jennifer Moroz Inquirer Trenton Bureau | Apr 23, 2007 | 1120 words (Philadelphia Inquirer)

On its face, there is nothing too unusual about the March 2002 letter that State Sen. Wayne Bryant signed in support of R. Michael Gallagher's promotion to dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Writing such recommendations is, after all, fairly routine business for lawmakers.

But five years later, federal prosecutors say the powerful Camden County Democrat's lobbying efforts on behalf of Gallagher marked the beginning of a "symbiotic relationship" between the pair that led to Bryant's getting a no-show, pension-boosting job at the state school - and to the raft of corruption and fraud charges both men now face.

All of a sudden, the letter has become a source of special interest. So have the stories of the four other South Jersey lawmakers who signed the letter with Bryant.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, and State Sen. John Adler, all of Camden County, and Sen. Stephen Sweeney of Gloucester County, have been interviewed by the FBI about Bryant, Gallagher and the letter.

None of the lawmakers has been implicated in the alleged plot that prosecutors say Bryant and Gallagher hatched to enrich themselves and each other. And though one declined to comment for the article, the rest say their involvement with the letter, though perhaps regrettable in retrospect, was purely innocent.

But their explanations of how they met and came to support Gallagher shed new light on the circumstances surrounding the genesis of his alleged partnership with Bryant.

According to a 20-count federal indictment returned last month, after Gallagher rose to become dean of the osteopathic school in Stratford, Camden County, he put Bryant on the payroll in a bogus "program support coordinator" position. In return, prosecutors say, Bryant, then chair of the Senate budget committee, was expected to use his influence in Trenton to represent the school's interests and secure millions of dollars in extra state funding.

Bryant and Gallagher have pleaded not guilty and have declined through their attorneys to comment on the charges.

The indictment does not spell out how the two met. But they have a strong connection in Warren Wallace, a South Jersey Democrat with close ties to Bryant who worked under Gallagher at UMDNJ.

Wallace, of Sewell, ultimately was ousted from his $166,000 job at the osteopathic school after a federal monitor appointed by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie last year accused him of abusing his position by, among other things, steering a catering contract to a friend.

Wallace, who declined to comment for this article, has not been charged with any crime. But lawmakers said he played a major role in lining up support for the letter pushing his boss' promotion.

According to the indictment, "Bryant and others" in early 2002 began helping Gallagher, then vice dean of the osteopathic school, in his effort to get the top job. That assistance, the indictment says, included arranging meetings between Gallagher and legislators and drafting the March 19, 2002, recommendation letter "signed by Bryant and four other members of the New Jersey State Legislature" and sent to then-UMDNJ president Stuart Cook and then-Gov. Jim McGreevey. Assembly Speaker Roberts, who was then Assembly majority leader, declined to discuss his involvement, saying in an e-mail forwarded by a spokesman that "there is a trial under way and I think it would be totally inappropriate to comment on any aspect of Sen. Bryant's case."

Greenwald, Adler and Sweeney, the other three lawmakers who signed the letter, all said they couldn't recall who actually wrote the recommendation or how it became a joint endeavor. But Bryant, they said, wasn't the one who got them involved.

They said they met with Gallagher at the request of other political associates - Wallace, in two cases, and Gallagher's son in another. But the lawmakers said they ultimately threw their weight behind Gallagher - a nationally known headache expert who was then vice dean at the osteopathic school - because they believed he was a good candidate for dean.

Sweeney said he met with Gallagher at the request of Wallace, a friend and fellow Gloucester County freeholder.

"Warren said, 'Would you be willing to sign a letter of support?' " Sweeney said. "For me, it was a no-brainer. His resume read like a phone book, it was so thick. . . . It was a letter of recommendation for someone more than qualified."

Adler, too, said Wallace, whom he called a political associate, arranged an introduction to Gallagher. And after meeting in the senator's Westmont office, Adler said: "I agreed. . . . Dr. Gallagher was a good candidate for dean."

Greenwald said he met Gallagher through his son Michael Jr., who worked in the legislative office Greenwald and Adler shared after interning for then-U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine. The younger Gallagher also was executive director of the Gloucester County Democratic Committee for a short spell, Sweeney said.

"He came to me and said, 'Would you mind meeting my dad? He's going for this job as dean,' " Greenwald said. "Just as I would for any young person and certainly someone who worked for me, I said, 'Absolutely.' "

The pair met and Greenwald said he liked what he saw.

"I was impressed by the interview, so I instructed my office I would support him through a letter of recommendation," said Greenwald, who, like Adler, said someone from his office ultimately signed the letter on his behalf.

A copy of the letter could not be obtained. The legislators said it was so long ago they didn't know whether they kept a copy or where to look for one. The governor's office said it did not have a copy, and a search of McGreevey's files in the state archives proved fruitless. UMDNJ officials, meanwhile, refused to release the letter, claiming it was exempt from the state open records act.

To what extent the letter helped Gallagher's case is unclear, but Cook, the UMDNJ president, did name him interim dean shortly afterward. And in November 2002, Gallagher became permanent dean.

That fall, prosecutors say, Bryant approached Cook about a job at the osteopathic school. Cook did not return a call for comment. The meeting with Cook, prosecutors say, led to a meeting among Bryant, Gallagher, and an unnamed UMDNJ vice president. A few months after that, in early 2003, Gallagher created the fake $35,000-a-year job for Bryant, according to the indictment.

Five years later, the other lawmakers who threw their support behind Gallagher have been left to grapple with the fact that they commended a man federal prosecutors now say is an out-and-out criminal.

Said Greenwald: "It goes without saying that if the allegations are true, we're disappointed."

Sweeney was a little more blunt: "You think, 'How did I get anywhere near this thing?' "

Dismissed Dean Accused of Breaching Ethics