Two cops charged in gambling sting

Two veteran Roxbury Township police officers have been arrested and charged with gambling, conspiracy, official misconduct and maintaining a gambling premise, following a midnight raid in Dover by representatives of several law enforcement agencies. Township Manager Christopher Raths said the officers, Sgt. Richard Winstock of Independence Township and Patrolman Thomas Juskus, of Knowlton Township, have been suspended with pay. An indictment, however, would change that status. Advertisement The raid was conducted at the 5th Street Club in Dover at about midnight on Friday. Both Winstock and Juskus were arrested on Saturday. They each posted $50,000 bail and were released from the county jail Saturday. Winstock’s wife, Jennifer, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit official misconduct. A fourth man, Scott Furer of Pennsylvania was also charged with promoting gambling and with conspiracy to commit official misconduct. He also posted bail and was released. In a press conference held Monday in Morristown, Prosecutor Michael Rubbinaccio and Chief of Investigations Joseph Devine, said the 5th Street Club has been under investigation for five months. According to the prosecutor, the investigation revealed that the defendants established a limited liability company (LLC) “for the purpose of conducting illegal gambling on poker games.” The LLC leased the second floor of a warehouse located at 48 Richboynton Road, Dover, “for purposes of conducting the illegal gambling operation,” according to a statement issued Monday by the prosecutor’s office. The location is a warehouse located in an industrial area of Dover, and the size was estimated at between 8,000 and 9,000 square feet in area. At approximately midnight on Friday, April 29, members of the New Jersey State Police, the prosecutor’s office, the county park police, the FBI, the IRS and the Morris County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the address. At the time, 45 persons were present gambling on poker games, the prosecutor’s office said. One of the defendants, Scott Furer, of Lackawaxen, Pa., was also present. The investigation showed, according to the prosecutor, that Furer managed the day-to-day gambling activity at the location. More than $27,000 in cash was seized along with gambling related materials and records. Other search warrants were simultaneously executed at the Winstock residence, on vehicles registered to Mr. Winstock and Furer and on Mr. Winstock’s locker at the Roxbury Police Headquarters in Ledgewood. Later on Saturday, according to the prosecutor, a search warrant was executed at the residence of Juskus, a vehicle registered to him and on his police department locker. “The investigation indicated that the defendants utilized the LLC in an effort to disguise the fact that their purpose was to engage in illegal gambling,” the prosecutor maintains. Winstock and Juskus could not be reached for comment. Although documents filed with the Dover Board of Adjustment last August said the club was to be a “social club”, the prosecutor maintains it was set up to conduct illegal gambling activity. “The investigation showed that the true purpose of the defendants was to create a business which they regarded as an investment. They intended to, and did, make money by establishing, managing and conducting illegal gambling in the form of poker games,” Rubbinaccio said. The prosecutor said money was made by charging gamblers membership dues and hourly fees for time spent gambling. The investigation also showed that the gambling activity was open to anyone who was willing to pay to gamble at the location. The prosecutor maintains that the defendants established a website to attract gamblers. “An examination of the website demonstrated that the true purpose of the defendants and the LLC was to promote illegal poker games,” the prosecutor said. The prosecutor’s office said that the gambling activity was consistent and ongoing from at least early January of this year, until the execution of the search warrant Friday. The premises were open for gambling five nights per week, opening in the evening at about 7 p.m. and continuing into the early morning hours, sometimes as late as 7 a.m. The number of gamblers attending varied from approximately 50 to as many as 200, the prosecutor said. Rubbinaccio said that because two of the defendants are police officers, their participation in this illegal scheme was at odds with their fundamental duty of enforcing the law. “As police officers, they were required to enforce the gambling laws and report suspected violations of the law, not to reap a profit by engaging in an illegal business with others,” Rubbinaccio said. “Because Mr. Furer and Ms. Winstock were aware of Mr. Winstock’s and Mr. Juskus’ status as police officers and nonetheless participated with them in the illegal endeavor, they are also accountable for the acts of official misconduct committed by Mr. Winstock and Mr. Juskus,” Rubbinaccio said. The prosecutor also said that any advice members of the LLC were given that gambling activity was lawful was erroneous and was not based on complete and accurate information. Rubbinaccio also said Monday that the investigation is ongoing, and said future arrests have not been ruled out. Winstock, who serves the department as a patrol supervisor, has been with the 45-member department for about 12 years, according to Raths. Juskus, who works in the department’s traffic safety bureau, has been a member of the department for about 20 years. Raths said he was informed of the arrest of both officers by Police Chief Mark Noll Saturday. He subsequently called each member of the Township Council and informed them of the arrests. “It will now be up to the prosecutor’s office to decide whether or not there is substantial evidence to indict the officers, and it will proceed from there,” Raths said. “Our normal practice is that if charges are brought, an officer will be suspended with pay, and that’s the step we have taken,” Raths said. “If there is a formal indictment, we’ll take the necessary steps, as required, at that point in time,” he said. He did not elaborate. Raths said Winstock, who joined the force in 1993 and Juskus, who joined the department in 1985, are considered to be excellent law enforcement personnel. “We consider all of our officers to be high quality individuals. We expect all of them to use good judgment at all times,” Raths said. Raths said that Noll has been in contact with the officers, and said he expects to consult with the chief frequently on the status of the case against the two officers. Deputy Mayor Martin Schmidt said he knows both officers, and said both are “very nice guys.” “I was very upset when I heard about it. Shame on them if they got involved in this situation. I’ve talked to both of them on various occasions, and I always found them to be very nice guys,” he said. “These charges, if true, will wind up really hurting them. Our manager will be involved, but most of it will be handled by the prosecutor’s office. The chips are going to land where they may on this. I don’t think we (the township) will have much involvement here,” Schmidt said. According to Regina Nee, the board secretary for the Dover Board of Adjustment, 5th Street Club, LLC, received approvals from the board last August to operate the social club. Since the building was located in a formal industrial park, Nee said the applicant needed variances, and was granted them. “It was presented as a social club. The building is part of an industrial club that has not been in use, or has been declining for many years,” Nee said. The property is owned, she said by W. P. Realty of Denville. The 5th Street Club, LLC was renting the property, Nee said. “The application says it was to be a social club, and since social clubs are not permitted in an industrial zone, they needed the variance,” Nee said. She also said the resolution states that the club was to employ four to six people, would serve no alcohol and would not have a liquor license and would not permit any on premises cooking of serving of food. Activities listed were to include: billiard tables, card games, darts, slot cars, rock climbing activities, pinball machines, lounge furniture and conversation. There was to be private membership, with members being ages 25 and up. No music was to be played and there was to be no shower or locker room facilities. Nee said the variances were granted and the application was approved. Roxbury’s Mayor Richard Zoschak said Monday that the incident is embarrassing for the township. “I don’t know these officers personally, but this is embarrassing. We have a bunch of great officers. I don’t know if these charges are true or not, but if they are, you’d think they would have known better,” Zoschak said. “You would think any police officers would know better than to get involved with something like this, if they did get involved,” he said. “I’m sure Mark Noll will handle it properly. I don’t know many of the details. Mr. Raths called us (council members) Saturday morning and told us about Winstock and his wife. At the time, he didn’t know about Juskus,” Zoschak said. Noll said both Winstock and Juskus are excellent officers, and said he won’t be making much comment until he’s read the arrest reports and knows more details. “It sounds like they got involved with something they shouldn’t have. It’s the prosecutor’s investigation, so I won’t be making much comment on it. In situations like this, and fortunately they don’t happen very often, our procedure is to suspend the individuals pending the outcome of the judicial process,” Noll said. “They are both very experienced and highly trained officers. Winstock is the commander of the SWAT unit. He’s an EMT and he’s the head of our dive team. Juskus is our accident reconstruction specialist,” Noll said. Amato Galasso, who served as the attorney for the applicant when they went before the Dover Board of Adjustment, did not return phone calls for comment. ©Recorder Newspapers 2005