Ritacco Sentencing Scheduled for Trenton Friday

A morning court session Friday will determine the fate of former Toms River Superintendent Michael Ritacco, guilty of mail fraud and conspiracy.

The sentencing of the former was originally scheduled for July 12, before U.S. District Court Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton. But, in June, it was postponed.

Now Pisano is scheduled to sentence Ritacco at a 10 a.m. Sept. 14 in Trenton federal court. The new sentencing date was made Aug. 8, according to court documents. The Sept. 14 sentencing will be in Courtroom 1.

Ritacco pleaded guity April 5 to two of the 27 charges he was facing, and admitted his role in years of corruption at the school district, where as much as $2.5 million in bribes were allegedly passed between Ritacco, insurance brokers and intermediaries.

He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to impede the IRS. Ritacco could face 11 to 14 years jail time, according to sentencing guidelines.

As part of the plea Ritacco will forfeit $1 million dollars, his 2010 Mercedes E550, and $8,960 from his home found as part of an FBI raid.

No Sentencing Date Yet Scheduled for Gartland

Ritacco was indicted alongside former district insurance broker Francis X. Gartland, who pleaded guilty to several charges in that indictment.

Gartland was originally scheduled to be sentenced July 9. In June, the sentencing date was rescheduled, and then also postponed without another date named for sentencing.

On April 2, Gartland plead guilty to four charges: mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the IRS and perjury in the Ritacco case.

Gartland admitted to his role with co-conspirators who paid $1 million to $2 million in bribes to Ritacco in exchange for inflated insurance contracts from 2002 to 2010, according to U.S. District Attorney Paul Fishman.