N.J. May Revoke License Of Broker At Center Of Scandal

The other shoe may finally drop on the corruption scandal that still hangs over the town, as the state moves to revoke the insurance broker license of a key figure in the case and levy thousands of dollars in fines.

The state Department of Banking and Insurance is seeking to revoke Marliese Ljuba's license, issued in 1992, after she worked as a cooperating witness for the FBI in its case against former Mayor John Bencivengo.

On Jan. 17, the state agency sent Ljuba an order to show cause why the department should not revoke the license and levy a $5,000 fine for the first and $10,000 for each subsequent offense.

Bencivengo solicited $12,400 in bribes from her in May 2011 in exchange for influencing members of the school board to renew her contract instead of putting it out to public bid. Ljuba secretly recorded the meeting for the FBI.

The order, which puts the onus on Ljuba to respond, hadn't been received at Ljuba's New Jersey, Delaware or Florida addresses, department spokesman Marshall McKnight said.

He could not provide any additional information beyond what was in the order itself.

The order is unrelenting in its assessment of Ljuba's work for the Hamilton school board, painting a picture of greased palms throughout her entire time as the district's broker.

"At all relevant times, many of respondent's public entity health insurance contracts were awarded and retained through bribes and kickbacks," the order reads. "(Ljuba's) primary source of commissions came from health insurance contracts from public entities that did not hire their insurance producers through a competitive bidding process."

Township Council President Ed Gore, who has criticized the U.S. Attorney's Office for granting Ljuba immunity from prosecution, said she should lose her license "at minimum."

"Is it enough? Who knows," Gore said last night. "I'm glad to see there's an agency in at least one level of government willing to investigate her. If any investigations are found at that level, it should be dealt with."

Ljuba's license is scheduled to expire on Tuesday, according to department records, and McKnight said she would have to apply for a renewal.

During the former mayor's trial, Ljuba testified to paying off a handful of township and school board officials, including more than $6,000 to current board member Patricia DelGiudice and "several thousand dollars in cash, gifts and trips" to Robbinsville business administrator Joy Tozzi.

In the past, both Tozzi and DelGiudice have vehemently denied Ljuba's testimony.

Tozzi was put on administrative leave following the trial, but was cleared by the township to return to work less than one week later.

Following the trial, township officials cried out for action to be taken against the prosecution's star witness.

The school district first contracted Ljuba in the mid-1990s while she was working as a broker for Madison Consulting. In April 2012, her old boss, Frank Cotroneo, pleaded guilty to bribing members of the Toms River and Perth Amboy school districts for inflated contracts.

When she moved to Vineland-based Allen Associates, the district's lucrative contract followed her.

The firm received two contracts from 2005 until 2009 before working without a contract over a four-year period that netted the firm more than $1 million in annual commissions.

The school board cut off all ties with Allen Associates in July 2012.

Contact Mike Davis at (609) 989-5708 or [email protected].