Guilty plea for former Rockaway Twp. school chief

A former Rockaway Township superintendent of schools admitted asking a witness to lie to the FBI about $4,000 that the witness had previously given to him.

Gary Vitta, 63, of Denville, pleaded guilty to attempted witness tampering, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced on Monday.

According to statements made in court and documents filed in this case provided by Fishman’s office:

The FBI received allegations that Vitta was receiving benefits from insurance brokers working with the township so they began an investigation and utilized a cooperating witness who worked as an insurance broker.

Vitta, who was the superintendent of the Rockaway Township School District from 2006 to 2011, dealt with brokers who provided insurance brokerage services to the district and were paid a commission for the insurance contracts they negotiated.

At a Vitta family event, Vitta accepted approximately $4,000 in cash from three of the brokers who had provided insurance brokerage services. Shortly after accepting the $4,000, Vitta returned the $4,000 to one of the insurance brokers.

Then, in December 2013, Vitta again accepted the $4,000 from the same insurance broker to whom he had returned it.

After accepting the $4,000, Vitta was interviewed by law enforcement agents with the FBI about any benefits that he may have received from insurance brokers who provided brokerage services to the school district.

Vitta failed to mention the $4,000 that he had recently received from an insurance broker, or the $4,000 that he had previously received from three insurance brokers at a family event.

Following the interview, Vitta contacted the insurance broker who had repaid him the $4,000 in December 2013. He met the insurance broker at a restaurant in Denville, where they first discussed whether the broker was wearing a wire.

Vitta told broker that he had recently been approached by FBI agents. He handed the broker a note instructing the broker to lie to the FBI about the $4,000 that the broker had given to him in December 2013.

He instructed the broker to lie about the $4,000 that Vitta had previously received at a family event. He also confirmed to this broker that one of the other insurance brokers who had paid him money at that family event also would lie to the FBI if questioned about that payment.

The witness tampering charge to which Vitta pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 22.

Vitta’s defense counsel, Henry E. Klingeman, said that he will ask for probation for his client at sentencing.

“Vitta’s conduct was stupid, not venal,” Klingeman said. “At sentencing, he will explain himself to the judge and ask the judge to balance this conduct against the rest of his exemplary life and career when seeking a probation sentence.”

Vitta resigned his position in Rockaway Township on Jan. 1, 2012 citing Gov. Chris Christie's cap on superintendent salaries as a contributing factor. His contract ran through June 30, of that year. He has been working as a consultant since leaving Rockaway Twp.

“There’s no connection between this investigation and his leaving the district in 2011,” Klingeman said.

Before taking the Rockaway Township position, Vitta had been superindent of schools for Hunterdon County and before that, he had been superintendent of the Cateret school district.