Two sentenced for bribing county officials

NEWARK- The two brothers who are co-owners of International Trucks of Central Jersey were sentenced Jan. 16 to prison terms for bribing Monmouth County public officials, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

U.S. District Judge William J. Martini sentenced Matthew Appolonia, 43, of Berkeley Heights, to 24 months in prison and fined him $10,000. Appolonia must surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons by March 3.

Appolonia pleaded guilty on Aug. 22, and admitted providing corrupt payments and benefits to various officials from approximately 1997 through 2005 to facilitate the purchase of trucks from his company by various local governments, including Brick Township, Seaside Heights, West Long Branch and the County ofMonmouth, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Martini sentenced Stephen Appolonia, 54, of Colts Neck, to 28 months in prison and fined him $25,000. He also was given a March 3 surrender date.

Stephen Appolonia pleaded guilty on Sept. 13, and admitted providing $2,000 in cash to former Middletown committeeman Raymond J. O'Grady, who was the director of the Central Motor Pool for the County ofMonmouth, in a scheme to have the county pay approximately $6,000 for repairs to the transmission of a vehicle that the county already had traded back to Appolonia's business. Stephen Appolonia also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money in a scheme with former Far Hills councilman Thomas A. Greenwald.

O'Grady began serving a 43-month sentence in January 2007 after being convicted of five corruption-related charges as part of the FBI's Operation Bid Rig investigation, which also snared the Appolonias.