Community Corner

Former Teaneck Councilman Held $95K No-Show Job, Suit Alleges

Lawsuit claims fraud at Bergen Regional Medical Center.

A former Teaneck member and political consultant held a $95,000 a year no-show job at a Bergen County agency where colleagues were unsure what he did outside of occasionally signing paperwork, documents filed in federal civil court Wednesday allege.

Elnatan Rudolph, who was elected to the Teaneck council in 2006 and once worked as an assistant to the former executive director of the Bergen County Improvement Authority, rarely told BCIA staffers where he was and spent little time at the office, the court papers claim.

The allegations came to light in an amendment to a lawsuit filed by the BCIA. The the private operator of Bergen Regional Medical Center worked with two elevator repair companies to defraud the county agency.

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Rudolph and former BCIA executive director Edward Hynes “allowed” BCIA to pay for services that were never performed and elevator equipment that was never installed at the medical center, the court documents say. Court papers say the elevator project fraud cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Equipment already paid for was allegedly moved to hide the fact that it had never been installed.

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The two former officials are named as defendants in the BCIA’s suit, along with medical center officials, elevator companies and up to 100 unknown individuals who aided in the alleged fraud.

Rudolph did not respond to an e-mail message seeking comment Thursday. In a story on northjersey.com, he was quoted as saying he had not seen the court papers. Hynes could not be reached for comment.

"We are confident that these allegations will be proven to have no merit and we intend to vigorously defend this lawsuit," said Donnalee Corrieri, a spokeswoman for Bergen Regional Medical Center.

The former Teaneck councilman won his seat during a special election with the backing of former Bergen County Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Ferriero. Opponents claimed the ex-party boss planted Rudolph in town.

Rudolph critics also blasted him for voting in New York City six months after moving to the township. 

 

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