NEW JERSEY ELECTION LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION, Complainant, v. BURLINGTON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE, a county political party committee in Burlington County, New Jersey, and CONSENT ORDER AND FINAL DECISION JEFF MEYER, de facto Organizational Treasurer, JULE K. THIESSEN, Organizational Treasurer, and BRENT LEE, de facto Organizational Treasurer, Respondents. The Election Law Enforcement Commission (hereafter, the Commission) having brought a Complaint on September 25, 2013, against the Burlington County Democratic Committee (hereafter, the Respondent Committee) and Jeff Meyer (hereafter, the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer), Jule K. Thiessen (hereafter, the Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen), and Brent Lee (hereafter, the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee) for late and non-filing of contribution and expenditure information and late filing of form D-3 in calendar year 2009 as required by the New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act, N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1, et seq. (hereafter, the Campaign Reporting Act) and Commission Regulations, N.J.A.C. 19:25-1, et seq.; And the Complaint issued by the Commission and described above being incorporated by reference in this Consent Order and Final Decision; And the Respondent Committee, Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurers Meyer and Lee, and Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen representing that by entering their consent to this Consent Order and Final Decision, they neither admit nor deny that the violations alleged in the Complaint constitute violations of the Campaign Reporting Act; And the Respondent Committee, Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurers Meyer and Lee, and Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen being represented in this matter by Dean J. Buono, Esq., consenting to the form and substance of this Consent Order and Final Decision; And Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer also being represented in this matter by Lisa Chapland, Esq., consenting to the form and substance of this Consent Order and Final Decision;
Page 2 And the Commission adopting the Proposed Findings of Fact and Proposed Conclusions of Law as to the Respondent Committee, Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurers Meyer and Lee, and Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen, as set forth in the Complaint, and as modified below, as the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in its Final Decision in this matter; And the Commission finding on Count One of the Complaint that the Respondent Committee and the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer filed with the Commission on December 12, 2013, 1702 days late, an amended Receipts and Expenditures Quarterly Report (Form R-3) for the 2009 first quarterly reporting period, which was certified as correct by Respondent de facto Treasurer Lee, reporting contributor information for one contribution in the amount of $500.00, which was required to have been reported on April 15, 2009; And the Commission finding on Count Two of the Complaint that the Respondent Committee and the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer filed with the Commission on December 12, 2013, 1702 days late, an amended 2009 first quarterly report, which was certified as correct by Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee, reporting a payee address for one expenditure in the amount of $2,800.00, which was required to have been reported on April 15, 2009; And the Commission finding on Count Three of the Complaint that the Respondent Committee and the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer filed with the Commission on December 12, 2013, 1611 days late, an amended Receipts and Expenditures Quarterly Report (Form R-3) for the 2009 second quarterly reporting period, which was certified as correct by Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee, reporting payee addresses for eleven expenditures totaling $1,535.00, which were required to have been reported on July 15, 2009; And the Commission finding on Count Five of the Complaint that the Respondent Committee, the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer, and the Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen filed with the Commission on December 26, 2013, 1533 days late, an amended Receipts and Expenditures Quarterly Report (Form R-3) for the 2009 third quarterly reporting period, which was certified as correct by Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee, reporting contributor information for two contributions totaling $1,000.00, which was required to have been reported on October 15, 2009; And the Commission finding on Count Six of the Complaint that the Respondent Committee, the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer, and the Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen filed with the Commission on December 26, 2013, 1533 days late, an amended 2009 third quarterly report, which was certified as correct by Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee, reporting payee addresses for seventeen expenditures totaling $2,774.04, which were required to have been reported on October 15, 2009;
Page 3 And the Commission finding on Count Eight of the Complaint that the Respondent Committee, the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee, and the Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen filed with the Commission on December 12, 2013, 1427 days late, an amended Receipts and Expenditures Quarterly Report (Form R-3) for the 2009 fourth quarterly reporting period, which was certified as correct by Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee, reporting payee information for seven hundred seventy expenditures totaling $66,186.78, which was required to have been reported on January 15, 2010; And the Commission having considered other penalty factors as required by N.J.A.C. 19:25-17.3A, B, and C; The Commission therefore, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-22 and N.J.A.C. 19:25-17.1 et seq., REPRIMANDS the Respondent Committee, Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurers Meyer and Lee, and Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen, and imposes a penalty upon the Respondents on Counts One through Eight in the amount of THREE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS ($3,725.00), and the Commission having received payment in the amount of $2,980.00 on May 29, 2014, prior to Final Decision action, hereby reduces the penalty of $3,725.00 to TWO THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED EIGHTY DOLLARS ($2,980.00) pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:25-17.3C(e), as follows: on Count Four, upon the Respondent Committee in the amount of $300.00, rounded and reduced to TWO HUNDRED FORTY DOLLARS ($240.00); on Counts One, Two, and Three, upon Respondent Committee and Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer in the amount of $241.80, rounded and reduced to ONE HUNDRED NINETY THREE DOLLARS ($193.00); on Counts Five and Six, upon Respondent Committee, Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer, and Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen in the amount of $210.96, rounded and reduced to ONE HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT DOLLARS ($168.00); and on Counts Seven and Eight, upon Respondent Committee, Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Lee, and Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen in the amount of $2,973.97, rounded and reduced to TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY NINE DOLLARS ($2,379.00). The Respondent Committee, Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurers Meyer and Lee, and Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen hereby enter into this Consent Order, which if authorized and executed by the Election Law Enforcement Commission, will be the Final Decision in this case.
Page 4 CONSENT TO SETTLE ON BEHALF OF: Burlington County Democratic Committee Jeff Meyer Jule K. Thiessen Brent Lee On behalf of the Respondent Committee, Respondent Organizational Treasurer Thiessen, and Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurers Meyer and Lee, the undersigned hereby consents to the form and substance of the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and the penalty as set forth in this Consent Order, and therefore to entry of this Consent Order as the Final Decision in ELEC v. Burlington County Democratic Committee and Jeff Meyer, de facto Organizational Treasurer, Jule K. Thiessen, Organizational Treasurer, and Brent Lee, de facto Organizational Treasurer,. However, should the Commission decline to adopt and execute this Consent Order, the Respondents retain their right to a hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and the payment of $2,980.00 will be refunded. DATED: BY: Dean J. Buono, Esq. On behalf of: Burlington County Democratic Committee, Jeff Meyer, Jule K. Thiessen, and Brent Lee
Page 5 CONSENT TO SETTLE ON BEHALF OF: Jeff Meyer On behalf of the Respondent de facto Organizational Treasurer Meyer, the undersigned hereby consents to the form and substance of the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and the penalty as set forth in this Consent Order, and therefore to entry of this Consent Order as the Final Decision in ELEC v. Burlington County Democratic Committee and Jeff Meyer, de facto Organizational Treasurer, Jule K. Thiessen, Organizational Treasurer, and Brent Lee, de facto Organizational Treasurer,. However, should the Commission decline to adopt and execute this Consent Order, the Respondent retains his right to a hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and the payment of $2,980.00 will be refunded. DATED: BY: Lisa Chapland, Esq. On behalf of: Jeff Meyer
Page 6 CONSENT OF COMMISSION'S PROSECUTION STAFF: The Commission having received payment in the amount of $2,980.00 in ELEC v. Burlington County Democratic Committee and Jeff Meyer, de facto Organizational Treasurer, Jule K. Thiessen, Organizational Treasurer, and Brent Lee, de facto Organizational Treasurer, C- N 0300 0002 11 Q2009, as set forth in this Consent Order, the undersigned hereby consents to the submission of this Consent Order to the Commission for the Commission's Final Decision consideration. In the event that the Commission does not adopt and execute this Consent Order as its Final Decision, I hereby acknowledge that the Respondents retain their right to a hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and the payment in the amount of $2,980.00 will be refunded. NEW JERSEY ELECTION LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION DATED: BY: Steven J. McManus, Esq. Assistant Legal Director COMMISSION'S FINAL DECISION: The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, by a vote of 3-0, at its meeting of December 16, 2014, consented to and adopted the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and total $3,725.00 penalty set forth in this Consent Order as its Final Decision in ELEC v. Burlington County Democratic Committee and Jeff Meyer, de facto Organizational Treasurer, Jule K. Thiessen, Organizational Treasurer, and Brent Lee, de facto Organizational Treasurer, C- N 0300 0002 11 Q2009, and acknowledges receipt of payment of the reduced penalty amount of $2,980.00. No further payment is required. NEW JERSEY ELECTION LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION Date of Mailing: December 31, 2014 BY: s/ Ronald DeFilippis Chairman