William Tanski, 52, was finally sentenced to three years in state prison on March 7 on two charges: official misconduct and theft with failure to make required disposition, according to law enforcement officials.The former superintendent of Harrison Department of Public Works was convicted of stealing nearly $100,000 in coins from the town’s parking meters. He worked for the town for 31 years.
Town officials noticed a substantial decrease in parking meter revenue and Mayor Raymond McDonough asked him to resign in the summer of 2005 after he admitted his guilt. Tanski deposited the money into his personal bank account and was used at Atlantic City casinos, according to reports at the time.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office first investigated Tanski in 2006, after Harrison police notified them after their own investigation.
Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said Tanski was remanded to the Hudson County Correction Center in South Kearny. Tanski will be taken to the Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Trenton, DeFazio said.
There, Department of Corrections officials will classify him according to the crimes he has been convicted of. Once a spot opens up in the appropriate state prison, such as a minimum-security prison, he will be sent there, other officials said.
“Based on the nature of the offense and his age, that (Tanski going to a minimum security facility) would be a reasonable assumption. It is in the hands of the D.O.C.,” DeFazio said.
Tanski could wind up in a workplace like Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, or one of the state prison-run AgriIndustries food production plants (formerly known as “the farms.”).
“Some prisons have a different number of classifications so (he could be sent) to a number of locations in the state – clearly it’s not in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton,” DeFazio said.
The AgriIndustries facilities are not like a regular farm.
“These are not country clubs. There are no golf, swimming pools or tennis courts in any of these places. But where he goes is strictly in the hands of the Department of Corrections,” he said.
