Millions in Passaic sheriff surveillance equipment locked away over national defense case
PATERSON — Millions of dollars' worth of surveillance cameras and other security equipment purchased for the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office remain in storage, frozen in a federal case involving national defense.
The county spent about $13 million from November 2019 through August 2022 to buy the security devices from Lyndhurst-based Packetalk.
But county officials said they stopped installing the cameras and other equipment when they were officially notified that Packetalk’s owner, Tamer Zakhary, was being investigated by the FBI and the United States Department of Homeland Security for allegedly having contracts with a Chinese company banned under the National Defense Authorization Act.
The United States Attorney’s Office charged Zakhary on Dec. 28 with wire fraud and making false statements.
Now county officials say they are awaiting direction from federal authorities about what they should do with the Packetalk equipment and are considering filing a lawsuit against the Lyndhurst company to try to recoup at least some of the $13 million spent on the devices.
In 2022 the county spent $2.18 million to get 255 high-definition security cameras from Packetalk, according to government purchase orders.
But only 11 of those 255 cameras have been installed and placed in operation, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman William Maer. The cameras that are being used were replaced by Packetalk in order to be compliant, he said.
The Sheriff’s Office also is using 27 mobile camera trailers and 15 traffic signboards equipped with cameras, Maer said — all compliant replacements.
“None of the additional cameras that were slated for the countywide system have been installed,” Maer said. The Passaic County Sheriff's Office "has halted the larger project based on recent revelations. As the victim in this situation, the PCSO is awaiting any potential litigation and the direction from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
County a victim of alleged fraud
County officials said Packetalk never gave any indication that it obtained security equipment from a banned Chinese supplier.
“Passaic County is a victim of Packetalk alleged fraud,” said county spokesman Keith Furlong. “The county is pursuing all legal remedies to get the money back.”
Passaic County Counsel Nadege Allwaters sent Zakhary’s lawyer a letter dated April 16 warning of a possible lawsuit for “fraudulent misrepresentations.” The letter said the county would not have bought Packetalk’s products if it knew they didn’t comply with national defense laws.
Allwaters advised Packetalk to preserve all documents involving the county’s $13 million purchase of the security equipment, including emails, text messages, telephone logs, audio recordings, videotapes, spreadsheets and databases shared among Packetalk employees or between the company and the county.
Officials have not provided a breakdown of the dollar value for the equipment that has been kept in storage.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a January press release that various law enforcement agencies in New Jersey had bought at least $35 million in equipment from Zakhary’s company. Sellinger did not name the law enforcement agencies, but Paterson Press confirmed that the Passaic Sheriff’s Office was among the customers through documents obtained through OPRA (Open Public Records Act) requests.
After an initial story about the equipment purchases, Paterson Press asked county officials in mid-February how many of the cameras from Packetalk had been installed. It took the county and its Sheriff’s Office more than two months to provide their response.
The lawyer representing Zakhary in the federal criminal case against him did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Federal authorities have been engaged in negotiations for a possible plea agreement with Zakhary, according to a March 1 order signed by United States District Court Judge Andre Espinosa and lawyers for both sides. Zakhary is the only person federal authorities have announced as the target of criminal charges in their Packetalk probe.
The accusations against Zakhary were made public 19 days before Sheriff Richard Berdnik died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bathroom of a Clifton restaurant on Jan. 23.
Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes announced in January that Berdnik’s death was being investigated. Valdes did not respond this week to a reporter’s inquiry about the status of the investigation.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic County NJ sheriff surveillance gear locked away by FBI
