Report: FBI investigating Jersey City agency tied to Fulop

Jersey City Employment Training Program Chair Stacey Flanagan acknowledged in court filings that the FBI has opened an investigation into the agency, according to a report in the Hudson County View.

Flanagan’s revelation came in court filings first reported by the Hudson County View,

It’s not immediately clear whether Sudhan Thomas, a political ally of Mayor Steven Fulop and the former chairman and acting executive director of the JCETP, is the target of the federal probe.

The New Jersey Globe first reported in August that checks made out to cash on a Jersey City Employment and Training Program bank account appear to have been both signed and endorsed by Thomas.

The Globe obtained copies of the backs of the checks through a request under the Open Public Records Act.  Copies of the original checks were included in a letter to federal and state prosecutors from a whistleblower who claims Thomas fired for voicing concerns about three checks made out to cash totaling $16,500.

The top finance official of the JCETP has admitted several key allegations made against Thomas, who is now running for re-election to the Jersey City Board of Education.

In a response to a whistleblower lawsuit, JCETP Finance Director Angel Santa acknowledged that Thomas opened a checking account at Bayonne Community Bank and refused agency finance officials to have any access to it.

In a January move reportedly ordered by Fulop and implemented by Thomas, the JCETP voted to fire former Gov. James E. McGreevey from his post as executive director.