Federal prosecutors say Russell Fallacara received more than $400,000 in cash payments as part of a 2019-2024 scheme tied to county parks contracts; two other participants previously pleaded guilty.
HUDSON COUNTY, NJ – A former director of the Hudson County Parks Department pleaded guilty Wednesday, July 8, to participating in a public corruption scheme that federal prosecutors say involved more than $1.5 million in bribes and kickbacks connected to county contracts.
Russell Fallacara, 59, of Bayonne, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Federal prosecutors said Fallacara admitted joining a scheme in which a business owner made payments so his company would receive work on Hudson County Parks Department projects.
According to court documents and statements made in court as summarized by prosecutors, the conspiracy ran from 2019 through 2024 and involved contracts for work including landscape maintenance, paving and general contracting. The government said business owner William A. Murray made bribe and kickback payments to county officials, including Fallacara and former Parks Department Director Thomas DeLeo.
Prosecutors said Fallacara received more than $400,000 in cash bribes and kickbacks. Other payments took the form of free home repairs and renovations for Fallacara and DeLeo, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In exchange, prosecutors said Fallacara and DeLeo, during their respective periods as Parks Department director, took official action to approve county contracts awarded to Murray’s company. Fallacara’s guilty plea means three people identified by federal prosecutors in the scheme have now admitted criminal conduct.
DeLeo pleaded guilty on March 3, 2026, to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Murray pleaded guilty on March 17, 2026, to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, according to federal prosecutors.
The charge to which Fallacara pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in federal prison. A statutory maximum is not a prediction of the sentence a defendant will receive; federal sentencing is determined by the court under applicable law and sentencing guidelines.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Newark Field Office and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Region, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.