A cesspool of corruption

On a nearly weekly basis someone is forced to step doewn from a post at UMDNJ because of corrupt or illegal behavior. Why has no one gone to jail? Report accuses UMDNJ dean of unethical activities

A top academic dean and a trustee of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey engaged in "unethical and potentially illegal" activities involving the misspending of thousands in public funds, according to a federal report scheduled for release this morning.

The findings by former Judge Herbert J. Stern, the federal monitor overseeing the embattled university, include allegations that R. Michael Gallagher, dean of UMDNJ’s School of Osteopathic Medicine near Camden, devised a corrupt accounting scheme to boost his annual bonus, according to two sources with knowledge of the report.

The report also accuses the trustee — Newark City Council President Donald Bradley — of steering UMDNJ into a real estate deal that benefited a campaign contributor.

Gallagher has already been forced to resign his post. Bradley is not seeking re-election to his South Ward council seat.

The report recounts other alleged outrages, including a $50 glass of Glenlivet whiskey, a leather laptop case for the dean’s wife and two nights in the Waldorf-Astoria — all billed to the medical school.

Stern is scheduled to deliver the document this morning to U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and then release it to the public.

In a report released April 3, Stern said UMDNJ had become a "patronage pit" for senators, legislators and university trustees.