Pension Payments Continue Following Guilty Pleas

COURT HOUSE – Two retired law enforcement officers in Cape May County have pled guilty to third-degree felonies. The most recent postings concerning individual state retirement payments show that the two men have not seen any impact from their felony guilty pleas on their monthly pension checks.
John Campbell
In 2017, retired Cape May Police Officer John Campbell pled guilty to embezzling over $105,000 from the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) Local 59 while he served as president and state delegate. Campbell’s case was even highlighted in the state Division of Criminal Justice 2017 annual report.
Campbell received a sentence of six months home detention, a requirement to make full restitution and 300 hours of community service.
In June of 2018, records of a meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Police Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) ruled that Campbell’s crime, committed while he served as a law enforcement officer, required a forfeiture of service time counted toward his retirement.
Campbell retired as of June 2016 with 326 months of service equating to just over 27 years. Pension records show his salary for pension calculations as $102,847. Those figures resulted in a monthly pension for Campbell of $5,756 or $69,078 per year.
The board’s decision retroactively changed Campbell’s retirement date to January 2012, removing 54 months of service from his retirement calculation and basing that calculation on the lower salary level he was at in 2012.
That decision means that Campbell should now be at a little over 22.6 years of service, below the 25 years required for paid health benefits.
Campbell pled guilty in August 2017. It took until June 2018 for the pension board to make its decision.
Now, taxpayers can continue to wait while the decision is implemented. A state database that shows pension distributions as of the end of the third quarter of 2018 still has Campbell receiving his full pension.
Cape May City is still paying for Campbell’s medical benefits. A full year and a half after his guilty plea, nothing has changed yet with regard to Campbell’s pension and benefits.
Ronnie Erricson
On Nov. 1, 2018, Ronnie P. Erricson, 50, a retired corrections officer, pled guilty to practicing psychology without a license.
Over a period of close to three years, Erricson treated 11 individuals at his home, even going so far as to make prescription recommendations to the physician of one minor he was seeing as a patient. Erricson had led people to believe that he held a doctorate degree.
Erricson was sentenced to five years of probation, fines, and penalties and was required to undergo a mental health check.
In 2010, Erricson had retired as a corrections officer. He was enrolled in the PFRS. State records show that he receives a monthly pension of $4,792 or $57,503 per year.
Since Erricson retired before beginning his deception as a psychologist, the likelihood is that his felony conviction will have no impact on his pension.
State Law
To great fanfare in 2007, the state legislature passed a statute that provides for mandatory forfeiture of retirement benefits for public officers and employees convicted of serious crimes.  As is true in many other states, the statute is limited to a specific list of crimes that must also be connected to their public service.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.