As part of Operation Bid Rig, a former employee of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the first public corruption release issued under the auspices of Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra. 

The feds charged Leroy Robinson, 52, of Maplewood, in March 2008 in a six-count indictment with various money laundering offenses. 

“The guilty plea of Leroy Robinson represents the most recent conviction to arise from Operation Bid Rig, the same investigation which has led to charges against more than 20 officials in Monmouth, Ocean and Somerset Counties, including convictions of theformer mayors of Asbury Park, Ocean Township, West Long Branch, Brick Township, Hazlet and Keyport,” said U.S. Attorney spokesman Michael Drewniak. 

In his Tuesday appearance before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson, Robinson pleaded guilty to conspiring with Joseph Merla to conduct financial transactions involving the proceeds of unlawful activity, namely loansharking, with the intent to conceal and disguise the nature of those transactions, Drewniak said. 

The count carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Judge Thompson scheduled sentencing for March 10.  Robinson remains on bail pending sentencing. 

“During the plea proceedings, Robinson admitted providing five checks totaling $108,000 between April 2004 and February 2005 to three individuals in exchange for $120,000 in cash, which he believed represented loansharking proceeds,” Drewniak said. “Robinson admitted that he had believed that the individuals from whom he had accepted the cash were involved in the contracting business but also ran a profitable loansharking operation. In reality, these individuals were a cooperating witness and two undercover FBI agents, according to Mark J. McCarren, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who handled the prosecution.”