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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Official Misconduct |
Sentence: |
5 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2008 |
Year Convicted: |
2012 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New Jersey |
County or Region of Crime: |
Bergen |
City of Crime: |
Hackensack |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Charles Kenneth Zisa, aka Ken Zisa, was wrongly convicted on May 16, 2012 of official misconduct regarding an incident in 2004, and insurance fraud, official misconduct, and a pattern of official misconduct regarding an automobile accident in 2008 involving Zisa’s girlfriend Kathleen Tiernan. Tiernan was also charged and convicted of insurance fraud. Zisa was the Hackensack police chief when he went to the scene of Tiernan’s accident. Zisa filed an insurance claim that asserted the accident was caused when Tiernan swerved to avoid an animal. The insurance company paid $11,000 to settle the claim. Zisa was suspended without pay in 2010 when the charges were filed and he was dismissed as police chief after he was convicted. During Zisa’s trial his lawyer made five motions for a mistrial based on prosecutor misconduct, each of which was denied by Superior Court Judge Joseph Conte. Zisa filed a post-verdict motion for a judgment of acquittal of all his convictions. Judge Conte granted the motion regarding the 2004 official misconduct counts. On June 22, 2012 Judge Conte granted the motion of Tiernan’s lawyer for her to sentenced under New Jersey’s Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) program to reimburse $5,500 to the insurance company within three years, with a minimum payment of $50 monthly. If she was not charged with another crime before she makes the restitution, her conviction was to be expunged. The Bergen County District Attorney’s Office did not oppose the motion or imposition of Tiernan’s sentence under the PTI -- even though it may not have been legal, because Assistant Bergen County DA Daniel Keitel said he wasn’t aware that the state statute “has been changed from pre-trial intervention to post-trial intervention.” On September 20, 2012 Charles Zisa was sentenced to the mandatory five years in prison without parole for his official misconduct conviction, a concurrent three year sentence for his insurance fraud conviction, and a $1,000 fine. Judge Conte ordered that he be allowed to remain free on $50,000 bond pending the outcome of his appeal. On July 31, 2015 the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, reversed Zisa’s insurance fraud conviction for evidence insufficiency and ordered his acquittal, and affirmed the trial court’s judgment of acquittal on three official misconduct counts related to alleged conduct in 2004. The appeals court affirmed Zisa’s conviction of alleged official misconduct in 2008 subject to a hearing on remand to determine if the prosecution deliberately tried to force a misretrial, and if because of the prosecution’s conduct Zisa’s retrial would violate his right against double jeopardy. The same day as the appeals court ruled on July 31, 2015, Superior Court Judge Susan J. Steele released Zisa on his own recognizance and ordered return of his $50,000 bond that his attorney argued he needed to buy food and to pay his mortgage and other living expenses. On August 23, 2016 Judge Steele granted Charles Zisa’s motion to dismiss the only count of his indictment that he hadn’t been acquitted of by the jury, the trial judge, or the appeallate court -- second-degree official misconduct related to a traffic accident involving his girl friend in 2008. Judge Steele ruled that the prosecution had no credible evidence Zisa committed the crime, and that the prosecution’s extreme and deliberate misconduct during Zisa’s trial precluded his retrial because it would violate his right against double jeopardy. Judge Steele stated in her (109 page) ruling: “Given the “substantial factual evidence of intent” in the record before the court, and the court finds a retrial to be an insufficient remedy as it would violate the defendant’s right against double jeopardy. [] Accordingly, the remaining count of the indictment is dismissed with prejudice.” Judge Steele also ruled that “fundamental fairness” barred Zisa’s retrial due to the prosecution’s pervasive misconduct and disregard of the trial judge’s ruling during his trial. (See, New Jersey v. Zisa, No. 10-10-01812-i (Superior Ct. Bergen County, 8-23-2016)) It is believed that Tiernan successfully completed her PTI sentence and her conviction was expunged." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Pervasive prosecutor misconduct during Zisa's trial. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On August 23, 2016 the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, granted Charles Zisa's motion to dismiss the only count of his indictment that he hadn't been acquitted of by the jury, the trial judge, or the appeallate court -- second-degree official misconduct related to a traffic accident involving his girl friend in 2008. Superior Court Judge Susan J. Steele ruled that the prosecution had no credible evidence Zisa committed the crime, and that the prosecution's extreme and deliberate misconduct during Zisa's trial precluded his retrial because it would violate his right against double jeopardy." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"State of New Jersey v. Charles Kenneth Zisa, No. 10-10-01812-i (Superior Ct. Bergen County, 8-23-2016) (Ordering dismissal of final count of indictment based on pervasive prosecutor misconduct furing Zisa's trial.)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://dng.northjersey.com/media_server/tr/2016/08/23zisa/opinion.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Judge dismisses remaining criminal charge against ex-Hackensack police chief Zisa, By John Seasly (Staff Writer), The Record (Bergen County, NJ), August 23, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-dismisses-remaining-criminal-charge-against-ex-hackensack-police-chief-zisa-1.1649152 |
Information Source 3: |
"State v. Zisa, No. A-0653-12T4 2105 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1842 (App. Div. July 31, 2015) (Reversing insurance fraud conviction for evidence insufficiency, and affirming trial court's judgment of acquittal on counts 3, 10 & 13.)" |
Information Location 3: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7791987774182482631&q=state+v.+Zisa&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 4: |
"Jury finds Hackensack Chief Zisa guilty of multiple criminal counts, By Mark J. Bonamo (Managing Editor), Hackensack Chronicle, May 25, 2016" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.northjersey.com/news/jury-finds-zisa-guilty-of-multiple-criminal-counts-1.407064?page=all |
Information Source 5: |
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Information Location 5: |
"Former Hackensack chief, state assemblyman Ken Zisa sentenced to five years in prison, By Dan Ivers (NJ Advance Media), NJ.com, September 20, 2012" |
Book About Case: |
http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2012/09/former_hackensack_chief_state_assemblyman_ken_zisa_sentenced_to_five_years_in_prison.html |
Book Information: |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org