Un-FREAKING-believable!

by: Thurman Hart

Sun Oct 05, 2008 at 07:57:59 PM EDT

The North Bergen High School athletic director and wrestling coach suspended in March after he was charged with being part of a gambling ring run by the Genovese crime family entered a pre-trial intervention program last month and is back in his job, a spokesman for the district said Friday.

The athletic director, Jerry Maietta, will also not face any departmental charges, said the the school district's spokesman, Paul Swibinski.

In general, I'm a fan of pre-trial diversion programs.  They give first-time offenders a way to straighten out their lives before they get into serious problems.  Plus, they actually save a ton of money by not forcing pro forma trials on the system.  Depending on the exact nature of the program, sometimes a person can get a blank slate when they successfully complete their program.

But I think this case may be misguided.  Maietta is a teacher, and a teacher supervisor.  But it isn't like he's a math teacher - he's the athletic director.  What high school activity do you think is most likely to be the focus of gambling?  Math?  History?  Athletics?

I don't know what the extent of Maietta's activity in the gambling ring was, but I know this - most teachers' contracts contain ethical behavior guidelines.  This should fall outside of those guidelines.  There should be some consequence other than getting time off with pay for a few months.  Maybe he shouldn't be fired.  But he shouldn't be a supervisor.  He shouldn't have any direct student contact.

Only in Hudson County can having mob contacts be entirely swept under the rug.