Labor Department Sues New Jersey Bakery Firm And Executive Over Misuse Of 401(K) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

New York, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor sued Conolly, Calhoun & Conolly, Inc. of Pennsauken, New Jersey and its chief executive officer on April 16, 2001 for failure to forward $64, 216.55 in employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) profit sharing plan. The firm sponsored and served as plan administrator of the plan until May 1998.

According to the lawsuit, defendants Vincent Acerbo and Conolly, Calhoun & Conolly violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by failing to remit contributions deducted from employee paychecks to the 401(k) plan. Employee contributions were retained in the general account of Conolly, Calhoun & Conolly.
As relief, the lawsuit asks the court to require that Acerbo and the firm restore to the plan all losses with interest or lost opportunity costs and that the plan account of Acerbo be offset to repay the plan. The lawsuit also seeks to permanently bar Acerbo from serving in a position of trust to any plan governed by ERISA.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Newark, New Jersey.  The court action resulted from an investigation conducted by the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Department’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration into alleged violations of ERISA.

“This action reaffirms our commitment to protect the hard-earned benefits promised by employers,” said Mabel Capolongo, Director of PWBA’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “Employers and workers can reach us at 215.861.5300 for help with any problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.”

(Chao v. Acerbo
Civil Action No. 01-CV-1861)

U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7775.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.