A former Paterson zoning inspector who spent more than a year selling homeowners fake building permits bearing a forged city signature was sentenced Friday to three years in state prison. Jose Fermin, 54, of Prospect Park, admitted running the scheme from late 2020 through February 2022, telling residents seeking home improvements that they were getting legitimate approval to proceed with renovations when in fact the paperwork was worthless.
Fermin pleaded guilty on May 8, 2026, to second-degree conspiracy to commit official misconduct, according to NJ.com. He was sentenced by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed in Passaic County, and under the plea deal he must forfeit all public employment and is permanently barred from holding public office or employment anywhere in New Jersey. That forfeiture and bar flow from N.J.S.A. 2C:51-2, the state statute that automatically strips convicted public officials of their positions and future eligibility for government work, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.
The illegitimate permits Fermin and his co-defendants issued bore forged signatures belonging to Paterson's Director of Planning and Zoning, Michael Deutsch, whose approval was copied onto fake forms to convince homeowners their construction applications had been officially cleared, per the same account. Some applicants were told they could obtain permits without even submitting building plans, and Fermin and his co-defendants collected payments in exchange for producing the forged documents.
A Zoning Career Built on the Scam
While the fraud was underway, Fermin was climbing the ranks of Paterson's municipal government rather than facing scrutiny. He joined the city workforce on February 29, 2016, and rose from a $32,000 trainee role in the housing and zoning office to a $47,396 inspector position, ultimately landing a $60,000 assistant zoning officer post, as reported by Paterson Times. Investigators say his conduct violated Paterson's own Personnel Policies and Procedures, which bar municipal employees from accepting money, gifts, or favors from anyone doing official business with the city.
Court filings from state corruption investigators revealed that Fermin personally taught co-defendant Alfonlly Monegro-Camilo how to forge the planning and zoning director's signature onto municipal records. Monegro-Camilo, 28, of Paterson, later pleaded guilty to third-degree forgery and was sentenced on June 29, 2026, to two years of non-custodial probation. A second co-defendant, Jose Juan Guerrero-Cruz, 46, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to third-degree official misconduct and received three years of non-custodial probation on June 25, 2026.
A Multi-State Manhunt and a Superseding Indictment
The case moved through several procedural stages before reaching sentencing. State prosecutors originally filed criminal complaint-summons charges against Fermin in February 2023 alleging second-degree bribery, second-degree official misconduct, unlawful benefit acceptance, conspiracy, forgery, and record tampering. A state grand jury then returned a seven-count indictment against Fermin and Guerrero-Cruz on February 20, 2024, and a superseding indictment added Monegro-Camilo on October 1, 2025.
Guerrero-Cruz, who investigators say assisted Fermin by facilitating payments and distributing forged permits, was identified as being from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Monegro-Camilo acknowledged the involvement of Fermin and Guerrero-Cruz. The accomplices received probationary sentences, while Fermin received a state-prison sentence.
Officials Frame Case as a Warning
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said authorities take abuses of public trust seriously and will bring offenders to justice. Davenport said the case illustrates how corruption hurts communities financially and erodes government credibility, according to the attorney general's office.
The investigation was handled by detectives with the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability's Corruption Bureau. Deputy Attorneys General Lisa Cialino and Adam Gerken handled the case for OPIA's Corruption Bureau. The office reported that the scam produced no information suggesting any unsafe structures were built as a result of the fraudulent permits, even as residents pursuing legitimate home improvements were left holding paperwork that meant nothing.
