Gary Vitta Child Letter written by his daughter

Dr. Vitta's Legacy

Professional Educator. Master School Administrator. College Professor. Dedicated Husband, Father, Grandfather, And Loyal Friend To Many

Bump on My Road of Professional Success

“Those Without Sin Cast The First Stone”

Fact: I was charged with Obstruction of Justice/ Witness Tampering

Fact: This happened years after my retirement

Fact: I pled guilty to this offense. There was no arrest or indictment.

Fact: I mistakenly told someone not to tell the truth about a gift(s) given to my daughter at her graduation party at the Madison Hotel in 2007. It should be noted that I had given the gifts back shortly after the gathering in 2007. However, the mistake, error in judgment or offense as it’s called happened in 2013/14. It truly was a mind boggling stupid act on my part. I am not including all the details of this here but the charge was as stated above

Fact: Federal Judge Chesler said if he thought I took a bribe he would be sending me to jail; however what happened here is very unclear and it represented mind-boggling stupidity. There was no restitution of the gifts at all as there was no bribery or corruption.

Fact: I was sentenced to three years of probation with the first year being home confinement. I was also fined $10,000

Fact: I never was charged with bribery or corruption and I never did anything against the law in the past. The word corruption or crooked was never used by anyone other than an article written by a radio station and perhaps some other media outlet. I assume that those words were used to inflame what occurred and to defame my good name

Fact: I am also a very trusting, amiable human being and let many people into my life. I have been told by many this is part of my personality and that I should be far more careful as to whom I call a friend.

Fact: I had over 135 strong letters of support from individuals in all professions including a former Chief of Police, a former Secret Service Agent, Police Officers, Doctors, Detectives, Lawyers, Board of Education Members, Professional Colleagues, Family, Friends, former students and neighbors

Fact: I take full responsibility for my stupidity and for the offense as well as the pain and suffering I caused myself, my family and friends

Fact: About a year after adjudication of the offense, the State of New Jersey filed a civil lawsuit against me claiming that the offense would precipitate a forfeiture of my earned pension and medical benefits and that I should be barred from public employment

Fact: This lawsuit went on for months and a vigorous battle was fought by my attorney and the attorneys for the State of New Jersey

Fact: Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled and a final judgment was declared with prejudice meaning that this case can never be brought forth again. She ruled that the State of New Jersey failed to prove that what happened touched upon my role as Superintendent and that my pension must be restored immediately and retroactively. She also ruled that I could work in public employment.

Fact: The State of New Jersey filed a motion appealing her decision to the New Jersey Appellate Court. The State of New Jersey then dropped their appeal on August 3, 2016 indicating that upon further review of the record and issues in this case that it was decided that the State should withdraw its Notice of Appeal

Fact: The New Jersey Bureau of Pensions refused to abide by Judge Mary Jacobson’s decision and my attorney had to fight vigorously with the pension bureau

Fact: The Judge had to once again be asked to reissue her order and after more legal briefs and battles my pension was finally restored in late August 2016

Fact: Steve Edelstein, my attorney, is in my humble opinion, the absolute best expert in the field of school law and pensions. The legal briefs and oral arguments were outstanding and truthful. He and his team carefully examined all the issues and provided concrete examples as to why the State was so off base in even bringing forth such a lawsuit.

Fact: This entire ordeal took years off my life and caused so much suffering not only to me but to my wife, children and all my family and friends. I take full responsibility for my stupid ridiculous action.

Fact: There are definitely media outlets that choose words that are inflammatory such as crooked Superintendent and Corrupt etc. These are defamatory remarks that incite the public with information that is totally erroneous.

Fact: In addition, the New Jersey Board of Examiners also did not abide by the Judge’s decision regarding working in public employment and decided to try to revoke my certification. After another legal battle I agreed to settle for a 3 year suspension of my School Administrator’s Certificate.

Fact: I presented above the facts and only the facts. There can be no dispute over what is written here.

Fact: As I said above I was wrong and this was a major blip in my successful career. It will be a stigma I must learn to live with all my life.

It is my hope that others can learn from my mistake

It is also my hope that I can move forward despite fake news and the damage I did to my reputation

It is my hope that whoever lays eyes on this website reads the various pages in total

I plan to post about 25 of the 135 letters of support I received during this life altering crisis

It has been a rough road but with God, Family and Friends I survived

I plan to move forward with integrity and dignity

2017

Gary Vitta

February 2, 2015

Honorable Stanley R. Chesler, U.S.D.J.

United States District Court

Frank Lautenberg U.S. Post Office & Courthouse

2 Federal Square

Newark, New Jersey 07102

RE: United States v. Gary Vitta

Crim. No. 15-01

Dear Judge Chesler:

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pamela Vitta and I am the daughter of Gary Vitta. Judge Chesler, I am not even quite sure where to even begin or what to say. How can I possibly convey in one letter to you the impact my father has made on my life and explain to you the man he actually is? How do I write down all the things he has done for my own friends and how he has changed so many of their lives? This letter is just that- a letter, but for me it’s one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

For 29 years, this man has been by my side, teaching, guiding, and unconditionally loving me, while also remaining a tough and strong parent. He was not one to enable us or make excuses for my sister and me when things went wrong or we were wrong. He was someone who made sure we were always punished appropriately if we did something wrong (although I was not happy about that at times), and always taught us to always respect the law. I can truly say he is an incredible father, and was and still is an amazing role model. I wouldn’t have changed one thing about him or the way my parents raised us because it has made me who I am today and I would like to think that I am a good and kind hearted person.

Through my life, my parents instilled upon me important life values and lessons but specifically, my father. It was important to him that we be a family defined by strong morality, family tradition, and kindness. And I truly believe that he has succeeded in doing this. Every year for as long as I can remember, he made sure we kept our family traditions alive. For our family, it was the simple traditions that made us happy and truly defined us. It is our annual apple picking trip every fall followed by freshly baked cider donuts and apple cider. It was making sure we all ate dinner together every night at the kitchen table while I was growing up. It’s watching George C. Scott’s version of a, “A Christmas Carol,” during the holidays while he recites every line Ebenezer Scrooge says. It’s celebrating every one of my birthdays at L&B in Brooklyn with “squares” and spumoni, reminiscing about the prior year. I know this may sound silly to you or too many others but to me, it means everything. It’s the happiness that these small traditions bring to him and to all of us that make it so special. I joke about how “annoying” he can be about his constant email reminders when these days approach but in all honestly, it wouldn’t be the same without his apple picking countdown email or his pre Scrooge movie planning two months in advance. It’s what brings him happiness and amazingly, what now brings me happiness.

My father is an honest and genuine man whose life work has been to help others. He has raised a good family and has helped so many including my own friends. I graduated from Quinnipiac University and now have a successful career. I have been at my job for almost 8 years now and for that, I have my father to thank as well. I was always expected to do my best and never too quit. I was taught that things do not come easy in life and we have to work for everything we have. Now, as an adult, I appreciate this more than I ever imagined I would and I am so thankful to have had parents like this. As his daughter, I can’t explain to you what it feels like to see your parent suffer so immensely; not only my father but my mother as well. The two people in this world that shielded me from as much pain and hurt as possible are now enduring it themselves yet I have no control over it. This past year has been trying, to say the least. As I sit here typing this letter to you, I have tears in my eyes that I am unable to hold back, because I just want this nightmare to end. My dad isn’t the man I described above anymore; the man who sends “annoying” emails about when our next annual family outing is. He is no longer the man who once laughed, smiled, and loved life. I would do anything to see one of those emails pop up in my email box but instead there is nothing. He has changed since this whole situation has occurred and for that, my heart breaks.

My father isn’t perfect and neither is my family. We have all made mistakes and we have always been taught that consequence is a part of life because it is and should be. But, please Judge Chesler, I beg you to grant mercy on my father. What he did was wrong but it was also a mistake. I am hoping you can see the real man he is and try measure him by all the good he has done in his life as opposed to this. I pray that you will grant leniency upon him. I know he could do so much good for others within our community if you allow that to happen. He has been helping a young child out every Monday with his studies and that is the only time I have heard my father come back to life this past year.

He has learned a hard lesson and has been punishing himself every day since this happened. He is consumed by embarrassment, shame, disappointment, and humiliation. In his eyes, his reputation and his life’s work has been completely erased and tarnished. Every single day for the past year, he has remorsefully cried to me. The emotional despair he has endured is beyond what any man should go through and it has put a tremendous strain on my own life. I never thought there would come a point in my life where I would be the one to tell my father to be strong because “this does not define who he is.” I never thought I would be the one to hold a grown man, let alone my father, as he weeps and disgraces himself in front of his own kid. While this situation is something he is truly mortified over, as he should be, I can also tell you he is mortified by his lack of parental strength. He has allowed his children and family to see him hit rock bottom and has been punishing himself in a way that is unexplainable through words. I do not fault him for this though. I know that everyone deals with their own personal issues differently and I will continue to stand by him and support him, even in these dark hours. I have faith that he will come back and regain his purpose in life again.

I hope to be engaged soon (I have been in a relationship for over 5 years now) but I can’t seem to find the happiness I so badly want in my own life because of what is happening to him. He is going to be grandfather again and I will be a second time aunt but again, I just can’t seem to find it in me to be happy anymore. There is a dark cloud over my head and has been there this entire year. I would do anything to trade places with him so I do not have to see him hurt like this. At least then, I can have my father back. Although I am 29 years old, I still need him. To be honest, I will always need him, no matter how old I get. Judge Chesler, I do not know if you have children of your own but if you do, I hope you can understand this. A child should never see their parent suffer like this and on the contrary, I suppose my parents should never have to see my sister and I suffer the way we have this past year. I have felt so helpless since this all began and have gone so many nights thinking the absolute worst. The thought of my dad not being here is unimaginable. It is truly heartbreaking and devastating. Please, please take this letter as my last attempt to try to save his life and my own, I suppose. He is not a bad man; he is good man who made a bad mistake but more importantly, he absolutely recognizes that. Regardless of this mistake, I am proud to be his daughter and can only hope that he can enjoy the time he has left with us. He is a 63 year old man and at the end of the day, life is unpredictable and our time here isn’t forever. Please do not take my father away from us anymore than he already has been. He’s been nonexistent this past year and I just want him back.

I am not sure if you are familiar with this prayer or not, but the serenity prayer has always been one of my favorites. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next.” Each and every one of us faces our own judgment day and our own hardships. For my father and our family, April 22nd is that day. We do accept and admit what has happened and do not take it lightly. We know we can’t change it but we do trust that you will make the right decision, whatever that decision may be. So as one last plea, I beg you not to measure my father by the terrible mistake he made but instead try to find it in your heart to look at his life’s work as a parent, mentor, and great superintendent.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this letter and your consideration. I hope it gave you a tiny glimpse into his life and the person he really is.

Respectfully yours,

Pamela Vitta

Daughter of Gary Vitta