Bergen Record

 Federal authorities indicted Bergen County Democratic Organization Chairman Joseph Ferriero and the party’s chief counsel, Dennis Oury, today.

 Both are accused of conspiring to defraud Bergenfield and mail fraud, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

 The eight-count indictment says the pair conspired to defraud Bergenfield of Oury’s services as borough attorney. Oury was fired as the Bergenfield borough attorney in January.

 Federal investigators began issuing subpoenas for records related to Oury, Ferriero and Governmental Grants Consulting in May. Since then, they have executed more than 30 subpoenas in North Jersey, and in August, conducted searches of both Oury and Ferriero’s respective law offices.

 Ferriero’s troubles were compounded last week following allegations of sexual misconduct. According to a law enforcement source close to the case, a formal charge has not been filed against Ferriero and he has not been taken into custody.

 A clerk in the criminal records division of Bergen County Superior Court said that a docket number had been created and that “a sexual charge” was pending against Ferriero. The case has been transferred to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office from Bergen County.

 Since the allegation became public last week, Ferriero has announced that he would be taking leaves of absence from three different posts: as chairman of the county’s Democratic Party, in his role as a lawyer at Scarinci Hollenbeck and as chief counsel for the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners.