Officials: Doctor charged in murder takes own life in jail

KEARNY - An Atlantic County doctor accused of ordering his wife's murder has taken his own life in jail, authorities say.

Dr. James Kauffman, 68, was found dead in his cell at Hudson County Jail on Friday morning, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said.

The Linwood resident was being held at the North Jersey facility "as a result of credible threats to his life" that occurred when he originally was housed at Atlantic County Jail, the prosecutor's office said.

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It said an investigation is continuing and declined further comment.

Kauffman and Ferdinand Augello, described as a leader of the Cape May County chapter of the Pagans motorcycle gang, were charged earlier this month with the murder-for-hire of the doctor's wife, 47-year-old radio host April Kauffman, in May 2012.

The men also were accused of operating a drug ring supplied with prescription painkillers from Kauffman's medical office in Egg Harbor Township.

In addition, Augello, 61, was charged with conspiring to murder James Kauffman.

The prosecutor's office said Augello in recent weeks tried to recruit mobsters and jail inmates as hitmen because he feared the doctor would turn on him.

The men had distributed prescription painkillers since 2011, the prosecutor's office alleged. It said the partnership ended in June when investigators raided Kauffman's home and office.

The prosecutor's office on Jan. 23 released body-cam footage of the raid at Kauffman's office, where the endocrinologist produced a gun and threatened to kill himself.

"I'm not going to jail for this," said Kauffman, who was charged with weapons offenses after surrendering to a police. He was taken to a psychiatric unit, then was held in Atlantic County Jail.

Six other people also face charges in connection with the alleged drug sales.

The prosecutor's office alleged James Kauffman wanted his wife dead to avoid a costly divorce and to prevent her from exposing his drug activities.

She was shot twice in her bedroom by Francis Mullholland, a Cape May County man recruited by Augello after a yearlong effort, the prosecutor's office said.

"It is believed that Francis Mullholland received a ride to the Kauffman residence in the early morning hours of May 10, 2012," according to an account from Prosecutor Damon Tyner.

"The doors were left open and Francis Mullholland was given a gun. He went inside, shot April Kauffman twice, killing her, and then left."

The prosecutor said Mullholland was believed to have received at least $20,000 for the murder.

Mullholland, 46, was found dead of a heroin overdose in his Lower Township home in October 2013.

Kauffman’s suicide comes at a troubled time for the Hudson County jail, which has been under fire over allegations of poor medical treatment and a rash of inmate deaths.

Kauffman was the fifth inmate death at the jail in the past eight months, including two suicides.

A Vineland woman, 34-year-old Cynthia Acosta, died Jan. 18 after hanging herself in her cell days earlier. She had been arrested by police in North Bergen a week earlier for failure to appear on a warrant for outstanding traffic and driving violations.

Another woman, 47-year-old Jenifer Towle, who had been held in the jail’s medical ward under suicide watch, died July 14. The state Medical Examiner's Office released an autopsy report this month showing Towle killed herself by ingesting a large amount of non-food items, including food wrappers, Styrofoam and a nail clipper. She had just two days left on a 180-day sentence for a conviction of driving while intoxicated.

Hudson County is investigating the deaths of Towle and another man, Luis Mejia-Bonilla, who died June 10 of “internal bleeding and hemorrhagic shock” after he was rushed to the hospital. Mejia-Bonilla suffered from chronic diabetes, cirrhosis and anemia. In the weeks before his death, he told his family he had not been receiving proper medication and treatment at the jail.

On Jan. 14, Dominick Ramunni, 41, of Bayonne, collapsed in a housing unit at the jail, where he was awaiting sentencing on a theft charge. No further information was given about his death.

Hannan Adely of The (North Jersey) Record contributed to this report. 

Jim Walsh: @jwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com

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