Late Breaking Blog

Wow - been awhile since we posted with any irregularity.

Missed the opportunity to bellow this one:
DAILY RECORD
June 26, 2009

Ex-Lincoln Pk. offical admits $21K theft

Former CFO faces up to 10 years in prison

BY PEGGY WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

The former chief financial officer for Lincoln Park admitted Thursday that he stole $20,916 in borough funds over a year-long period and now faces between five and 10 years in state prison.

Saddle Brook resident Dennis J. Gerber Sr., 58, pleaded guilty in state Superior Court, Morristown, to one count of official misconduct by stealing between January 2007 and January 2008. Because he stole while serving as a public official, state Attorney General requirements call for him to be treated more harshly than nongovernment or public officials, defense attorney Deborah Gross-Quatrone said.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Brian DiGiacomo has recommended that Gerber be sentenced, tentatively on July 31, to up to 10 years in prison, with five years before he is eligible for parole. He must forfeit any pension benefits he was entitled to, repay the borough $20,916, and forfeit his CFO license. Gross-Quatrone said she is trying to make arrangements for Gerber, who suffers from diabetes and other ailments, to serve his sentence in a prison external care program for inmates with major medical issues.

After Gerber's plea, the defense lawyer said her client was trying to make ends meet at home financially, and didn't use the money on gambling or other vices.

"He didn't have the pride to say to his family "I'm failing you,"' she said.

Gerber gave a bare-bones account of his crime in court, telling Judge Thomas V. Manahan that he stole $3,000 from the borough on Jan. 24, 2008, and other funds over the preceding year for a total theft of $20,916.

At the time of his arrest in February 2008, Gerber had been employed by the borough for a decade. He left on Feb. 8, 2008, to accept a job as CFO for Rockaway Township but was fired before he started work there when the thefts were made public on Feb. 13, 2008. Borough officials had discovered that two checks totaling $10,916 were drawn a month earlier on an account set aside for retirement parties and deposited into an account bearing Gerber's name. Further investigation revealed he had taken $10,000 in 2007 from borough accounts.


Now, I had a couple of opportunities to meet the man, he seemed like an OK sort. He hung around two miserable employees (one now an ex-employee). Good luck in genpop.