By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
EDISON — A retired police captain who worked for 37 years for the Edison Police Department may serve up to 180 days in custody and be placed on probation after admitting he stole more than $38,000 from the township while working another job, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.
Natale A. Fresco, 61, of Edison, pleaded guilty in New Brunswick to a count of third degree theft by unlawful taking, admitting he was working as a mall security guard while he was taking sick time as a township police officer, according to a press release on Aug. 2.
Under a plea agreement reached with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christine D’Elia, Fresco may be sentenced to serve up to 180 days in custody and placed on probation.
In addition, Fresco agreed to repay the amount he stole from the township, currently estimated at $38,162. He also will forfeit his public job and will be banned from public employment.
Fresco is scheduled to be sentenced on October 11 before Superior Court Judge Colleen M. Flynn.
Fresco, known as “Andy,” was charged on Nov. 5, 2015, during an investigation by Detective Nicholas Chiorello of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office after it was determined that he collected the payments before retiring on October 1, 2015.
The investigation further showed that Fresco collected the payments while working as a security guard at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison from July 15 to September 30 in 2015.
