Former President and Treasurer of the New Sharon Fire Company Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $500,000 from the Fire company and Deptford Fire Department

CAMDEN, NJ—The former president and treasurer of the New Sharon Fire Company in Deptford Township, New Jersey, admitted today that he stole more than $500,000 from the New Sharon Fire Company and Deptford Fire Department, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Charles V. Mancini III, 45, of Wenonah, N.J., pled guilty before Senior United States District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to embezzling, stealing, and obtaining by fraud money belonging to the New Sharon Fire Company and Deptford Fire Department, departments of Deptford Township which receive federal funds.

According to the Information to which Mancini pleaded guilty and statements made in Camden federal court:

The New Sharon Fire Company is a part of the Deptford Fire Department, which serves Deptford Township in Gloucester County, N.J. From January 2005, to February 2, 2010, Mancini was the president of the New Sharon Fire Company. From February 2007, to February 2, 2010, he was also the treasurer.

Mancini admitted that in March 2006, he applied for and obtained a $90,000 line of credit in the name of the New Sharon Fire Company without authorization, and that from September 20, 2006, to November 21, 2008, he diverted the majority of the funds from the line of credit to his personal use.

When the New Sharon Fire Company received approximately $448,990 in insurance proceeds to repair damage from a December 8, 2008, fire, Mancini diverted the majority of the insurance proceeds to his personal use. He wrote checks to himself, other entities over which he had control or partial control, and other entities. To conceal the theft and embezzlement of the insurance proceeds, he provided the fire company members with a false bank statement which made it appear as though the insurance proceeds were on deposit with Penn Mutual Bank.

The charge of theft from programs receiving federal funds to which Mancini pled guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Rodriguez scheduled sentencing for January 4, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Resident Agency in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jayne L. Challman, with developing the investigation. The government is represented by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Stephen Stigall of the Criminal Division in Camden.

Defense counsel: Rocco C. Cipparone, Jr., Esq., Haddon Heights, N.J.