Asbury Park Attorney Indicted For Theft Of Over $70K

William Gallagher, 70, of Memorial Drive in Asbury Park, was indicted by a Monmouth County Grand Jury for Theft of second degree Failure to Make Require Disposition and third degree Misapplication of Entrusted Funds, according to an announcement by Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Gallagher, an attorney since 1968, was the long term Borough Attorney of Lake Como until he was was suspended from practicing law in New Jersey in January of 2015. His indictment follows a 19 month investigation that found he stole from three clients in 2013 and 2014 by transferring the proceeds of civil settlements into his own account and not paying his clients the settlements they were due. He is charged with stealing $71,615.69.

The investigation was sparked by a complaint from a victim who did not receive $23,037.35 she was owed from a civil settlement related to a premises liability action.

Gallagher was admonished by the NJ Supreme Court for Lack of Diligence and Gross Neglect in 1997. While Borough Attorney in Lake Como, Gallagher made it into The Soprano State by Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure for his lack of curiosity regarding shredded documents associated with the government of Kuwait’s $3.7 million grant to the borough in 2006.

If convicted, Gallagher faces five to ten years in state prison for the second degree charge and three to five years for the third degree charge. He has not yet been arrested or arraigned.