Former Ocean Twp Police Officer Charged With Theft and Forgery

Cory R. Cole, 49, of Brielle, a former Ocean Township Police Officer, was charged with multiple counts of Theft by Deception and Forgery, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced this morning.

Cole previously, in January, charged with Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property Received and two counts of fourth-degree Forgery. He resigned from the OTPD after the initial charges were filed against him.

An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that Cole, who buys, flips and rents real estate, forged a letter from his former matrimonial attorney in order to falsely establish a judgment she had against him for unpaid attorney’s fees had been satisfied, and Cole submitted this letter to enable his purchase of a property on Borrie Avenue in Brielle. Cole would have been unable to secure the $425,000 loan to purchase the property if the lender was aware the judgment against Cole was outstanding. Additional investigation revealed that in addition to the victim identified in January of this year, Cole retained the $4,200 security deposit from his tenants at a property on Fisk Avenue. He attempted to justify retaining the security deposit by claiming the tenants owed money in unpaid utility bills on the property and providing them with a forged bill from New Jersey Natural Gas which falsely indicated they had an outstanding balance.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a former, current or retired member of law enforcement, you will be held accountable for your actions. Your unlawful or improper actions will be discovered and prosecuted,” said Prosecutor Gramiccioni.

Anyone with information about Cole’s activities is urged to call Detective Sergeant Ryu Washburne at 1-800-533-7443.