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Belmar Borough Administrtor Colleen Connelly posing with cash donations. Photo provided by Councilman Jim Bean
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office has found that the Borough of Belmar distributed ShopRite gift cards purchased with cash donations in the wake of Super Storm Sandy without following generally accepted accounting principles.
In a letter to Councilman Jim Bean dated July 11, Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor John Loughrey said, “There is, however, every indication that the cards were not properly inventoried, adequately managed or or appropriately secured at any point after they were taken into custody of the Borough of Belmar.” Loughrey’s letter to Bean can be found here.
Loughrey said there is no evidence that any one person or groups misappropriated the Shoprite gift cards.
The Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation on January 31, 2014 after Bean discovered a $9,050 discrepancy in reports of how the cards were distributed. In answering OPRA (Open Public Record Act) requests from Bean, Belmar Elementary School business administrator Loretta Hill reported that the school received $7,950 in gift cards while Borough Clerk April Claudio said that $17,000 in gift cards were given to the school.
Posted: July 29th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Belmar, Matt Doherty, Monmouth County, Monmouth County Prosecutor | Tags: Belmar, Councilman Jim Bean, Gift Cards, Jim Bean, John Loughrey, Matt Doherty, Mayor Matt Doherty, Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, ShopRite | 7 Comments »