Point Pleasant Beach man convicted of stealing from fire department bank account

Ocean County, New Jersey – Dona Carlo-Tanzola, 51, of Manahawkin, was sentenced on October 11 to five years in the New Jersey State Prison. Her sentencing followed her guilty plea to a theft charge related to her previous employment with the engineering firm Horn, Tyson & Yoder, Inc. The Honorable Kimarie Rahill, JSC, presided over the judgment, also ordering Carlo-Tanzoli to pay $139,698.56 in compensatory damages.

An investigation by Long Beach Township police revealed that between May and November 2022, Carlo-Tanzola diverted checks made payable to the company to her personal accounts. To conceal her actions, she altered the company’s financial records, deleting paid invoices from customer accounts. She diverted checks totaling $178,774.35 and later issued a partial refund after a confrontation.

Carlo-Tanzola was arrested without incident on January 9, 2023, by Long Beach Township police officers. Following the arrest, the case was processed and served with a summons pending further hearings in Ocean County Superior Court.

Toms River, New Jersey – Salvatore Umek, 46, of Point Pleasant Beach, was sentenced Oct. 11 to five years in New Jersey State Prison. Judge Guy P. Ryan issued the sentence after Umek pleaded guilty to theft in connection with his previous role as Treasurer of Point Pleasant Beach Fire Company No. 2. In addition, Judge Ryan ordered Umek to pay restitution in the amount of $107,517. Umek already pleaded guilty on June 10 before Judge Dina M. Vicari.

An investigation by the Ocean County Economic Crimes Unit and the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department revealed that between February 2019 and November 2021, Umek illegally transferred approximately $100,000 from Fire Company’s bank account to settle personal credit card debts . Umek also transferred funds directly to his personal bank account for his own use.

Umek appeared at the Point Pleasant Beach Police Headquarters on July 12, 2023. He was processed and charged by summons, and an initial hearing in Ocean County Superior Court has not yet been scheduled.

Ocean Township, New Jersey – On Friday, Officer Russell Moller completed the DARE Officer Training Program. This achievement makes him the third member of the Ocean Township Police Department to be qualified to teach the DARE program, joining Cpl. Cicero and Ptl. Bleichner.

The DARE training organized by DARE America International took place in Bridgewater, New Jersey and lasted two weeks and almost 100 hours. It aims to equip officers with the skills and knowledge necessary to teach the Keeping it Real curriculum in schools.

Patrolman Moller received the “Team Spirit” award in recognition of his dedication and commitment throughout the training. This achievement underscores the department’s ongoing commitment to youth education and engagement.