A former Little Egg Harbor fire commissioner admitted today to pocketing more than $1,600 in raffle proceeds that should have gone to the fire company.
Woodrow Nelson Jr. pleaded guilty to official misconduct in the same courtroom where another former member of the Mystic Island Volunteer Fire Co. District No. 2, Leroy Kaufman, was sentenced earlier this week to three years' probation for stealing a district truck, state Criminal Justice Director Gregory Paw said.
Both proceedings, before Superior Court James Citta in Toms River, came two weeks after Citta ordered a third former fire commissioner, Edward "Tony" Kluver, to spend three years in state prison for participating in the truck theft scheme with Kaufman.
In the first case, Nelson, 50, of Absecon, admitted using his position to steal $1,640 in proceeds from the sale of raffle tickets meant to benefit the fire company, Paw said. He said Nelson admitted that rather than turning the money over to the fire company, he kept it for himself.Kaufman, 66, pleaded guilty Oct. 1 to theft when he and Kluver signed over to each other a pick-up truck and an SUV that the fire district owned.
Kaufman admitted he took title in early 2002 to a 1993 Chevrolet Blazer and Kluver admitted to taking a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 truck that they then reregistered through the Motor Vehicle Commission in their names. Kluver claimed he paid $250 for the pickup, which was worth more than $10,000, but Paw said neither man paid anything for either truck.
Kluver, 48, pleaded guilty Oct. 18 to official misconduct and Citta sentenced him Jan. 18 to three years in prison.
Nelson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27.
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