Point Pleasant Beach Man convicted of stealing fire company bank account

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

The Long Beach Township Police Department’s investigation revealed that between May and November 2022, Carlo-Tanzala diverted checks made out to the company to her personal accounts. To conceal her actions, she altered the company’s financial records by removing paid invoices from customer accounts. She diverted checks totaling $178,774.35 and later facilitated a partial refund after confrontation.

Carlo-Tanzola’s arrest occurred without incident on January 9, 2023, by Long Beach Township police officers. Following her arrest, she was processed and booked pending further court appearances in Ocean County Superior Court.

Toms River, NJ – Salvatore Umek, 46, of Point Pleasant Beach, was sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison on October 11. Judge Guy P. Ryan handed down the sentence following Umek’s guilty plea to theft in connection with his previous role as Treasurer of Point Pleasant Beach Fire Company Number 2. In addition, Judge Ryan ordered Umek to pay restitution in the amount of $107,517. Umek had previously entered his guilty plea before Judge Dina M. Vicari on June 10.

An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crime Squad and the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department revealed that Umek illegally transferred approximately $100,000 from the Fire Company’s bank account to pay personal credit card debts between February 2019 and November 2021. Umek also diverted money directly to his personal bank account for personal use.

Umek turned himself in at Point Pleasant Beach Police Headquarters on July 12, 2023. He was processed and charged via summons, with an initial appearance in Ocean County Superior Court still scheduled.

Ocean Township, NJ – Patrolman Russell Moller graduated from the DARE Officer Training program on Friday. With this achievement, he becomes the third member of the Ocean Township Police Department qualified to teach in the DARE program, joining Cpl. Cicero and Ptl. Bleichner.

The DARE training, hosted by DARE America International, took place in Bridgewater, NJ and lasted two weeks and nearly 100 hours. The goal is to equip officers with the necessary skills and knowledge to teach the Keeping it Real curriculum in classrooms.

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