Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3^rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

*Press Release* Date: February 4, 2009

Sayreville volunteer fireman pleads guilty to misconduct

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan today announced that a volunteer firefighter from Sayreville has pleaded guilty to a charge of official misconduct, admitting he stole nearly $2,500 worth of gasoline and diesel fuel from the borough over a two-year period.

Mark A. Johnson, (DOB 8/24/65) of Sayreville, entered the guilty plea on Tuesday, February 3, 2009, during a hearing in the Middlesex County Courthouse before Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa.

Johnson was charged with the misconduct count after an investigation showed he used another firefighter’s personal identification number to access $1,293 worth of gasoline and $1,187 worth of diesel fuel from the fuel pumps at borough hall on Main Street in Sayreville.

Police began an investigation after Sayreville police Sgt. Robert Lasko stopped Johnson during a routine patrol on June 8, 2008, and determined the firefighter had taken some fuel when he was not authorized to do so.

Investigator Richard Belotti of the Sayreville Police Department and Investigator Adrian Villegas of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Special Prosecutions Unit determined the fuel was taken in various quantities between April 2, 2006, and June 8, 2008.

Under the terms of a plea agreement negotiated with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Brian D. Gillet, the defendant faces a four-year prison term when Judge DeVesa sentences the defendant on April 24.