*News
Release* Date: October 13, 2010
Middlesex
County Prosecutor’s Office
Secretary charged with theft of trust funds
Middlesex
County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan announced today that a Colonia woman has been
arrested and charged with stealing $270,000 from the attorney trust account at
her husband’s law office, where she worked as a secretary.
Patricia
Falzone (DOB 10/30/55) of the Colonia section of Woodbridge was arrested and
charged on October 7, 2010 with theft by failure to make the required
disposition of property received.
She
was released from custody after posting $50,000 bail, which was set by Superior
Court Judge Frederick P. DeVesa in
Falzone
was charged after an investigation by Lt. Daniel DelBagno and Investigator
Donald Heck, both of the Special Prosecutions Unit of the Middlesex County
Prosecutor’s Office, showed that she took the money in various amounts between
November 2005 and June 2009 and used the money for personal expenses while she
worked for her husband, John Falzone Jr., at his law office in Woodbridge. John
Falzone Jr. has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing.
The
investigation also showed that the Falzones repaid the funds to the trust
account between October 2009 and December 2009. The trust account is used to
hold clients’ funds until the money can be distributed following transactions
such as real estate closings and settlements of legal disputes.
The
Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office began the investigation after receiving
information about the case in January 2010.
Anyone
with information on the case is asked to contact Lt. DelBagno or Investigator
Heck at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300.
As
is the case with all criminal defendants, the charge against Patricia Falzone
is merely an accusation and she is presumed innocent until proven guilty.