Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

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

 

                                *News Release*          Date: October 14, 2009
 
 

 

 


South River parks director and daughter charged with theft

 

 

 Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan and South River Police Chief John Bouthillette today announced that the borough’s parks and recreation director and her daughter have been charged with stealing approximately $650 that was paid to the daughter for work she never performed.

 

Karen Cuomo (DOB 9/17/57) and her daughter, Tracey Cuomo, (DOB 2/3/86) both of South River, were issued summonses on October 8, 2009, charging them with theft and conspiring to commit theft from the borough between September 2007, and August 2009.

 

They were charged with the third degree offenses following an investigation by Detective Robert Macloskey of the South River Police Department and Sgt. Pamela Jeffrey of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office after it was determined that the daughter claimed she worked for parks and recreation on various dates and collected pay when she was not actually working.

 

The investigation further determined that the mother, who worked as Tracey Cuomo’s supervisor, approved and submitted documents for the uncompleted work.

 

Karen Cuomo, who served as the borough’s director of parks and recreation, was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case. She began working for the borough on June 6, 1998.

 

Tracey Cuomo was dismissed from her job on Aug. 12, 2009. She began working for parks and recreation on October 10, 2000, as a part-time employee and was earning $8 per hour.

 

As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against Karen Cuomo and Tracey Cuomo are merely accusations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.