The Director of Recreation for Brick Township, New Jersey, has been charged after, police claim, he created fake permits and pocketed the cash when groups paid to use the town's softball fields.
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and Brick Township Police Chief David Forrester, Daniel Santaniello, 46, of Brick Township, has been arrested and charged with theft and uttering a forged instrument relative to his position as Director of Recreation for the Township of Brick.
The charges come after an investigation found that, in his position as Director of Recreation, Santaniello was responsible for issuing permits for groups that wanted to rent the town's softball fields.
But, law enforcement officials allege that when private groups paid him for permits in order to obtain a permit, Santaniello required certain organizations to pay him directly in cash.
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Yet, police officials claim that, instead of depositing this cash in township accounts, Santaniello instead kept the cash for himself and issued fraudulent permits in an effort to conceal his theft.
Santaniello was arrested at his home without incident on July 17, 2024, police said.
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said that an investigation into this case is ongoing.
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Police officials are asking anyone with additional information concerning Santaniello’s conduct to contact Detective Joseph Mitchell of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crime Squad at (732) 929-2027, extension 3532, or Lieutenant Paul Catalina of the Brick Township Police Department at (732) 262-1100..
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