Former President Of Nutley Rescue Squad Stole $75K: Prosecutor

NUTLEY, NJ — The former president of the Nutley Volunteer Emergency and Rescue Squad has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the group’s accounts, authorities announced Friday.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Jonathan Arredondo, former president of the Nutley Volunteer Emergency and Rescue Squad (NVERS), was charged with one count of second-degree theft for allegedly stealing more than $75,000 from rescue squad accounts and running up more than $30,000 in personal expenses on a rescue squad-issued debit card.

Prosecutors said:

“It is alleged that from May 2019 to August 2020, Arredondo, 30, of River Vale withdrew cash from the rescue squad accounts, typically in increments of about $5,000, on 19 occasions and then went to his personal bank and deposited the money at the ATM. At the time of the alleged theft, Arredondo was president of the rescue squad. For much of that time, the position of treasurer was unfilled. In 2020 a new treasure was elected. Following an audit, an investigation was opened.”

Arredondo is expected to make his first court appearance on March 1, prosecutors said.

In 2020, Nutley town officials sparred with NVERS over financial records involving the squad, at one point proposing an ordinance that would have dissolved it due to alleged "irregularities in management and failure to comply with the existing ordinance regarding management of the squad."

• See related article: Nutley May Dissolve First Aid Squad; Clash Over Records Heats Up

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