Man Accused Of $1.6M EMS Theft Quits Fire District Post: Report

An Ocean County man who is accused of stealing $1.6 million from a Long Island EMS squad when he was its treasurer has resigned from his local post as a fire commissioner, according to a report.

The Asbury Park Press reported that Brad Reiter resigned last week as chairman of Jackson Township Fire District No. 3.

Reiter, 50, of Jackson, was arrested in September on charges he stole approximately $1.6 million from the Bellmore-Merrick volunteer EMS organization over a seven-year period, according to Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

He is accused of taking the money from the volunteer EMS organization between March 2008 and March 2015 to pay credit cards and insurance bills, as well as spending money on lawn services and a security system, according to a Patch report at the time.

The theft was uncovered after new leadership installed at the EMS last January began examining past bank accounts to prepare an annual report, Singas said.

The Asbury Park Press reported the seat that had been held by Reiter will remain vacant until February, when voters elect the district’s newest commissioner, according to board attorney Joseph Youssouf.

The Press report said the Jackson fire district has been audited in the wake of the charges filed against Reiter and that audit showed no wrongdoing, according to Youssouf. A followup forensic accounting audit is underway to double-check finances further back, Youssouf said.