Howell Firefighter Admits Altering Brothers' Service Records: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Howell Township volunteer firefighter admitted Monday he falsified documents crediting his brothers with years of service in the state-run Length of Service Awards Program, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

William Donahue, 54, of Bath Place in Howell pleaded guilty to four counts of fourth-degree falsifying records, said Charles Webster, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

As part of a plea agreement, the prosecutor's office will recommend probation at Donahue's sentencing, which is scheduled for June 2 before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English, Webster said.

Under the plea, Donahue forfeited his current position as a volunteer firefighter with the Freewood Acres Fire Department and as a commissioner with the Howell Township District 5 Board of Fire Commissioners. Donahue also forfeited all future public employment and offices in the state, Webster said.

The Howell Township Board of Fire Commissioners adopted a Length of Service Awards Program around the time Donahue became a member of the Freewood Acres Fire Company, in 1998. The LOSAP program provides active emergency service organization volunteers, like volunteer firefighters, with deferred compensation benefits as an incentive and reward for volunteer service to the community. Benefits increase with each year of active service in the fire company, Webster said.

Donahue was responsible for annually certifying which members of the fire department qualified for a “year of service” under the LOSAP program. Members had to complete a certain percentage of activities in the fire department to qualify for a credit, thus increasing their LOSAP benefits, Webster said.

Donahue falsely credited his brothers Michael Donahue and John Donahue with years of service in the LOSAP program. Michael Donahue left the Freewood Acres Fire Company and has been serving as a firefighter in Old Bridge since at least 2007. John Donahue resigned from the fire company in July 2011, Webster said.

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