Man Stole $30K From Manchester Volunteer Fire Company: Police

MANCHESTER, NJ — The former acting treasurer of the Manchester Volunteer Fire Company has been charged with stealing more than $30,000 from the organization, police said Monday.

Vincent F. Conte, 46, of 10th Avenue, was arrested Friday after an investigation by Manchester Township Detective Robert Maccaquano with assistance from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office's Economic Crimes Unit, Manchester Police Capt. Todd Malland said Monday evening.

Conte, a captain who separated from the fire company in October 2015, had been writing checks to himself from the fire company's general account for his own personal benefit while serving as acting treasurer from 2012 through 2015, Malland said.

Conte also is an institutional fire chief with the state Department of Human Services in the Greystone Park Fire Department in Morris Plains, and is an instructor at the Union County Fire Science Training Academy, according to his profile on LinkedIn.

The police investigation was initiated after the fire company’s finances were reviewed following Conte’s departure. Fire company personnel noticed accounting discrepancies and contacted the Manchester Township Police Department for assistance, Malland said.

Detectives found that Conte had written multiple checks to himself or to “cash” over the three-year period, with a total amount exceeding $30,000, he said.

The fire company now adheres to a rule that requires that all checks contain two signatures, Malland said.

Conte was charged with one count of official misconduct, which is second-degree crime and two counts of theft in excess of $30,000, a third-degree crime, Malland said. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail but has since posted bail that was set at $75,000, according to jail records.