County Prosecutor Investigating Middletown South Student-Run Cafe

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A spokesman for Monmouth County prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni confirmed the prosecutor's office is currently investigating "a situation" involving the finances of a special-needs breakfast club at Middletown High School South.

The investigation was also confirmed earlier this week by Middletown schools superintendent Dr. Bill George, who said his office initially looked into the matter, and then called in the county prosecutor.

While it's still unclear exactly what happened, the investigation centers around a cafe staffed by special-needs students at Middletown South. The Special Needs Coffee Cafe operated once a week, on Friday, and sold coffee and bagels to students and staff before they began their day at High School South. It was staffed by students and staff.

The cafe ceased operating last spring.

"We've not really investigating the breakfast program per se, but an incident that was reported to us. We're looking into a financial matter at that cafe," said Chris Swendeman, a spokesman for the county prosecutor. "We were alerted to an issue pertaining to finances, and we're trying to discern what exactly happened."

Dr. George did not say much, but did confirm there is indeed an investigation taking place.

"The district initiated an internal investigation; concurrently an external investigation was initiated with the appropriate authorities," said Dr. George in an emailed statement to Patch on Wednesday of this week. "Any further comments at this time would impede the investigation."

Patch will update this story when we have more information.

Photo from the Middletown school district website.