Former Seaville Fire Chief Admits to Stealing $46,000 From Fire Company

The former chief of the Seaville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company has pleaded guilty to receiving about $46,000 in fraudulent invoices and receipts he submitted for reimbursement to the fire company and Upper Township Fire Commissioners, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said on Thursday.

Eugene Spiegel, 51, pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy. He faces five years in state prison and a ban from all future public employment. He must also repay $46,177 in restitution.

Spiegel previously was employed as an inspector with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs in the Office of Weights and Measures. He was fired after being indicted in September 2014.

“Spiegel pillaged the funds of an organization that exists to protect the public’s safety in the most extreme circumstances,” Hoffman said. “He abused his position as chief to systematically steal tens of thousands of dollars by taking advantage of the trust placed in him by his fellow volunteers.”

His son, 20-year-old Jacob Spiegel, is accused of stealing $1,275. He was indicted along with his father, and charges remain pending against him.

The state investigation began in March 2014 following an internal review by the Seaville Fire and Rescue Company. Members of the volunteer fire company initially became suspicious of the father and son two months earlier.

The internal review had revealed several reimbursements Eugene had received for training courses and clothing that he had never paid for and the company had never actually received.

The financial review discovered that the fire company had issued approximately $18,000 in checks to a clothing apparel company that listed Eugene’s home address as its location. In addition, the investigation found that Eugene had been receiving reimbursements totaling more than $17,000 since 2011 for purchases of fire company apparel from a company that folded during Spiegel’s alleged scam.

The fire company could find no evidence it ever received any apparel. It is also alleged that between 2010 and 2013, Eugene Spiegel received more than $9,500 for trainings he did not attend.

The internal investigation at the fire company began in January when a volunteer became suspicious that Jacob Spiegel allegedly submitted a fraudulent claim for $1,275 that Eugene approved with his signature. Jacob later allegedly told investigators that he had cashed the check, but had done so at his father’s direction.

During the course of this investigation, investigators discovered that former treasurer Michael Petrella, 26, of Seaville, was also using fire company funds to reimburse himself for personal expenses, including beer, diapers and assorted personal items.

Petrella pleaded guilty in December.

The attached image of Eugene Spiegel was provided by the Attorney General’s Office