Former President of Bellmore-Merrick EMS Pleads Guilty to Stealing Over $1.6 Million: DA

LONG ISLAND, NY - A former treasurer and president for the Bellmore-Merrick EMS recently pleaded guilty for stealing a total of $1.6 million from the organization over the span of seven years, according to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office.

Brad Reiter, 50, of New Jersey, was arrested by DA investigators in September 2015 and was charged with first degree grand larceny, according to the DA.

He received a sentencing commitment of two to six years in prison by Acting Supreme Court Justice Jerald Carter and is due back in court on June 29, the DA said.

Reiter has also reached a restitution settlement agreement with the Bellmore-Merrick EMS, to be enforced civilly, according to the DA.

He stole the $1.6 million between March 2008 and March 2015, while working as treasurer and president of the volunteer organization, according to the DA.

After new leadership took over the Bellmore-Merrick EMS in January 2015, they began examining past bank accounts to prepare an annual report, according to the DA.

It was then that they found that the amount of money Reiter reported as receiving from insurance companies to pay for ambulance services was far less than the amount that the EMS should have been receiving, the DA said.

The EMS was able to verify that much more money should have been deposited into the organization’s account by Reiter, and found that he had written checks to himself without any explanation.

He was found to have spent the money on credit card and insurance bills, lawn services, security system services, and payments to himself, the DA said.

“This defendant admitted to stealing more than $1 million from a volunteer and donor-based organization responsible for delivering lifesaving care to thousands of Long Islanders,” DA Singas said. “He will pay for his scheme when he’s sentenced this summer and pays restitution to the EMS."