EAST WINDSOR: Fire inspector, facing theft by deception charge, suspended from part-time position

By Joanne Degnan, Packet Media Group
   ROBBINSVILLE — The township has filed a criminal complaint against firefighter Steven Kadir that alleges he falsified his timesheets by not documenting vacation hours used between 2010 and 2012.
   Mr. Kadir, 35, of Hightstown, has been suspended without pay since the charges were filed against him on March 23, Robbinsville Police Lt. Michael Polaski confirmed on Monday. Mr. Kadir pleaded not guilty to one count of theft by deception and one count of filing a false document at his arraignment in Robbinsville Municipal Court on April 4 and was released without bail.
   Mr. Kadir was listed as a part-time fire inspector for East Windsor Township on its website as of press time, however, he has been suspended from that position since March.
   ”Steven Kadir was suspended by East Windsor on March 26,” said East Windsor Township Manager Alan Fisher on May 10. “(The suspension is) a result of criminal charges being filed against him by Robbinsville Township that were directly related to his full-time employment as a municipal employee in that community.”
   Mr. Fisher continued, “East Windsor suspended Mr. Kadir without pay pending the disposition of the criminal charges filed against him by Robbinsville. His status as a township employee will be reassessed when the outcome of the criminal charges has been determined.”
   Robbinsville Township Administrator Joy Tozzi said Tuesday she could not make any public statements about the case and declined to address a question about who was responsible for signing Mr. Kadir’s timesheets during the two-year period prior to his arrest and suspension in March. Robbinsville Township Fire Director John Archer, of Hightstown, recently retired and was not available for comment.
   No one else from the fire department has been charged with any wrongdoing, Lt. Polaski said. Lt. Polaski referred all other questions to the Mercer County prosecutor’s office, which is now handling the case.
   Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Jim Scott said Tuesday a pre-indictment conference was scheduled for later this week before a Superior Court judge at which time a plea offer would be made to the defendant, as is typical for third-degree crimes involving people with no prior criminal convictions.
   The criminal complaint accuses Mr. Kadir of “falsifying his tie sheets and not documenting vacation hours used in 2010, 2011 and 2012 for a total of 264 hours, holding a monetary value in excess of $6,000.”
— Jen Samuel, managing editor, contributed to this report.