Officer gets probation for theft of funds

SAYREVILLE — A Sayreville police officer was placed on probation Sept. 8 for three years and was ordered to repay $20,466 in rent he took from the Sayreville Housing Authority.

Stephen Gulick, 51, was also ordered to resign from his job as a Sayreville police officer and was barred from ever again holding a public job in New Jersey, according to a press release from Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.

Gulick waived his right to a grand jury review and pleaded guilty on June 25 to a count of theft by deception, admitting that he took the money from the housing authority between Feb. 2, 2012, and July 8, 2013.

While the theft did not involve the Police Department or his duties as an officer, Gulick was required to resign from his job as part of the plea agreement, the press release stated.

Gulick was charged on Nov. 14, 2013. The investigation determined that Gulick collected federal money to subsidize the rent paid by a female tenant at a property he owned in Sayreville, Carey said.

He subsequently married the tenant, who then became ineligible for the housing assistance, but he continued to receive and cash checks paid by the housing authority on behalf of the woman.

The investigation further showed that Gulick collected 18 checks totaling $20,466 during the period the woman was ineligible to receive assistance, Carey said.

Gulick had been a member of the Police Department for 14 years at the time he was charged.