A Freehold woman has been placed on probation for five years and ordered to repay the $57,146 she stole from the Middlesex County Utilities Authority (MCUA) in Sayreville while she worked there as comptroller and treasurer.
During her May 5 sentencing, Margaret Brennan, 68, was ordered to repay the stolen funds within 45 days and was told that she must also pay for the auditing that was undertaken to determine the amount of the thefts, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.
The bill for auditing the account totaled $68,762. A judge will decide the amount of the payment at a date that has yet to be scheduled, Carey said.
In addition, Brennan was ordered to undergo counseling for addiction to gambling and was barred from ever again holding a public job in New Jersey.
Brennan, who had worked for the utilities authority in Sayreville for 28 years, was charged in September 2014 after an investigation determined she took the funds in various amounts between November 2012 and June 2014. She pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2014, to one count of theft.