Crime Watch

D.A.: N.J. man charged with stealing $1.6M from EMS

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A New Jersey man is accused of stealing $1.6 million in insurance payments from Bellmore-Merrick Emergency Medical Services, a private volunteer ambulance corps with headquarters on Newbridge Road in Bellmore, just north of Sunrise Highway.

Brad Reiter, 50, a former treasurer and president of the EMS unit, was arrested and charged with the theft on Sept. 29, according to acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

Andy Kraus, a Bellmore-Merrick EMS spokesman, said Reiter lived at one time on Long Island and moved to Jackson, N.J. at some point. He did not know when. Bellmore-Merrick EMS members are not required to be community members, Kraus added.

The alleged theft occurred over seven years, from March 2008 through March this year, Singas said. Once discovered by Bellmore-Merrick EMS members, it was immediately reported to the D.A.’s office, according to Singas and an EMS unit statement. Reiter was expelled from the company in March.

Singas’s office alleged that Reiter spent the money on credit card and insurance bills, lawn and security services, and payments to himself.

A change in leadership at the EMS unit uncovered the alleged theft in January, Singas said. New leaders scrutinized the department’s accounts to prepare an annual financial report and discovered that the amounts Reiter had reported receiving from insurance companies for services were significantly less than they actually were. Reiter wrote EMS unit checks to himself, according to the D.A.

“The volunteers of the Bellmore-Merrick EMS donate their time and skills to offer lifesaving care to their neighbors, and this defendant allegedly stole a staggering $1.6 million that should have gone to support their critically important work,” Singas said. “I’m grateful that EMS leaders brought this case to my office so we can hold this defendant accountable for this selfish crime that betrayed the trust of so many.”

Reiter was charged with one count of grand larceny in the first degree, a B felony. He faces 81/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the charge against him.

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