UNION COUNTY — A Berkeley Heights man is accused of stealing more than $6 million from his employer during the course of nearly a decade, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park announced.
Albert Thomson, 48, was charged with second-degree theft by deception. He turned himself in to authorities late on Thursday, when he was being held on $250,000 bail.
A prolonged investigation by Elizabeth Police Department detectives Christopher Kenney and Paul Pasternak ultimately revealed the alleged pattern of theft from the Elizabeth-based New England Motor Freight, a large trucking company, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Ann Rubin, who is prosecuting the case.
Part of Thomson’s duties previously involved registering many of the company’s hundreds of vehicles in the various states where the company operates, Rubin explained.
Yet at various times from January 2004 through November 2013, Thomson would allegedly put in registration requests for vehicles that had already been registered, then pocket or spend the cashiers’ checks cut by his employer to cover the costs.
Thomson ultimately used the alleged misappropriated funds to purchase a Mercedes-Benz, to rent a residence at the Jersey Shore, to provide himself with a personal trainer, and to pay credit-card bills, among other things, according to Rubin.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.