The former director of buildings and grounds in the Hillsborough school district admitted he took part in a scheme to receive about $138,000 in overtime to which he was not entitled.
Anthony DeLuca, 61, of Raritan, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of embezzling, stealing, and obtaining by fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey said in a statement.
DeLuca was hired in 2019 for a $120,000-per-year salaried position in which no overtime was to be paid, authorities said. Instead he and a person not named by prosecutors formulated a plan in which DeLuca “submitted false claims to the school district for purported overtime work that Individual 1 approved,” according to charging documents.
DeLuca then paid at least $39,800 in kickbacks between July 2019 and January 2022, leaving envelopes of cash on the console of the person’s vehicle and in a drawer of the person’s desk, federal prosecutors said.
The district’s business administrator and multiple superintendents have resigned in recent years. There is an ongoing investigation into the district’s finances, according to Patch.com.
DeLuca is scheduled to be sentenced June 1.
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
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