Old Bridge school board member’s wife pleads guilty to theft by deception

The wife of an Old Bridge school board member will be sentenced in February after pleading guilty in connection with the theft of more than $50,000 from a township PTA and youth sports program.

Dana Marchetta, 43, wife of Leonardo Marchetta, member of the Old Bridge Board of Educationpleaded guilty Oct. 30 in Middlesex County Superior Court to third-degree theft by deception.

She will be sentenced on February 7 by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone.

Charges are pending against Leonardo Marchetta, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

The possible penalty for a third-degree felony is a prison sentence of up to five years. However, if the suspect has no prior criminal record, probation rather than prison time is assumed.

A conviction can be expunged from a person’s record after five years.

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The couple was charged by city police in April in connection with the theft of $41,067.90 from the Grissom School PTA and its vendors, and $12,417.16 from the Rebels Football and Cheer Program.

According to police, Dana Marchetta had been involved with the Grissom and Salk PTA organizations and the Rebels program and allegedly abused her positions in the organizations for her own financial gain.

Dana Marchetta was charged with seven counts of forgery, four counts of passing bad checks, three counts of theft by deception, two counts of theft, theft by failure to provide required funds, forgery by altering documents, public records fraud, falsifying documents, money laundering and conspiracy, police said.

Police also alleged that some of the stolen money was then deposited into her husband’s personal accounts.

Her husband was charged with seven counts of passing a bad check, two counts of theft, theft by deception and conspiracy.

Leonardo Marchetta, whose term on the Education Council expires at the end of this year, did not seek re-election.

Marchetta chairs the school board’s athletics and extracurricular committee.

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Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To gain unlimited access to her work, subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Wife of Old Bridge NJ BOE member pleads guilty to theft by deception