Brad Reiter served as treasurer and president of Bellmore-Merrick EMS
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced a New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $1.6 million from the Bellmore-Merrick EMS, for which he served as treasurer and president at various times during the seven-year duration of his scheme.
Brad Reiter, 50, of Jackson, New Jersey, was arrested by DA investigators in September 2015 and pleaded guilty as charged today, to Grand Larceny in the 1st Degree (a B felony). He received a sentencing commitment of two to six years in prison by Acting Supreme Court Justice Jerald Carter and is due back in court on June 29. Reiter has also reached a restitution settlement agreement with the Bellmore-Merrick EMS, to be enforced civilly.
“This defendant admitted to stealing more than $1 million from a volunteer and donor-based organization responsible for delivering lifesaving care to thousands of Long Islanders,” DA Singas said. “He will pay for his scheme when he’s sentenced this summer and pays restitution to the EMS. I’m grateful to the EMS leaders who brought this case to my office so that we could hold the defendant accountable and help bring justice to the organization and its members.”
DA Singas said that new leadership at the Bellmore-Merrick EMS, having taken over the organization in January of 2015, began examining past bank accounts to prepare an annual report when it found that the amount of money that Reiter reported as receiving from insurance companies to pay for ambulance services was far less than the amount that the EMS should have been receiving. The EMS was able to verify that much more money should have been deposited into the organization’s account by Reiter, and found that Reiter had written checks to himself for which there was no explanation.
Reiter stole approximately $1.6 million between March 2008 and March 2015, during which time he held the titles of treasurer and president of the volunteer organization. He was found to have spent the money on credit card and insurance bills, lawn services, security system services, and payments to himself.
Reiter was terminated by the EMS in March 2015, and the case was referred to the District Attorney’s Office for further investigation.
Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso of DA Singas’ Government and Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case. Reiter is represented by Samuel E. Rieff, Esq.