A firefighter once honored for her work as a firefighter for the Lambertville Fire Department has been charged with stealing $32,000 from the department.

Lambertville Fire Department truck
Lambertville Fire Department truck (Lambertvlle Fire Dept)
loading...

The Hunterdon Democrat reports that longtime volunteer Cynthia Tillett Strauss, 34, of West Amwell is accused of stealing $19,000  via unauthorized use of an ATM card as treasurer of the Lambertville Fire Department Board of Engineers and another $15,000 in personal purchases as treasurer of the Columbia Fire Company.

Strauss is charged with two counts of third-degree theft and two counts of third-degree fraudulent use of a credit card according to the Trentonian.

Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III says the Lambertville Fire Department, Board of Engineers and the Columbia Fire Company assisted with the investigation. "The public should feel safe in knowing that the dedicated fire service members who initially discovered this misappropriation cooperated fully with the investigation and worked tirelessly to assure that the individual responsible was identified and charged," Kearns told the newspaper.

Lambertville's Fire Commission Vice Chairman credits their "internal controls" for quickly finding a discrepancy "and why we were able to limit our loss" according to the Democrat.

Strauss is the daughter of Lambertville's former fire chief Ron Tillet Jr. according to the Trentonian. On a website called "Tillet's World" Strauss wrote that her grandmother was the first female firefighter in Lambertville. The Democrat reports she was recognized with an Award  of Excellence in 2011 from the Amwell Lodge of Free and Accepted Mason for her service to Lambertville as a volunteer since 1998 and was a Firefighter of the Year.

Strauss is being held on $10,000 bail at the Hunterdon County Jail.

MORE COVERAGE:

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM