NJ cop admits keeping ATV donation for himself, loses job

HARVEY CEDARS – A police officer admitted he accepted the gift of an ATV from a resident, intended for the police department, in 2017, but instead kept it for himself.

When Harvey Cedars Police Sgt. Sean Marti, 49, became aware of a resident wanting to donate a Polaris ATV, Marti took possession of it, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. Instead of delivering it to the department, Marti used it as his own, according to Billhimer, until it was taken back following an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office Professional Standards Unit.

Billhimer did not disclose how it was found out the department never received the ATV.

Marti, who pleaded guilty to theft of movable property, lost his job over after the admission of guilt and is barred from any future public employment in the state of New Jersey, according to the prosecutor.

According to a search of public records, Marti had been with the department since 1996 and earned a salary of nearly $128,000.

Marti is scheduled to be sentenced June 20.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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