Police: Township Employee Charged in Wire Theft from Sandy-Stricken Ortley Home

A township employee was charged with theft after police said that he took copper wire from a home damaged by Superstorm Sandy, the second such type of incident in a week.

Toms River Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy said that a witness told him that he saw "a township employee operating a township vehicle" remove copper wire from a home on the 100 block of 3rd Avenue in Ortley Beach at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. 

After an investigation by Cpl. Chris Leighton, Detective Randy Petrick and Capt. Bruce Burgess, David Gregitis, 50, of Toms River was charged with one count of theft, Mastronardy said. 

The wire, which the chief said was valued at $25, was recovered from the truck operated by Gregitis. 

Township attorney Kenneth Fitzsimmons said that disciplinary charges are being prepared to be served to Gregitis, a building inspector, as required under the collective bargaining agreement. 

"In the meantime, the employee is suspended without pay pending further investigation and verification of the circumstances," he said. 

"This is the second arrest in a week for copper thefts from by alert residents who are watching their respective neighborhoods while rebuilding after Sandy," Mastronardy said. 

Last week, a Point Pleasant man was jailed after police charged him with burglarizing a vacant Jefferson Avenue home damaged by the storm. 

Toms River police are working with the New Jersey State Police in "proactive" patrols in Sandy-stricken areas, Mastronardy said. Still, the department urges that residents and contractors report any suspicious activity to police. 

The department can be reached at 732-349-0150.