A Berkeley Heights man has been sentenced to six years in state prison for stealing more than $4 million from his Elizabeth-based employer over the course of nearly a decade, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Friday.
Albert Thomson, 54, was sentenced Friday before state Superior Court Judge Frederic McDaniel.
Thomson was arrested in March 2014 following a prolonged Elizabeth Police Department investigation that ultimately revealed a pattern of theft from New England Motor Freight, a large trucking company, and two related companies, Eastern Freightways Inc. and Carrier Industries Inc., according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Vanderstreet, who prosecuted the case.
Part of Thomson’s duties previously involved registering many of the companies’ thousands of vehicles in the various states where they operate, Vanderstreet explained.
Yet at various times from 2005 through 2013, Thomson would put in registration requests for vehicles that had already been registered, then pocket or spend the checks cut by his employers to cover the costs.
Thomson ultimately used the misappropriated funds to purchase a Mercedes-Benz, to rent a residence at the Jersey Shore, to provide himself with a personal trainer, and to pay credit-card bills, among other things.
The UCPO worked closely with cooperating New England Freight Company officials during the investigation to uncover the scope of the theft and bring the defendant to justice.