Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that a former treasurer for the South Jersey Elite Invitational Youth Football League pleaded guilty today to stealing $56,777 from the league.
Michael DiFlorio, 49, of Williamstown, pleaded guilty today before Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson in Gloucester County to a charge of third-degree theft by unlawful taking in connection with the theft from the football league. That charge was contained in state grand jury indictment returned in December. DiFlorio also pleaded guilty today to an accusation charging him with third-degree theft by unlawful taking for stealing $1,147 from his former employer, an exterminating company.
Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that DiFlorio be sentenced to 330 days in the county jail as a condition of a term of probation. He will be required to pay full restitution to the football league and his former employer. DiFlorio is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30.
The state’s investigation revealed that from July 2014 through June 2016, DiFlorio stole a total of approximately $56,777 in league funds. As treasurer, DiFlorio was responsible for using the funds in the league’s bank account to pay vendors who provided goods and services to the league.
Without authorization, DiFlorio applied for and received a debit card linked to that bank account. The card was not authorized because the league conducts all of its business using checks, not cash. DiFlorio used the debit card to make more than $10,000 in cash withdrawals and purchases for his personal purposes.
In addition, Florio wrote more than $32,000 in checks for his personal benefit made out to himself or, in one instance, to a friend. On top of those thefts, DiFlorio stole over $14,000 in cash generated by the league’s 2015 championship game.
The investigation into the theft from DiFlorio’s former employer revealed that, while working for the exterminating company as a supervisor from 2014 through 2016, DiFlorio stole $1,147 in payments that customers made to technicians by cash or check. The technicians gave the payments to DiFlorio as supervisor, and he was supposed to turn them over to the firm. Instead, he stole them for his personal use.
Attorney General Porrino and Director Honig noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free Corruption Tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to confidentially report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The public also can log on to the Division’s web page at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing confidentially.