Belmar fire inspector risks 10 years for falsified time cards

An ex-fire marshal for Belmar, who also served as a fire inspector for the Picatinny Arsenal Fire Department, can expect to spend up to 10 years in prison for bilking both entities out of tens of thousands of dollars with doctored time cards.

John Rizzitello, 45, of Nashville, formerly of Freehold, pleaded guilty in a Trenton federal courtroom to a charge of fraudulently obtaining federal funds that belonged to Belmar.

As of December 21, Rizzitello was still listed on the Belmar municipal web site as the borough fire inspector.

According to the office of New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, Rizzitello admitted being paid $34,141 for 1,540 unworked hours he submitted at the Belmar Fire Department between January 2013 and Decemer 2014.

During a plea bargaining session, Rizzitello also admitted submitting time cards at Picatinny in the same period, being paid about $10,644 for 508 hours he never worked as its senior lead fire protection inspector.

Rizzitello's sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2017. He is represented by attorney Ryan J. Clark. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara R. Llanes.