A home improvement specialist in Hazlet awaits court proceedings for theft, accused of taking $120,000 toward rebuilding a Superstorm-battered home in Union Beach but never starting the job.

Edward Cipriani (Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office)
Edward Cipriani (Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office)
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Edward Cipriani, 43, was apprehended Wednesday and would face as many as 10 years in prison if convicted, according to information from the office of acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Grammiccioni.

Investigators of the county's Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force said that Cipriani, doing business as Edward Wohanka, contracted with the owner in November 2013 to rebuild the house for $225,000.

He collected checks for $30,000 in December 2013; $15,000 in March 2014; and three checks totalling $75,000 in June 2014, all cashed at a check-cashing facility in Hazlet, authorities said.

Cipriani was placed in the Monmouth County Correctional Facility in Freehold, with bail set at $150,000 and no option for release on payment of 10 percent.

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