A Hudson County business owner who lives in Holmdel awaits a January 2015 sentencing date for helping to evade Jersey City municipal water bills amounting to more than $100,000.

Pile of Money
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Nicholas Vene, 43, accepted a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in a Newark federal courtroom, according to information from the office of New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.

Prosecutors contended that Vene and others diverted water from a metered conduit a building belonging to his Reliable Wood Products from January 2007 thorough the end of March 2012, and that Vene was aware of water running unmetered at a second site.

United Water New Jersey is responsible for collecting  water use payments on behalf of the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA).

The alterations resulted in under-reporting, and in short-changing JCMUA, authorities said.

Vene risks up to five years in prison and a fine that could reach $250,000 at sentencing, currently scheduled for January 26.

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