Statement From Hazlet School District Officials on Arrest of Former Employee

The following statement was distributed by the Hazlet School District Superintendent's office to the press at 3 p.m. Thursday regarding the Oct. 10 arrest of Michelle Pumilia and her mother, Virginia Lisay, both of Union Beach. Read about the arrest on Holmdel-Hazlet Patch. 

On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, the Superintendent’s Office of the Hazlet Township School District was contacted by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office regarding an ongoing investigation of a former employee of the District. The investigation pertains to the potential misappropriation of transportation expenditures.  The individual in question was employed as the District’s Transportation Coordinator from September 2005 until they resigned in August 2008. 

Upon notification of the investigation, the Hazlet Township Board of Education secured an outside auditing firm to conduct an independent audit of the entire transportation department. 

“Since learning of the investigation, the Hazlet Township School District has cooperated fully with the State Police and the Attorney General’s Office; we have provided all requested information, including the results of our independent audit.  We will continue to work with the Attorney General’s Office in their prosecution of this individual to the full extent of the law,” stated Dr. Bernard F. Bragen, Jr., Superintendent of Schools. 

“The Board of Education was made aware of the ongoing investigation by the Central Office Administration; we have filed the necessary insurance claims for any possible losses under our Errors and Omissions Policies,” stated Stephen Willig, President of the Hazlet Township Board of Education.