Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet and Director Robert Hubner of the Woodbridge Police Department said an Ocean County man was arrested today and charged with the theft of N95 Respirator masks from a business in Woodbridge.
Stephen Milligan, 54, of South Amboy, was charged yesterday with conspiring with Kevin R. Brady, 49, of Point Pleasant Beach, to steal up to 1,600 respirator masks from Prudential Financial in Iselin. Brady was charged in the theft on April 23. Like Brady, Milligan was charged with theft by unlawful taking and conspiracy to commit theft, both third-degree charges. The two men were charged in an ongoing investigation by the New Jersey State Police, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, Woodbridge Police Department, and Point Pleasant Beach Police Department, based on a referral from the National Hoarding & Price-Gouging Task Force headed by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. Brady and Milligan were on-site electrical contractors who had access to storage areas in the Prudential Financial facility. Between March 27 and April 1, Brady and Milligan allegedly stole seven to eight cases of N95 respirator masks, each case containing 200 masks. Prudential Financial had intended to donate the masks to a local hospital.
Brady was charged as a result of a joint investigation by the New Jersey State Police – Cargo Theft Task Force, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Woodbridge Police Department, and the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department, based on a referral from the National Hoarding & Price-Gouging Task Force headed by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.
During the investigation, it was determined that between March 27 to April 1, 2020, Brady, was employed as an on-site electrician and was working at Prudential Financial in Iselin. During his course of employment, he had unrestricted access to the Prudential Offices and entered a caged storage area in the basement and stole 7-8 cases of N95 Respirator Masks; each case contained 200 masks. Prudential Financial had intended to donate the masks to a local hospital at the time the theft was discovered.
The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Brian Vella of the Woodbridge Police Department at (732) 634-7700.
Please report COVID-19 fraud, hoarding, or price-gouging to the National Center for Disaster Fraud’s National Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or email disaster@leo.gov.
As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against Brady are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash
