Former Kearny BOE payroll clerk faces new charges, HCPO says

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On Monday, May 21, 2018, Gina Neri, 50, of North Arlington, was charged with multiple tax violations by members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Public Integrity Special Investigations Unit after a joint investigation was completed involving the State of New Jersey Division of Taxation — Office of Criminal Investigation.

Neri, a former payroll department bookkeeper for the Kearny Board of Education, was charged with Failure to File Return, a third-degree crime; Failure to Pay, a third-degree crime; and Filing of Fraudulent Return, a third-degree crime.

Neri surrendered to detectives of the Public Integrity Special Investigations Unit without incident while accompanied by her attorney. She was criminally processed and released on her own  recognizance.

Neri is scheduled to make her first appearance on these charges in Central Judicial Processing Court on June 5.

Prosecutor Esther Suarez credited the State of New Jersey Division of Taxation – Office of Criminal Investigation for their assistance in the investigation.

The tax investigation leading to these new charges was initiated after Neri was charged on Jan. 22, 2018, for the alleged theft of approximately $190,000 from the Kearny Board of Education in which she unlawfully negotiated checks drawn on the Kearny Board of Education bank account throughout the years of 2011 to 2017. She allegedly used those funds for her personal benefit.

The Kearny Board of Education assisted the Public Integrity Special Investigations Unit throughout the process.

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.