The Morris County Prosecutor has announced that James Masker, 30, of Mine Hill, pleaded guilty today to theft in connection with his unauthorized taking of six radios that belonged to county government.An investigation revealed that Masker, an employee with the Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety since 2012, removed the radios from a storage area and distributed them to private individuals.
All of the radios have been recovered. The investigation did not discover any evidence that any public safety agency or any public safety transmissions were compromised by the theft.
The defendant surrendered and pleaded guilty today before Superior Court Judge James M. DeMarzo. He was sentenced to one year probation with a condition that he complete 25 hours of community service.
As part of the negotiated plea, the defendant resigned his position as a radio repairer at the county's Public Safety Academy and was barred from any future public employment.
The Morris County Prosecutor would like to thank the Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety, whose leadership and diligence first detected the theft.
Any inquiries can be directed to First Assistant Prosecutor Thomas A. Zelante at 973-285-6252 or tzelante@co.morris.nj.us