Kevin Shea
nj.com
EAST WINDSOR, N.J. — A volunteer East Windsor firefighter was charged last month with stealing about $58,000 from a township fire company while serving as its treasurer, township police said.
Michael V. Crismali, 43, was arrested on theft and official misconduct charges on Feb. 7, a day after officials from the East Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. 2 reported to police that they suspected Crismali, as their treasurer, had misappropriated company money for some time, police said.
An investigation found Crismali was responsible for $58,000 in thefts on various occasions from April 2017 to July 2019, police said. He was released following his arrest and the case was forwarded to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Crismali did not immediately respond to a message left for him on Facebook. His social media pages identify him as a mortgage loan officer.
The fire company also did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Crismali was honored as Firefighter of the Year by the company in 2015. And in March 2021, he was profiled on the company’s Facebook page in a series that introduced the community to company members. Then a lieutenant, he discussed joining the company in 2009, graduating from the fire academy in 2011 and experiencing the brotherhood of the fire service.
“The appreciation that is often shown to us by members of our community far outweighs the missed dinners, sleepless nights and dangerous situations,” he said in the profile. “I have made friends in the fire service that will last a lifetime, and they truly are another family to me. I would do anything for them, and they would do anything for me.”
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