Milltown Police Lieutenant Pleads Guilty to Overtime Theft

A lieutenant with the Milltown Police Department pleaded guilty Monday to falsifying overtime vouchers and collecting money for work he never performed.

Douglas R. Cole, 47, was charged in October for theft by deception, official misconduct, engaging in a pattern of official misconduct, and tampering with public records or information after he filed dozens of false vouchers between Dec. 5, 2011 and July 19, 2012, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

As part of a plea bargain with the prosecutor, Cole will serve up to five years probation when he is sentenced on March 10 by Superior Court Judge Bradley J. Ferencz.

Cole must also resign from the police department and will receive a lifetime ban from public employment. Cole must also repay the borough, however the total amount has not yet been determined.

According to the prosecutor's office, between Dec. 5, 2011 and July 19, 2012, Cole filed vouchers for payment on work that he never performed for 17 different jobs while working for the borough. He received a total of $4,920.30 in monetary compensation for the vouchers, the prosecutor's office said.  

Cole, a 24-year veteran of the force, is also alleged to have collected more than $200 for 16 of the 17 jobs he claimed to have been working.