Ex-Cop From Monmouth County Pleads Guilty To Theft Charges: Cops

WALL, NJ — A former police officer from Brielle has pled guilty in connection with theft and forgery charges concerning properties he purchased and rented in Brielle, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

Cory R. Cole, 51, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and one count of forgery. Each theft charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; the forgery charge carries an 18-month sentence.

Cole faces 180 days in Monmouth County Jail under the terms of the plea agreement, but can avoid it if he pays $4.200 in restitution to each of two victims before sentencing, Linskey said.

The sentencing is scheduled for August 12.

Cole was originally charged with nine counts in June 2021, including one count of theft by deception and several theft and forgery charges. Theft by deception carries a maximum ten-year prison sentence.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the five outstanding charges in the indictment will be dismissed at sentencing.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office discovered that Cole, who flipped and rented houses in the borough, forged documents to secure a loan and stole money from tenants by keeping their security deposits.

Investigators found that Cole had forged a letter from his former matrimonial attorney to make it appear that a court judgment the lawyer won against him for unpaid attorney's fees had been satisfied.

This was done so that Cole could get a $425,000 loan to purchase property in Brielle, Linskey said.

Cole also illegally retained two $4,200 security deposits from tenants at different properties in Brielle, police said.

Cole claimed that his Fisk Avenue tenants owed him money for unpaid utility bills, which he supported with a forged New Jersey Natural Gas bill that showed a false outstanding balance.

The other tenant, a woman with children, signed a lease to rent a property on Borrie Avenue and was never able to move in; the majority of her $4,200 deposit was spent by Cole, authorities said.

Further investigation revealed that Cole, in order to satisfy the Brielle School District's residency inquiries regarding the woman's children, wrote a forged lease to the school district indicating that the victim had moved into a different property that he owned in Brielle.

Cole resigned from the Ocean Township Police Department after first being charged in 2020, Linskey said.