State Trooper Ordered to Refund Money Stolen From Charitable Fund

A former New Jersey State Police troop commander who embezzled more than $50,000 from a fund that aids troopers and their families was sentenced Friday to two years probation and ordered to pay restitution.

Retired Acting Major Michael Mattia, 47, of Cedar Grove, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Donald J. Volkert Jr. in Passaic County. Mattia must pay $30,000 to the charitable fund and $19,000 from a trooper who loaned him money under false pretenses, the Attorney General's Office said.

The judge ordered Mattia to pay $10,000 on Friday and $400 per month through the end of his probation. If Mattia fails to pay restitution, he will face 364 days in jail.

Mattia, who pleaded guilty in February to third-degree theft by unlawful taking, has been permanently banned from public employment and public office in New Jersey.

Mattia, who retired last year, supervised troopers as commander of Troop B in Totowa. Mattia managed the Troop B Health & Welfare Fund, which raises money through the sale of State Police apparel and other items to fund scholarships and donations for Troop B officers and their families, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Mattia diverted about $55,500 from the fund's bank account by making debit withdrawals and writing checks to "cash" that he deposited into his personal account or cashed between August 2011 when he took control of the fund to April 2013 when he retired, the Attorney General's Office said.

Mattia returned $8,500 to the fund with a personal check in March 2013 and deposited $17,000 in cash in May 2013 when he was confronted that there was only $26 left when he retired, the Attorney General's Office said.

The cash came from a loan he received from another trooper, the Attorney General's Office said. Mattia told the trooper the money was for his mortgage and to pay his children's tuition and has not yet repaid any of the loan, the Attorney General's Office said.