Financial Adviser Who Bilked Victims Gets 10 Years in Prison

TOMS RIVER - Peter Martorana seemed like a financial adviser who went above and beyond the call of duty for his clients, many of whom were elderly widows in Holiday City at Berkeley.

He bought scones with him when he went to their homes to discuss their finances, drove them to the airport, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

Martorana was so good to them that some refused to believe he had stolen from them and used the money for himself, assistant supervising Ocean County Prosecutor Martin Anton said in Superior Court this morning.

But he was. Martorana, 63, Wall, stole $1.3 million from 11 victims. He had an office in the senior community of Holiday City at Berkeley. He pleaded guilty to first-degree money laundering back in February, from 2006 until 2013.

Ocean County Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski sentenced Martorana on Friday to 10 years in prison, with no possibility of parole for four years. He must forfeit his broker's license and pay back $250,000 in restitution.

None of Martorana's 11 victims was present in court.

"A number of his victims were widows whose husbands had dealt with him successfully, so they trusted him,'' Anton said. "He used that position of trust to his benefit.''

Martorana apologized to his victims in court.

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Photo: Patch archive photo