Point Pleasant Beach Man Charged With Theft Of Respirator Masks

POINT PLEASANT BEACH – A Point Pleasant Beach man was charged Thursday with the theft of N95 respirator masks from a business, prosecutors said.

Kevin Brady, 49, of Point Pleasant Beach was arrested on one count of theft by unlawful taking in the third degree, and one count of conspiracy to commit theft in the third degree, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

During the investigation, authorities determined that, between March 27 and April 1, Brady was employed as an on-site electrician and was working at Prudential Financial in Iselin, prosecutors said.

During the course of his employment, Brady had unrestricted access to the Prudential offices and entered a caged storage area in the basement, stealing seven to eight cases of N95 respirator masks; each case contained 200 masks, prosecutors said.

Prudential Financial had intended to donate the masks to a local hospital at the time the theft was discovered.

Brady was charged as a result of a joint investigation by the New Jersey State Police – Cargo Theft Task Force, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Woodbridge Police Department and the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department based on a referral from the National Hoarding & Price-Gouging Task Force headed by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Brian Vella of the Woodbridge Police Department at (732) 634-7700.

Please report COVID-19 fraud, hoarding, or price-gouging to the National Center for Disaster Fraud’s National Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or email disaster@leo.gov.