NJ corrections officer accused of stealing, reselling $475K in ammo

🔵 NJ corrections officer charged
🔵 Accused of reselling ammo for years
🔵 Officer suspended

TRENTON — A state Department of Corrections lieutenant has been accused of stealing state-owned ammunition and reselling it for hundreds of thousands of dollars, pocketing the money.

Timothy Morris, of Ocean County, was charged with second-degree counts of official misconduct and theft and third-degree structuring financial transactions.

The 56-year-old Bayville resident was suspended at work effective Tuesday, pending the case's outcome.

He allegedly raked in more than $475,000 through a years-long scheme.

NJDOC Range Master for years

Since 2008, Morris has served as Range Master for the department.

The post is responsible for ordering and overseeing all ammunition at four corrections gun ranges in Annandale, Browns Mills, Maurice River and the Corrections Staff Training Academy in Sea Girt.

He has also been in charge of ammunition supply at Special Operations Group Headquarters in Trenton.

State prosecutors say that since at least 2019, Morris has intentionally ordered excess ammunition in order to sell it on the secondary market.

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He allegedly received cash and check payments from a gun supply store.

Morris also is accused of cashing checks at banks in a series of transactions, in order to dodge a $10,000 bank reporting requirement and other suspicious activity measures.

“The defendant allegedly abused his law enforcement position to steal from the public, and he tried to conceal it with financial transactions designed to fly under the radar,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Wednesday.

“As the allegations in this case show, corruption is an expensive drain on public resources and victimizes taxpayers. My office refuses to accept that as business as usual,” Platkin added.

“Correctional police officers are sworn to uphold the law and when they violate their oath it erodes public trust,” Department of Corrections Commissioner Victoria Kuhn said in the same joint release.

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