Former Executive Director Of North Bergen Housing Authority Charged With Theft
Wednesday, August 13, 2025, 7:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
NORTH BERGEN, NJ.- On Tuesday, following an investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, a 63-year-old River Edge, New Jersey, man, and the former Executive Director of the North Bergen Housing Authority, was taken into custody and charged in connection with the alleged theft of Housing Authority funds.
According to Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayn Mello, Gerald Sanzari, 63, of River Edge, New Jersey, was formally charged with two counts of third-degree Theft by Unlawful Taking. Sanzari was taken into custody on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Sanzari was processed on the charges and released pending his first appearance in Hudson County Central Judicial Processing Court, which has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, August 26, 2025.
According To The Charging Information Filed In The Complaint
According to the information filed in the criminal complaint, in November 2024, the Township of North Bergen contacted the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office after finding an alleged misappropriation of funds from a North Bergen Housing Authority account. During a subsequent review of the accounts, Detectives of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit uncovered that between January 2022 and June 2024, Sanzari utilized city vendors to perform contract work at Sanzari’s River Edge residence.
Sanzari then paid the vendors over $20,000 using an account belonging to North Bergen Renaissance Urban Renewal, a subsidiary of the North Bergen Housing Authority.
If convicted at trial, Sanzari faces up to five years in New Jersey State Prison on each count and would be required to pay restitution for the amount of the theft.
“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
