Former mayor of Middlesex Borough sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing more than $75,000 from local campaign funds

Former Democratic Middlesex Borough Mayor Ronald DiMura was sentenced to prison Tuesday for stealing more than $75,000 from various local political campaign funds.  

DiMura, 64, whose term as mayor ended in December of 2019, was sentenced to seven years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Benjamin Bucca in Middlesex County. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 13 to a charge of second-degree theft by deception and will begin serving his prison sentence within 60 days. He will be permanently barred from public office and employment in New Jersey, must pay restitution in the amount of $83,372 and must forfeit $163,582, which is the remainder of the funds he stole.

In Dec. of 2019, DiMura was indicted after the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability conducted an investigation that was triggered by a referral from the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission.

“DiMura exploited his role as a local party leader for his personal gain, betraying party members who placed their trust in him,” said New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. “I formed the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability to ensure, among other things, that public officials are held accountable if they abuse their power. This prison sentence reflects our commitment to that mission.”

For seven years, DiMura served as treasurer of the Middlesex Borough Democratic Campaign Committee, as well as a number of campaigns for candidates seeking local office in Middlesex Borough. An investigation revealed that between January 2013 and June 2019, DiMura allegedly used his position as treasurer for the campaigns and the party campaign committee to steal about $190,000 by making purported donations to a local charitable organization he ran. During the period in question, the nonprofit charity allegedly only paid out only a small fraction of the funds for charitable purposes. It was determined that the remainder of the funds were funneled from the bank account of the charity to DiMura’s personal bank account and a business account that DiMura controlled. The investigation also revealed that DiMura stole more than $75,000 from investors by creating the false impression that they were loaning him money that he would invest on their behalf and that would generate large interest payments for them. In reality, DiMura allegedly did not make any investments with the money. Instead, he allegedly deposited the funds into his personal bank account or the business account he controlled. He used some funds to pay back the investors, but most of them did not receive any of the promised interest and are owed substantial amounts of their principal, state law enforcement officials said. DiMura also allegedly used his position as mayor to solicit $10,000 in donations to the local charity from a developer doing business with the borough, without disclosing that he intended to use the money for his personal benefit. He allegedly filed false or incomplete financial disclosure statements with the state that failed to disclose the funds he received from the charity.  

“DiMura’s thefts were all the more egregious because he used a local charity to hide his actions,” said Office of Public Integrity and Accountability Director Thomas Eicher. “With this prison sentence, we send a strong message that we expect honesty and integrity from our public officials in New Jersey, and those who act corruptly will face serious consequences.”  

The attorney general created the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability in 2018 to combat corruption and strengthen public confidence in government institutions. In December of 2019, the attorney general issued a directive making the office a permanent part of the attorney general’s office. That directive established the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability Corruption Bureau as the lead office within the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety for the investigation and prosecution of state criminal violations involving corruption and abuse of public trust.

Members of the public can report alleged corruption to the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability via a toll-free tip line, 1-844-OPIA-TIPS.  The Attorney General’s Office has an anti-corruption reward program that offers a reward of up to $25,000 for tips leading to a conviction for a crime involving public corruption. For more information, visit the attorney general’s website at https://nj.gov/oag/corruption/reward.html.