Freehold Man Among 3 Sentenced in $1.4M Theft of Defense Contractor

By Katrina Rossos

A former insurance agent for a New York-based defense contractor from Millstone and his two friends, from Manalapan and Freehold, were sentenced to prison terms or probation on Thursday for stealing $1.4 million from the company, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. 

Millstone resident Daniel Tumminia, 51, and Michael Feuer, 49, of Freehold, were sentenced to one year in prison and two years of supervised release. Dennis Mannarino, 46, of Manalapan, was sentenced to three years of probation. Feuer was an attorney from 1990 to 2001 and the owner of Cypress Lawn Care in New Jersey; Mannarino is the owner of J&D Italian Specialty Meats throughout New York and New Jersey.

Tumminia, Feuer, and Mannarino all pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano to separate informations charging them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Fishman said. 

Tumminia was an insurance agent for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company who represented Fastener, a manufacturer and distributor of aircraft, aerospace, and military components and hardware, and Fastener’s president,  according to court documents. Tumminia handled all of the pension and profit sharing accounts and life insurance policies for Fastener’s employes. 

According to court documents, Tumminia, Feuer, and Mannarino, diverted life insurance premium payments and pension and profit sharing checks from Fastener’s employees into bank accounts that they controlled between July 2004 and August 2010. Feuer incorporated Mass Mutal Contracting Corporation and listed himself as the registered agent and officer for the limited liability company. This company did not perform any services for Fastener or other clients, but was created by Feuer and Tumminia to falsely represent to Fastener that it was the real MassMutual, court documents revealed; Feuer and Tumminia deposited $574.279 from Fastener into the MassMutual Contracting Corporation bank account. 

Documents unveiled that Tumminia, Feuer, and Mannarino conducted 133 transactions, which included interstate wire transfers. All of the transactions totaled $1,437,542 in deposits into the bank accounts they controlled. The men then used the money from the bank account to pay for personal expenses, including rent, cable, utilities, and grocery bills, according to court documents. 

The men have agreed to make full restitution for all of the losses as a part of their guilty pleas. Tumminia will give $1,198,271, Feuer will forfeit $115,963, and Mannarino will forfeit $10,000, court documents said. 

Fishman praised FBI special agents workout out of Red Bank under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron Ford with the investigation.