Couple pleads guilty to stealing Sandy relief funds

A North Jersey couple has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $153,000 by filing fraudulent applications for Superstorm Sandy relief funds, authorities say.

Carmine Fusco, 50, and Lauri Fusco, 50, of East Hanover in Morris County each pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by deception, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

Prosecutors say the Fuscos allegedly falsely claimed in their applications for FEMA assistance and a state grant that their storm-damaged home on West End Drive in Point Pleasant was their primary residence when Sandy struck.

That allowed them to receive $2,280 from FEMA and $150,000 in state Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation grants, Grewal said.

Prosecutors will recommend that Carmine Fusco be sentenced to 180 days in county jail and a term of probation, and that Lauri Fusco be sentenced to a term of probation.

The couple must pay full restitution, authorities said.