A former employee of the Bergen County Parks Department was arrested and charged with stealing equipment, officials report.
An audit conducted in January revealed that several items, including chainsaws, a large woodchipper, and a 20-foot dual-axle trailer, were missing. This discovery prompted an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on January 14.
As a result of the investigation, authorities arrested 44-year-old Charles T. Gatt of Sparta. Court-authorized search warrants were executed at Gatt’s home and an additional property in Sparta on Tuesday, leading to the recovery of stolen vehicles and equipment.
During the search, detectives also uncovered 17 unregistered firearms, one of which was a loaded handgun left unsecured and exposed. Gatt was arrested and charged with second-degree theft, second-degree receiving stolen property, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and fourth-degree possession of a firearm by a certain person.
Gatt was taken to the Bergen County Jail, where he is awaiting his first appearance in state Superior Court in Hackensack. No court date has yet been scheduled.
