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	Former Principal Admits Theft By Charles Webster IV Courier-Post December 4, 2007 http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/NEWS06/712040385/1006/NEWS01 The former principal of Holy Cross High School in Delran pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $415,000 from the school and now faces a five-year prison term. Joseph R. Lemme, 50, of the Allenwood section of Wall, admitted he took $415,848.88 from the school and transferred it into a personal account he controlled in Monmouth County. Lemme stood stone-faced as Superior Court Judge Francis P. DeStefano read aloud the plea agreement in court before he answered questions about the theft. When asked if he misappropriated the money from the school, Lemme simply answered "yes." He faces a sentence of five years in prison and reimbursement of the money he took from the school, according to the plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 15. Between September 2003 and November 2006, Lemme transferred money into his personal savings account at Sovereign Bank in Belmar, authorities have said. Lemme controlled the accounts from various school functions, school contracts and book and uniform sales, took payments for those accounts and deposited it into a personal savings account. After making the deposits, he would withdraw the money for his own personal use. Lemme's actions were uncovered in an investigation by the Diocese of Trenton into the financial accounts and records of the high school. The diocese turned to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office for help. An analysis of school records and Lemme's personal bank and credit card accounts led to his arrest earlier this year. The investigation revealed Lemme falsely claimed he paid for furniture and equipment for the school using his personal American Express credit card, and sought reimbursement for about $30,000 in the purported expenses by altering transaction reports from American Express. "Lemme, as principal of Holy Cross High School, grossly abused his position of trust and misplaced that trust by stealing," Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin said in a prepared statement. "His actions demonstrate the highest level of betrayal." Lemme was fired from his post as principal at Holy Cross High School in November 2006.
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