Ex-Shore Regional Admin Sentenced to Probation

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By John Burton |
FREEHOLD — A former business administrator for Shore Regional High School has been sentenced to one year of probation.
Dennis Kotch, 41, Wall, received the probation sentence when he again appeared in state Superior Court on Aug. 4. The sentence was the recommendation of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office following Kotch’s guilty plea. Kotch had pleaded guilty in June to two counts of second degree official misconduct, two counts of third degree theft by unlawful taking, one count of third degree misapplication of entrusted property and one count of insurance fraud, according to information provided by the prosecutor’s office.
According to authorities, the charges arose after a nearly yearlong investigation into Kotch’s activities as the school’s administrator, suspecting him of stealing district funds. Kotch had resigned from his job on or about May 13, 2016, a week after the probe commenced. Investigators discovered that Kotch, without the district’s Board of Education’s knowledge or consent as would have been required, had hired a paid intern to do work that was Kotch’s responsibility. The intern had worked from January 2015 to May 2016, with much of the work being done remotely from Florida, where she was attending college. The intern was paid $27,439.95 during that period.
Investigators also determined that Kotch spent 22 work days out of the district, often out-of-state, without using his vacation time or other leave time.
At the time of his guilty plea, the prosecutor’s office announced that Kotch would have to pay restitution for the intern’s salary, as well as $2,581.04 to compensate the school district for his time off from work not covered by his available time.
Shore Regional High School, West Long Branch, is a receiving district with students from Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach, West Long Branch and Oceanport.


This article was first published in the August 10-17, 2017 print edition of The Two River Times.