Elizabeth Board of Education President, Marie L. Munn Charged With Lying To Obtain Free Lunches

The president of the Elizabeth Board of Education, Marie L. Munn, was arrested at her home early this morning on state charges of lying to obtain free federally subsidized lunches for her two children.

Charged along with Munn were,  Angela Lucio, 35, the ex-wife of school principal Carlos Lucio; and Peter W. Abitanto, 42, the husband of Marlene Abitanto, the district’s supervisor of custodians.  All three were charged with third degree theft by deception and third degree tampering with public records or information.

If found guilty, they each face up to five years in prison.  The arrests were made by the State Police on charges filed by Division of Criminal Justice.  The charges stem from a story in The Star-Ledger disclosing that Munn and the others were all receiving free or reduced cost lunches for their kids — despite salaries far exceeded federal income-eligibility limits set by the federal government.  The investigation into the program is continuing.

Last week, Munn reported that she repaid the district $2,682 to cover the cost of six years of free meals her two children had received and admitted she had filled out the applications for the lunch program without including her husband’s salary. In a statement, she said she had been unaware her kids had been receiving free lunches until she had been contacted by a reporter.

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