Athletics director charged with theft of high school funds

HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. – The athletics director of a New Jersey high school is accused of stealing more than $10,000 from ticket sales for sports events at the school.

Somerset County prosecutors say 53-year-old Michael Fanizzi, of Hillsborough, was arrested Friday on a theft charge. He’s been the athletic director at Hillsborough High School for 14 years but has been on administrative leave since December.

Prosecutors say Fanizzi received checks from the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association from 2013 and 2017 as reimbursement for high school athletic event services.

He was supposed to deposit the money into the school board account. But authorities say he instead deposited the NJSIAA checks into the athletic department’s bank account in place of the cash ticket sales.

It wasn’t known Tuesday if Fanizzi has retained an attorney.