Hoboken’s former director of Health and Human Services was sentenced to two years in federal prison for embezzling and tax fraud, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Pantaleo “Leo” Pellegrini, who also oversaw the city’s Environmental Services Department, admitted in Newark federal court in December that he embezzled funds from Hoboken and filed a false tax return.
According to court documents, Pellegrini diverted payments of more than $220,000 in payments intended for the city into bank accounts he controlled. He also had the city pay nearly $235,000 in personal expenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The embezzled funds were used to pay for meals, entertainment and gambling, allowing Pellegrini to “live far beyond his means,” prosecutors said.
While working for the city, Pellegrini oversaw public recreational facilities, including soccer fields that could be reserved for a fee. Under his supervision, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Public Works sponsored a youth soccer league funded by the city and participant fees, as well as an adult league funded solely by participant fees.
Some of those payments were funneled into a business account Pellegrini controlled, prosecutors said. At times, he instructed an associate to sign checks for public facility rentals but leave the payee blank — later filling in the name of “Pellegrini Private Soccer Club,” which he owned.
Pellegrini, who worked for the city for 14 years, resigned in the spring of 2023, according to NJ.com. He pleaded guilty to embezzlement and filing a false tax return on Dec. 12, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz sentenced him to 24 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced Tuesday.
Farbiarz also ordered him to pay nearly $440,000 in restitution to the City of Hoboken, about $120,00 to the Internal Revenue Service, and forfeit nearly $440,000.
