NJ Dad Convicted of Squandering Sons Money on Escorts, Liquor and Hotels

By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

It took a Somerset County jury three hours Wednesday to find Tubal Eduardo, Sr. guilty of the misappropriation of more than $33,000 of donated money a local PTA collected for the future of his surviving son, Noah after a fire killed the child's mother and two older siblings in 2007.

Assistant Prosecutor Robert Pollock told jurors Eduardo flagrantly disregarded a June 2007 court order issued by Judge Julie Marino stating monies for Noah be placed in a joint guardian account with Eduardo and Debra Jean Walters, Marchie's mother, as co-holders.

The state showed that Eduardo spent virtually all of the $33,000 in 70 days on everything from liquor, expensive hotel rooms to spa treatments and $7,000 for escort services leaving a measly $114.25 for his son's future by the time the courts became aware of what happened.

An itemized list of transactions from the bank account holding Noah's money showed eight transfers and two overdraft protections to the separate account Eduardo opened. Pollock told the court Eduardo used Noah's bank account “as his own personal ATM machine."

Eduardo's attorney, Maureen O'Reilly argued that many of the items Eduardo purchased were dually beneficial to father and son, like the used Range Rover as well as the replacement of material items they lost during the fire.

O'Reilly blamed the sudden tragedy of losing half his family to the fire as the main reason Eduardo's parenting skills faltered.

"Unfortunately, after the tragedy, his parenting skills were suddenly being questioned and the custody of his one remaining child was taken away from him, compounding the tragedy," O'Reilly told the court.
Photo/Gerard Lardieri
In this photo is Noah Eduardo, the little boy at the center of this trial. His mother, Heather Marchie; his sister, Angelina Eduardo, 4 and his brother, Tubal Eduardo Jr. , 5 were all killed in the 2007 fire that gutted the family home in Manville, NJ

Eduardo was described by a former neighbor, Nora Sarceno, as a man who adored his family. They were "really nice people, who did everything together," Sarceno told the New York Daily News.

O'Reilly said Educardo, mired in a custody battle for his son with his maternal aunt, Nichole Latch, never received a copy of Judge Marino's court order about how the monies were to be handled.

"This fund was set up so that Mr. Eduardo and his son could somehow start all over again," O’Reilly said during her closing argument.

"This was not known as the Noah Eduardo College Fund. It was always the Eduardo Family Fund."
Photo courtesy of Gerard Lardieri
In this photo is Angelina Eduardo, left, and
her brother, Tubal Eduardo Jr.

The trial began last week in Somerville with testimony from Detective Michael Schutta who testified how the funds were spent and Robert DiSanto, manager of the Bank of America branch in Somerville where Eduardo opened both accounts with the money collected by the Weston School Parent Teacher Association.

The organization’s president testified that donations poured in from around the country after news of the tragic fire that killed Eduardo’s girlfriend, 28-year-old Heather Marchie and his two children, Tubal Jr., 5, and Angelina, 4 spread.

The PTA raised $38,351.24 then wrote two checks, one for $5,000 for Eduardo and the rest in a check for Noah.

Fire officials say the March 2007 fire began near a five-outlet power strip, which appeared to be overloaded by several plugs that obliterated the two-story home on South Fifth Avenue in Manville.

Eduardo, who declined comment after the verdict, was allowed to remain free on bail until his May 28 sentencing when Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong could sentence him to up to five years in prison.

Past Articles
N.J. father accused of paying escort service with over $7,000 in PTA funds donated for son

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