Kristi Shay boss arrested for writing bad checks
Ongoing probe involves Brick, FBI, state police and Prosecutor's Office
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer

BRICK TOWNSHIP- Police arrested a well-known area developer recently and charged him with issuing $281,150 in bad checks over the past year and a half.

Samuel J. Reynolds, 44, the owner of Kristi Shay Construction, Brick, was arrested at his Channel Drive home onApril 20, Detective William J. Ruocco said.

He was charged with six counts of issuing bad checks to three individuals. The charges included three second-degree charges and three third-degree charges, police said.

The second-degree charges were for checks written for $75,000 and over. The third-degree charges were for checks in amounts between $500 and up to $75,000, Ruocco said.

Authorities first learned of the problems with the checks when one of the victims came into police headquarters and signed a complaint, he said.

Ruocco said he was not at liberty to release the names of the three victims.

Reynolds' arrest came after a multiagency investigation that involved Brick police, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, the New Jersey State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"There are different aspects [of the case] that the state police, the FBI and the Prosecutor's Office were and are still involved in," Ruocco said. "This is still continuing."

Municipal Court Judge RobertM. LePore set Reynolds' bail at $50,000, with a 10 percent option, according to the police report.

Anyone with any information about the case may contact Ruocco at (732) 262- 1120, or Sgt. Vincent Petrecca of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office at (732) 929-2027.