Nearly a year after he was fired for allegedly taking millions in bogus bonuses and lavish trips on a corporate credit card, the former chief financial officer of one of New Jersey’s biggest law firms pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm and evading thousands in taxes. John Dunlea, who also served as chief operating officer of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter of Morristown, admitted before Superior Court Judge Stephen J.
Taylor in Morris County to misappropriating the money from the law firm by paying himself unauthorized excess compensation over a five-year period ending in December 2022 and not paying New Jersey income taxes on any of it. At the same time, he pleaded guilty to charging tens of thousands of dollars in hotel stays, airline flights and high-end vacations on the firm’s American Express card for himself and his family..
