A New Jersey electrical contractor was arrested for allegedly stealing over 1,000 respirator masks meant for hospital workers battling the coronavirus, authorities said Thursday.
Kevin Brady is accused of swiping seven or eight cases of N95 masks from the Prudential Financial facility in Iselin between March 27 and April 1, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.
Prudential intended to donate the cases, which contained 200 masks each, to a hospital, authorities said.
N95 masks are considered critical protective equipment for medical professionals, and are designed to filter out 95 percent of airborne particles.
New Jersey has been hit hard by the coronavirus. The state, as of Thursday, had over 75,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 3,518 deaths from the illness.
Brady was charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking and conspiracy to commit theft, authorities said.
With Post wires