March 15, 2022

FREEHOLD, NJ (MONMOUTH) – A Monmouth County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against a Colts Neck man accused of committing three bank robberies in various local municipalities over the course of about a month last fall, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced Tuesday.

Conor Kavanagh, 29, is charged with three counts of first-degree Armed Robbery.  

Shortly after 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, 2021, a person later identified as Kavanagh approached a teller window at the PNC Bank inside the Stop & Shop supermarket on Route 36 in Keyport, passed over a note indicating he was in possession of a weapon, and made off with a quantity of cash, leaving the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck. 

At approximately 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 14, a bank robbery occurred at the Wells Fargo branch on Newman Springs Road in the Lincroft section of Middletown. The bank robbery was committed in identical fashion to the earlier one in Keyport, with the suspect wearing similar clothing, and he left the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck.

Three days later, on Friday, December 17, the Wells Fargo branch on Route 36 in Eatontown was robbed. Again, a suspect passed a note demanding money, indicating that he was in possession of a weapon.

Following the bank robbery in Middletown, Detectives from the Middletown Police Department developed information that led to Kavanagh being identified as a potential suspect. After the bank robbery in Eatontown, Middletown Detectives and assisting members of the FBI observed Kavanagh driving a green pickup truck that matched the description of the vehicle used in the earlier bank robberies, and placed him under arrest.

Detectives searched the pickup truck and located proceeds from the Eatontown bank robbery and the clothing the suspect was seen wearing on surveillance footage. They also located information pertaining to a storage unit in Shrewsbury, and a search of that location revealed proceeds from the Keyport and Middletown bank robberies. Additionally, a search of the cell phone Kavanagh was using contained evidence of online searches for local bank branches.

The Prosecutor’s Office would like to thank its partners with the Eatontown, Keyport, and Middletown police departments, as well as members of the FBI’s Newark office, for their invaluable assistance in this investigation.

Anyone with information about Kavanagh’s activities is urged to contact MCPO Detective Brian Migliorisi or Detective Jason Gold toll-free at (800) 533-7443.

This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan. Kavanagh is being represented by Edwin Wu, Esq., with an office in Freehold Borough.

If convicted of any of these criminal charges, Kavanagh would face a term of up to 20 years in state prison.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

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Colts Neck Man Arrested in Connection with Series of Bank Robberies

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November 14, 2021

COLTS NECK, NJ (MONMOUTH)–According to police, on Sunday, November 14, 2021, at approximately 2:56 am, Colts Neck Township Police responded to a fatal motor vehicle collision on State Highway 18 southbound in the area of Milepost 20.8. Preliminary investigation revealed a female driver, of Seaside Heights, and her front seat male passenger, of Edison, were traveling southbound on State Highway 18 in the area of milepost 20.8 when her vehicle, a 2011 Mazda, traveled off the roadway to the right, collided with a tree, and overturned, coming to a final rest against another tree ending upside down in a drainage culvert. The male passenger sustained life threatening injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. Driver sustained serious bodily injuries and was transported to a local hospital. Her injuries are not life threatening and is currently in stable condition. The crash is still under investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County SCART and Colts Neck Police Department.

If anyone witnessed the crash, please contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Kristian DeVito at 1-800-533-7443 or Colts Neck Police Officer Detective Sergeant Morgan Savage at 732-780-7323.

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June 3, 2021

COLTS NECK, NJ (MONMOUTH)–A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man made his initial court appearance today for allegedly filing a fraudulent bankruptcy petition claiming he had limited assets and hundreds of millions of dollars in liabilities, when, in fact, he had $2.9 million in a hidden bank account, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced today.

Elia Zois, 56, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of concealment in bankruptcy. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre.

According to the complaint:

Zois was one of five partners in “Business-2,” a New Jersey-based health care organization that maintained approximately 50 senior living facilities throughout New Jersey, Michigan, and Wisconsin. On Feb. 6, 2019, he and his spouse filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, alleging that between 2014 and 2018 he had only $9,000 in assets and $201 million in liabilities, based upon his partnership in Business-2. A forensic accounting report concluded that during that period Zois received $2.9 million in deposits into the bank account of “Business-1” – of which Zois was the sole owner – including approximately $200,000 in undeclared income after he filed for bankruptcy. The hidden account was intended to conceal a portion of his income to circumvent existing IRS liens on his known assets.

The count of concealment in a bankruptcy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited the investigators of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards, under the direction of Adriana Vamvakas, Regional Director; and special agents of the Department of Labor (OIG), New York Region, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nikitas Splagounias, with the investigation leading to the charges. She also thanked special agents of the FBI, Milwaukee field office, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendall Randolph of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel: Timothy M. Donohue Esq., West Orange, New Jersey

• Zois.Complaint.pdf

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