Prosecutors said the Nutley volunteer fire chief tried to meet with someone he believed was underage for sexual activity. NBC New York’s Jessica Cunnington reports.
A New Jersey fire chief was allegedly caught in the act trying to meet up with who he thought was an underage teen boy for sexual activity, but was busted by an undercover sting that sparked the investigation.
Henry Meola was arrested Friday morning at his home in Nutley, police said. The 33-year-old volunteer fire chief for the town was charged with luring and attempted endangering the welfare of a child.
A YouTube channel called OBL Nation, which says its goal is to expose child predators, was behind a recorded meeting on Dec. 6 in which they said Meola was under the impression he was meeting with an underage teen boy for sex.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
"Henry, the fire chief you guys saw in the video, messaged one of my decoys who was posing as a 14-year-old boy on a dating app," said Ramy, a member of the group. "Initially he was careful, watching what he was saying. And then as the conversation transpired, he got more comfortable getting a little more sexual."
Ramy said that one of their viewers brought the video the group recorded to the Nutley Police Department's attention. He said he then turned over chat conversations and text messages he had with Meola to detectives — the same messages he allegedly went through in-person with the fire chief during the video.
In the video, Meola acknowledged that he had been texting with the presumed underage teen boy about what they're physically attracted to.
"I don't like facial hair," Meola said on camera.
He also acknowledged asking certain sexual questions, admitting it "felt weird" via text. He can be see nodding when asked if he was the Nutley fire chief.
The Hudson County Prosecutors Office said investigators found Meola did arrange a meeting with someone he believed to be a minor for sexual activity in North Bergen. When asked on the video what his intentions were with the 14-year-old, he said "I was hoping he would give me a kiss."
Neighbors in the town told NBC New York they were saddened and shocked by the news. Meola's LinkedIn page showed he has been working with the Nutley Fire Department for 14 years.
He was still behind bars as of Friday night, and is scheduled to appear in court at 1 p.m. Saturday. Attorney information for Meola was not immediately available. No family members answered the door at his home on Friday.
