SOMERVILLE -- Out of the money that strangers donated for a Manville toddler whose mother and siblings died in a 2007 fire, thousands of it went for expenses that had nothing to do with the boy, like the $7,107 his father spent on an escort service, a detective testified today.

Officials say Tubal Eduardo Sr. drained the funds that poured in for his youngest son, Noah, after a blaze killed the rest of their family in the Central Jersey borough.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Eduardo, 32, of Somerville, with third-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of funds. He is on trial before Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong in Somerville, and if convicted, Eduardo faces up to five years in state prison. Testimony started Wednesday and will resume Tuesday with witnesses for the defense.

Assistant Prosecutor Robert Pollock concluded the state’s case today by calling prosecutor’s Detective Michael Schutta to the stand to detail how Eduardo allegedly spent the money raised by the Weston School PTA. Only two purchases seemed to be for Noah. Eduardo apparently spent $58.87 on toys, the detective said.

Public defender Maureen O’Reilly has insisted her client used the money for living expenses, such as the purchase of an eight-year-old car with 112,000 miles. He had nothing left after the fire killed his longtime girlfriend, Heather Marchie, 28, and their children, Tubal Jr., 5, and Angelina, 4, on March 12, 2007.

The school, where Tubal Jr. attended kindergarten, collected $38,351.24, the state says. The PTA designated $5,000 for Eduardo, and the rest for Noah. Under a court order, any funds raised for Noah were supposed to go into a joint guardian account naming Eduardo and Noah’s maternal grandmother, Debra Jean Walters. The adults had to agree and sign off on anything that was spent.

During today’s testimony, banking center manager Robert DiSanto said Eduardo opened three accounts in September 2007 at Bank of America’s Somerville branch. The father retained sole control over each. One of them was a money market savings account, with $25, that remained dormant.

Eduardo placed $5,000 in a personal checking account and $33,351.24 in a custodial savings account naming Noah the beneficiary, DiSanto said. Eduardo used the custodial account to provide overdraft protection for the checking. If the latter ran short, money would be transferred to cover pending charges.

On cross-examination, O’Reilly asked why the bank let the custodial account be used for overdrafts.

"That’s not a normal structure," DiSanto said. "That was set up based on customer preference.

"If it doesn’t make sense, that’s not our fault," he added.

Det. Schutta traced the spending pattern and told jurors that between September and December 2007, Eduardo made 19 purchases that could not have been for the child. Some were at liquor stores.

At least $7,107 went to First Professional Referral Services. "I believe it’s an escort service," the detective said in court. There were $14,346.75 in cash withdrawals, and $2,472.22 for food, gas and lodging.

Previous coverage:

• Trial begins for Somerville man accused of stealing $33K in donations for son