Man who stole $460,000 in quarters from Ridgewood to be sentenced
JULY 9, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The former Ridgewood official who confessed in March to stealing $460,000 in loose parking meter quarters from a storage room inside Village Hall is to be sentenced this afternoon.
Hawthorne resident Thomas Rica, who is Ridgewood’s former public works inspector, is to appear before state Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Roma in Hackensack.
It is expected that Rica will receive no jail time.
Under the terms of a plea deal struck by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and his lawyer, Robert Galantucci, Rica will be sentenced to five years’ probation.
Additionally, Rica will be ordered to make full restitution to the village, authorities have said.
“Thanks to the Prosecutor’s Office, Ridgewood residents will get back most, if not all, of the money shamelessly stolen from them,” Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn said on Tuesday.
“That’s important,” he added. “That’s key.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/crime-and-courts/sentencing-today-for-man-who-stole-460-00-in-coins-1.1048167#sthash.7eIaqApx.dpuf
What happens if he does not make full restitution? Just curious but what did he do with the money no one seems to have an answer?
This plea deal just doesn’t make sense based upon what we know publicly about the matter. It simply leaves one to suspect that Rica, although the likely main offender, was not the only one involved. What possible leverage did he have in getting this amazingly sweet deal?
He says he spent it on his family.
I’m an Amazon Prime member and they recently added HBO content to online streaming. I started watching the Sopranos because I never saw them all; I didn’t have HBO back then.
After watching a couple seasons of that show, I see this case in a different light…just look at the names!
Full disclosure: I’ve got an Italian last name too. But I was born behind the Statue of Liberty and could care less what happens on “The Boot”.
The “stolen Money” was already paid back by Village Insurance Co. What is happening now is the “Insurance com;any is seeking recovering” paid out by them.
That’s how it’s done.
That court appearance should be over by now. Is the Ridgewood News, The Record and Blog reporting covering the trial now.
he just plead guilty, payments of $2000.00 a month begin in august for 60 months and probation for 5 years.
Initial published reports of the sentencing hearing state that Mr. Rica will have to pay back only $250K, just over 1/2 of what he admitted stealing. The $250K will include his forfeited pension and sick/vacation payouts.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-ridgewood-inspector-apologizes-for-stealing-nearly-half-a-million-dollars-in-quarters-1.1048475
He only has to pay back $250k and his forfeited pension counts towards that.
What a joke.
I hope someday I get the chance to steal $1m dollars from Ridgewood! I’ll put $500k in an interest bearing account, spend the other $500k. If they catch me, I will pay off $100k in an emotionally charged sentence hearing, and pay the installments out of the interest bearing account, going on a nice vacation or building an addition with the interest when the payments are complete.
Did I say this was a joke? If a black janitor had been caught this red handed, he would still be in jail.
Wow, crime really does pay in Bergen County. He just got off with no jail time, a “sorry”, and his initial downpayment was only $64,337.55, not the $69,000 agreed to in the initial plea deal. The check was handed to the Bergen County prosecutor, not any Village representative. How do we know we get the check ?
The deal calls for Rica, who also forfeited his $30,000 pension and $8,000 accumulated leave, to pay the village $2,000 a month for five years, for a total of $120,000. Ridgewood will also keep $4,000 it seized during a search of Rica’s home following his arrest.
That puts Rica’s restitution at $226,000, of which he’s only paying back $184,337.55; the rest comes from his forfeited pension and accumulated leave, and the $4,000 (16,000 quarters) seized during his arrest. He stole over $460,000, so the Village is out here $234,000.
How is this justice for the Village ? How did this guy get such a sweetheart deal ? Where are the other arrests if he did have leverage ? I hope the Record and Ridgewood News and the Village Council have answers for us.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-ridgewood-inspector-apologizes-for-stealing-nearly-half-a-million-dollars-in-quarters-1.1048475#sthash.OiBbpqsu.dpuf
If I don’t pay my property taxes or credit card bill, I get charged interest – this guy gets 5 years to pay back only $120,000 with NO interest and he stole how much? Seriously, what is going on here? The man betrayed the public trust.
Did he pay federal income tax on the money he stole?
to # 4 are you high on wacky weed.
this guy was such a lap dog, he was so up john spano and frank moritz ,s ass he new what they ate night be for.