The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, if you park at the Hudson St. Garage and use the Parking App the word is the QR code does not give the correct parking zone and you will get a $25 ticket . The Hudson Parking Garage Zone has a 4331 code , but through the App with the QR code the zone comes up 4305 and or 4301.
Continue reading Ridgewood Residents Claim ParkMobile QR codes are Don’t Match Some Parking Zones
People it will never be over they are so embarrassed one of the biggest factors in village and Street right under their own nose is. So much for the surveillance and police department. Others know about it they just kept real quiet didn’t day. Think about it how do you steal $1 million and you don’t do a day in jail. In this case it came down to all the skeletons in the closet. And they did not want them to come out.
So what’s goin to happen to them nottin. Like the guy who stole the quarters from the meters, basically nottin.
Whereas I once mistakenly years ago put quarters in the meter next to me along Van Nest square. The meters are super close together and if you are not used to meters , you can make a mistake. My meter had no time, the one next to me had a half hours worth of time and no vehicle was parked in the space, that was the one I had put the quarters into; I got a ticket; a cop was around, I pointed out the problem. He ignored my plea and I paid a parking fine. I will never forget.
The law is absolutely subjective. If you are rich ; if you drive a fancy car; I don’t, If you are a physically attractive women; If you have influence; if you run for congress against Garrett even if you lose. If you work for the Village, even if it turns out you are a crook; you get a pass. You are welcomed back to work in Ridgewood even if you stole near a million in quarters. If I walk into a shop here, browse and decide not to purchase an item, the next time I walk in I am treated coldly.
November 21,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Rica plead guilty stealing 500k. The Village insurance claim was for 850k. That left a balance of 350k, which someone kept (many suspect Rica had help ).
In the real world, guilty or not, Chris Rutishauser would have been fired. 850k was stolen under his watch. He had to have known, he should have noticed a decline in meter revenue or deposits? He ran, and continues to run a questionable department with no accountability.
The attached Rica Report was submitted by the Village to the Board of Fund Commissioners, Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund. It outlines the total amount of quarters stolen and what needs to be done for this to never happen again.
OUR VILLAGE, THE ENGINEER, NEVER IMPLEMENTED ANY OF IT! All recommended safety measures have been met with strong opposition from Mr. Rutishauser and his organization(s). Why doesn’t the Village Manager and Council take action over this matter?
Note the closing statement. It says, the Village needs to have a process for reporting the collections and reconciling those reports to funds deposited/recorded. Security and technological advancement is also needed.
What gives the Village Engineer the authority to decide against practical safeguards, policies and procedures that protect public funds and his department from theft and fraud?
Rica Report :
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15fd9cf3861a3d33?compose=15fd57af423901f9&projector=1
Personally, I think that the Village was okay with no jail time for Tommy Boy because if they weren’t, he would have made embarrassing statements in court that would have exposed how easy it was for him to steal the money. Also, he would have revealed who else either stole in the past, or was currently stealing. It would have been very bad press for the Village. And the Village knew they were being covered by insurance, so it wasn’t their problem to collect from Tommy anyway. It’s now the insurance company’s problem. I wonder how long it will be before the insurance company puts a lien to Tommy’s house, or just takes the house?
November 20,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood NJ, Months after Thomas Rica (while employed by the Village of Ridgewood his supervisor was Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser) plead guilty to stealing almost 1/2 million dollars in coins from the Village of Ridgewood over a two (2) year period, employees of the Village’s Signal Division (under the leadership of the same Christoper Rutishauser) were observed collecting coins from parking meters in empty, unsecured pickle buckets.
When asked during an open public meeting of the Village Council why no state of the art security measures had been added to the coin collection & storage processes, particularly in light of Mr. Rica’s actions, Village CFO Robert G. Rooney said that such security measures would be “too expensive.” Furthermore, all attempts made in recent years by Village Council members to replace coin operated parking meters with multi-payment method kiosks have been met with strong opposition from Mr. Rutishauser and his organization(s).
Now, is it just me, or doesn’t this all strike you as a bit odd?
1) Almost 1/2 million in coins goes missing because of an “inside job,” but it’s too expensive to install state of the art security measures? WTF? Are you for real Mr. Rooney? Frankly, I’m surprised the Village’s insurance company didn’t mandate stronger security measures after paying out over 3/4 million dollars to settle the claim. Absolutely unbelievable. And if that isn’t a joke in and of itself,
2) The leader of the department responsible for collecting cash from parking meters and placing it in storage strongly opposes any attempts on the part of elected officials to cut the number of meters and introduce kiosks that accept alternate forms of payment (credit and debit cards)? Hmm. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Is someone trying to prevent the end of a gravy train?
We wonder who else knew about this. Some say he had help you never know right. But really can you imagine how much money must’ve been stolen throughout past 40 years before this incident. Do you think he’s the first person, we doubt it very much. Back in the day when all the books used to be pencil and paper no computers maybe one or two people controlling all the funds coming in and going , It would not shock me in one second . In the end accountant has the full power see a file to invest not invest please. Maybe in the end the village deserved it. Can you imagine what he knows all the dirt skeletons yeah. And boy oh boy there’s a lot of it ‘ especially back in the day when the Ridgewood counsel controlled all the newspapers in town the local press the real estate market in So on , Just like the Nazis did in Germany same shit, just a different continent, and you know it’s sick they know it to
November 17, 2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood’s former public works inspector who stole nearly half a million dollars in loose parking meter quarters from the village was seen on Thursday working in the Village. Yes Thomas Rica working at a job site on Valley View Avenue in Ridgewood, on Thursday afternoon, (11/16/2017).
For those who do not remember Rica said he stole $460,000 and received no jail time, according to a plea deal he reached with the county prosecutor’s office. A judge later upheld the agreement for five years’ probation, which disappointed local officials and taxpayers . Rica was forced to pay back at least half of the money .
Auditors later found that nearly $850,000 was in fact stolen from the now-infamous coin room where collected parking meter quarters were stored. Reader pointed out at the time that the “coin boy” stole the equivalent of 50 lbs of quarters a day from Village hall. This fact made it hard to believe that he acted alone ,but not coconspirators ever came to light.
It appears as though Rica drove the dump truck pictured here and was observed operating the mini-excavator. The equipment is owned by Della Rica & Sons, Inc. of Glen Rock, a company we believe is owned by Thomas’s brother Randy. So although there were rumors that Thomas got a job as a pipeline inspector, it appears as though he’s working locally for his brother.
Police were on the scene because of the open trench and work taking place in the roadway was being done without the proper notification to the police department (generally the contractor is billed for a police officer to guard the excavation on an overtime basis , we guess Randy somehow didn’t know that?).
Ridgewood Meter thief not the only
Updated June 04, 2017
Posted June 04, 2017
These public workers, including teachers, city clerks, and public figures, have been accused of stealing and scamming state money. In many cases, that feat became possible when individuals obtained sole access to accounts holding public funds.
Some have been sentenced to probation or time behind bars, while others’ cases remain active. Below are 15 incidents in which workers were accused of theft.
October 18,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, According to Activist Bill Brennan , when $860,000 in parking meter change was stolen from the Village of Ridgewood no one expected that Thomas Rica’s confession would allow him to pay back a mere $250,000 and avoid spending any time in jail whatsoever….When Brennan wrote this in August of 2015, Rica has paid back less than $100,000 of the $860,000 that went missing and he will never serve a day in jail for his crime.
Readers find it hard to believe Ridgewood meter thief acted alone and went unnoticed for so long
https://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-find-it-hard-to-believe-meter-thief-acted-alone-and-went-unnoticed-for-so-long/
10 Year Old Ryan Leo Kamm asks ,How did coin thief get away?
https://theridgewoodblog.net/10-year-old-ryan-leo-kamm-asks-how-did-coin-thief-get-away/
October 13, 2016 – News, North Bergen/Guttenberg – Written by John Heinis – 5 comments
Four Guttenberg Department of Public Works employees, including the superintendent, were arrested on Tuesday for their roles in a scheme to steal money out of parking meters, multiple sources told Hudson County View.
Guttenberg DPW Superintendent Kenneth DeGrushe, and his employees Scott O’Connor, Ronald Oriolo were all arrested by the Guttenberg Police Department on Tuesday for repeatedly stealing from parking meters, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak on the matter.
A fourth arrest was also made, but the employee’s name could not be disclosed due to an ongoing personnel matter.
https://hudsoncountyview.com/sources-4-guttenberg-dpw-workers-caught-stealing-from-parking-meters/
Former NJ Parking Facility Manager Gets Prison Term For Theft
February 6, 2016 12:42 PM
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — The former manager of southern New Jersey park-and-ride facility is headed to prison for stealing nearly $150,000 over three years.
Ocean County prosecutors say Robert Pentz received a four-year sentence on Friday. The 41-year-old Toms River man had pleaded guilty to official misconduct last July.
Prosecutors say Pentz stole money from automatic teller machines he was supposed to be filling as part of his duties at the Toms River Parking Authority’s park-and-ride facility. The thefts were discovered during an audit in 2013, and investigators determined that Pentz took more than $146,640 overall.
Ridgewood NJ, Long time resident suggests what the Ridgewood blog suggested some years ago and was barraged by disparaging comments from friends of Tommy Rica .
“I care very much about this village and I never felt we needed this parking garage. I own properties in the the downtown and I do not feel burdened by a lack of parking or the need for much more parking.
Furthermore I hardly ever feel I can’t quickly and cheaply (compared to NYC) find a parking spot on the block I’m going to, and I’m in town every day.
My suggestion though to the village fathers would be to go to a Muni Meter system as we use in NYC. The cost savings would be tremendous… Less maintenance and I think most people pay with a credit card… So needless to say we wouldn’t need to worry about a half million $$$ in quarters disappearing!”
Obviously if you have been downtown lately, you must have noticed the little green stickers affixed to our existing meter-heads. That is because now, you can park anywhere in the central business district, using credit cards, phones, coins, or the incredible app.to park! And, you don’t have to walk to another location to get a piece of paper to leave on your windshield…
We have had for awhile now. It is amazing.
NJ Attorney General’s Office rules out probe of stolen meter coins in Ridgewood
MARCH 4, 2015, 11:33 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015, 11:38 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The state Attorney General’s Office will not conduct its own investigation into the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in quarters from a storage room in Village Hall, it was announced Wednesday night.
Instead, Ridgewood’s police department will be looking further into the disappearance of $850,000 in collected parking meter coins on its own, according to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld.
Former Ridgewood public works inspector Thomas Rica pleaded guilty last spring to stealing $460,000 of that missing $850,000. Rica had been arrested for stealing collected parking meter quarters over a three-year period.
Sonenfeld said village officials met this week with representatives from the Attorney General’s office. Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli also was present at the meeting, she said.
Ridgewood mayor to lobby Attorney General’s staff for new probe into parking meter cash
FEBRUARY 25, 2015, 10:20 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015, 10:31 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Village officials plan to meet next week with representatives from the Attorney General’s Office to discuss a possible investigation into an additional $377,000 in stolen parking meter coins, the mayor said.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn announced Wednesday night that he would go to Trenton for a meeting Tuesday on the findings of a forensic audit. Other village employees will join the session via telephone.
The audit was initiated soon after former Ridgewood employee Thomas Rica pleaded guilty to four counts of third-degree theft after confessing to pocketing $460,000 in coins from Village Hall’s coin room over three years.
The findings, released earlier this month, indicated that Rica’s thieving began earlier than he admitted, and that an additional $377,526 in parking meter revenue was unaccounted for.