meter thief - Page 2 of 4 - THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG.

Posted on February 21, 2015 February 21, 2015

Ridgewood’s priority should be securing money

file photo Boyd Loving

Ridgewood’s priority should be securing money

Securing money should be priority

To the Editor:

Re: “1.5 million more quarters are missing,” The Ridgewood News, Feb. 13, A1:

Thomas Rica was arrested over two years ago for stealing several hundred thousand dollars worth of unsecured quarters from a storage room at Village Hall.

However, I was shocked to learn that village officials still routinely store thousands of dollars worth of quarters in the same storage room for two-week intervals. This despite the massive theft, and their full awareness of a NJ State law requiring municipalities to deposit all cash within 48 hours of receipt.

Furthermore, although it was apparent to village officials from the onset that Mr. Rica’s crime was facilitated by lax coin collection, handling, and storage procedures, a secure coin collection and handling system has not yet been implemented.

Current village officials seem very eager to quickly cast blame for the “coin caper” on those who preceded them. Ridgewood’s taxpayers would be better served if these same officials would dispense with efforts to preserve their respective public images, and instead focus on taking whatever steps are required to ensure that every last cent of cash collected by village employees is safely secured and accounted for.

It’s been over two years since the fox sneaked into the hen house and the hen house still hasn’t been completely secured. Time’s a-wasting.

Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood

Posted on February 16, 2015 June 27, 2021

Reader says Ridgewood is actually the perfect place to screw the taxpayers. Why? Because Ridgewood types are completely oblivious to matters of local government

Reader says Ridgewood is actually the perfect place to screw the taxpayers. Why? Because Ridgewood types are completely oblivious to matters of local government

The impression I get out of all of this, is that Rica was the only person who was flat-out stealing in the pure sense of the word. Although still stealing by definition, the other shrinkage was probably all down to a sense of entitlement by certain other employees who felt it was perfectly acceptable for the Village to pay for their coffees, lunches, etc. I believe that this was an ingrained practice, going back years, probably unofficially sanctioned by certain senior officials. I believe it was this aspect that made the prosecution of Rica very tricky.

You know, I came to Ridgewood almost 20 years ago, and I naively thought that it was probably above all this kind of crap that so often affects municipalities of a lower class standing. I admit that this was naive. I thought the Village was somehow a reflection of the general high levels of sophistication of its residents. Please stop laughing. I really did. Coin Boy and its wider story is just the latest chapter in my utter disgust at municipal government. Who remembers the on-duty cop who was busted for having sex with an under-age girl at the back of Starbucks? Not only did he not go to jail, but he kept his job! That was real am-I-living-in-an-alternate-universe result.

The more I study New Jersey’s enormous history of municipal government issues of corruption, nepotism, laziness, cronyism, etc., it makes for extremely depressing reading. I now think that I had Ridgewood completely the wrong way around, and that it’s actually the perfect place to screw the taxpayers. Why? Because Ridgewood types are completely oblivious to matters of local government, being caught up in their stressful Wall St jobs, their busy social lives, and best of all, the transient nature in which they live here just for the school years.

For those who don’t easily sport sarcasm, the last bit is just that.

You know folks, let’s just laugh it off at our next cocktail party. Just one bad apple, right? This is a great town. You know, they actually come round the back and pick up my garbage. What a town!

Posted on February 15, 2015 June 27, 2021

Reader says the punishment was ineffectual because had it gone to trial, the whole coin room issue and a lot of employees and management would have been exposed

Reader says the punishment was ineffectual because had it gone to trial, the whole coin room issue and a lot of employees and management would have been exposed

Perhaps “accomplices” is too narrow a description. If I could re-write this piece, I would not use “accomplices”, but rather other employees, whose actions ranged from not doing their job, to outright stealing (albeit on a much lesser scale). I have no doubt that this coin room was viewed as a place of petty cash, where little to no accounting was effectively maintained. It was a place where handfuls of the stuff could be used for all kinds of incidental expenses, such as coffees and meals. The whole process of old-style coin meters that didn’t record how much they took in made this possible. Basically, the amount of money that was “supposed” to be in the coin room was whatever was either in there, or you wanted it to be. The meters didn’t leave an audit trail whereby they collectively would record the amount that should be in the coin room. The only reason Rica was busted is because he absolutely went completely overboard with his stealing. The reason why the punishment was so ineffectual was because had it gone to trial, his lawyer would bring up the whole coin room issue and a whole lot of employees would be exposed, and management would have been shown to be thoroughly incompetent in their oversight. What couldn’t be allowed to come out was the whole abuse of the coin room, which no matter how you try to rationalize it, is nothing less than Village officials stealing public money.

What about some of his ( worker ) friends had to know some thing, or see some thing . he had bank papers next to the lamp, and coins all around. what about all the things he just bought and did, you would think how can he pay for all this on 85 grand. I say bull , others new and just said zip . well his big head got him caught . and for top managers should be fired. other workers told up top watch out for this guy but they looked the other way, why I don’t know . you think about it. tom must of had real dirt on people, what else would it be. the problem we have is we have lap dogs in this town. and the upper managers like that and take care of those who suck up to them. but the rest of the workers know just who they are, and they will get it in the end. what comes around goes around. so wake up brown nose. yeah you.

Posted on February 14, 2015 June 27, 2021

Reader says Had this been a case of an employee stealing a similar amount from a bank, or some other private concern, you can rest assured that there would have been a far more vigorous investigation and prosecution, not to mention a sentence of prison time.

Reader says Had this been a case of an employee stealing a similar amount from a bank, or some other private concern, you can rest assured that there would have been a far more vigorous investigation and prosecution, not to mention a sentence of prison time.

Having an understanding about how such things work, I doubt that the police/prosecutor obtained much from him about how much he actually stole, and what he did with it. This would include how he converted literally mountains of quarters into spendable cash. Try buying a jet-ski with bags of quarters! Whenever a plea deal is negotiated, the key word is negotiated. If the guy and his lawyer agreed to plead guilty, then you can be absolutely certain that they will agree to a monetary amount that was significantly less than that which was actually stolen. Any details about how the scheme was perpetrated are simply not delved into, as the plea of guilt deal kind of sets the agenda and shuts everything else down. Cops and prosecutors always aim for the guilty plea deal as it avoids the costs and unpredictability of a trial. Of course, the prosecutor is going to dispute this latest finding as it tends to make him look foolish. Bottom line, folks, this is a case of public money being stolen. Had this been a case of an employee stealing a similar amount from a bank, or some other private concern, then you can rest assured that there would have been a far more vigorous investigation and prosecution, not to mention a sentence of prison time. I agree with others in that I suspect a whole lot of politics also went into this prosecution to avoid exposing a some much lesser accomplices and quite obviously, some terrible internal security and accounting controls.

Posted on February 13, 2015 February 13, 2015

Ridgewood still shocked over worker’s coin theft

Ridgewood still shocked over worker’s coin theft

FEBRUARY 12, 2015, 8:21 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015, 10:48 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — Some seven months after he admitted stealing $460,000 in parking meter quarters from a storage room in Village Hall, Thomas Rica’s thievery still has residents confused, shocked and disappointed.

Villagers wonder how Rica — a former Ridgewood public works inspector — stole more than a million quarters without help from an accomplice. Other residents are stunned that his crime wave went undetected for so long.

Others remain in utter disbelief over his punishment, which veteran prosecutors have characterized as a “sweetheart deal.”

“I am insane over all of it,” Kay Griffith said Thursday as she left lunch at Raymond’s eatery with a friend. “I’m really very upset.”

Last summer, Rica admitted in court that he took $460,000 in loose quarters from Ridgewood’s coin room.

Rica, who lives in Hawthorne, accepted a plea offer in July that spared him prison time. His sentence is five years’ probation in the deal, brokered by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

Rica must also pay back about half the money over the course of his probation, the deal mandates.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-still-shocked-over-worker-s-coin-theft-1.1270501

Posted on February 12, 2015 February 12, 2015

Bergen County prosecutor disputes audit of Ridgewood coin theft case

bergen-county-prosecutor-john-l-molinellijpg-6994b5ed55b809b7

Bergen County prosecutor disputes audit of Ridgewood coin theft case

FEBRUARY 11, 2015, 6:43 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015, 6:32 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — The Bergen County prosecutor disputed on Wednesday the findings of a forensic audit that determined the theft from Ridgewood’s coin room was even greater than originally thought — $377,526 more than suspected.

Meanwhile, a state legislator is calling for the Attorney General’s Office to help the village find out how the additional money was stolen in a years-long heist of parking meter quarters.

Still, village officials remain intent on unraveling the truth behind the missing money — an unfathomable 3.4 million quarters from 2010 to 2013

Thomas Rica, a former public works inspector for the village, used a master key to access the coin room, where collected meter quarters are sorted and stored. Rica, a Hawthorne resident, admitted stealing $460,000 in coins under a plea deal reached with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. In return, he received no jail time, five years’ probation and must pay back at least half the money.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-prosecutor-disputes-audit-of-ridgewood-coin-theft-case-1.1269313

Posted on February 11, 2015 June 27, 2021

Auditors Report on Ridgewood Parking Utility raises serious questions as to whether other people also participated in this theft against the Village

Auditors Report on Ridgewood Parking Utility raises serious questions as to whether other people also participated in this theft against the Village

Ridgewood NJ, In a statement released by the Mayor ,Council and Village Manager :

On March 19, 2014, following an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, former Ridgewood employee Thomas Rica admitted in Bergen County Superior Court to stealing $460,000 from the municipality’s parking utility over about a 3-year period – from 2010 to January 2013. At that hearing, Mr. Rica entered into a plea agreement in which, among other things, he was required to repay the amount of $460,000.

Following that hearing and a subsequent July 10, 2014 sentencing hearing, the Village of Ridgewood’s insurance carrier, the Municipal Excess Liability Fund, hired a forensic accounting firm, Nisivoccia LLP, to undertake a comprehensive audit of the loss incurred by the Village’s parking utility. That audit is now complete.

Yesterday, we received Nisivoccia’s final report, which concludes that over a similar period of time, approximately $850,000 was stolen from the Village. The auditor’s conclusion is very disturbing and raises serious questions concerning the scope and method of the crime or crimes that have been committed against the Village. Most notably, it raises the question as to whether other people also participated in this theft against the Village, acting independently or in cooperation with Mr. Rica.

Although we have taken and continue to take several concrete steps to strengthen controls on parking utility revenues, we believe that it is absolutely necessary to try to determine the full extent of the theft[s] committed during the 2010 to January 2013 period.

We are therefore exploring all of our legal options, including possibly starting a Ridgewood Police investigation into this matter. We will make a determination as to next legal steps within weeks.

We are continuing to work with Nisivoccia LLP to review our processes and controls – past and present – to determine if negligence and/or procedural violations contributed to the theft[s} and what steps, if any, still need to be taken to prevent theft going forward.

We are continuing to work with the Municipal Excess Liability Fund to recoup all of the monies stolen from the Village. This is a top priority.

posted on the VOR web sit:

https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2015Report.pdf

https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2015Rica.pdf

Posted on February 11, 2015 February 10, 2015

Ridgewood officials: Probe finds another $377,000 in meter quarters stolen

Ridgewood officials: Probe finds another $377,000 in meter quarters stolen

FEBRUARY 10, 2015, 11:24 AM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015, 8:33 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Auditors found that nearly $850,000 was in fact stolen from the now-infamous coin room where collected parking meter quarters were stored. Thomas Rica, the village’s former public works inspector, admitted pilfering fistfuls of quarters from the room last March.

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 upheld the agreement for five years’ probation, which disappointed local officials who were pleased, though, that Rica would be forced to pay back at least half of the money.

Rica’s former attorney scoffed at the notion his client stole more quarters, and even village officials suggested there might be an accomplice.

The audit, released by the village Tuesday and delivered to its insurance fund the day before, uncovered a timeline of theft that started in 2010 — a year earlier than previously reported by authorities.

Using information from interviews with village employees as well as Rica’s own financial records, which were turned over to the village by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, auditors determined Rica deposited $471,815.05 to his various bank accounts between 2010 and his arrest on Jan. 13, 2013.

In the first two weeks of 2013 alone, the findings show Rica stole $10,413.51. In 2012, the audit report indicates he took $375,647.84 in quarters. The audit estimated $297,234.34 went missing in 2011, and that Rica pocketed $166,045.89 in 2010.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-officials-probe-finds-another-377-000-in-meter-quarters-stolen-1.1268169

Posted on February 3, 2015 February 3, 2015

Ridgewood advances on parking meter plan

Ridgewood advances on parking meter plan

FEBRUARY 3, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — The village council is moving closer to a plan to partially automate its parking meters — an effort that could reduce the potential for theft of meter revenue.

The village manager also is recommending that the council set aside $13,000 to update all its single-head parking meters with secure canisters, which would restrict access to the coins inside them.

The council is expected to vote on a resolution to contract with Atlanta-based Parkmobile — the makers of a smartphone app that allows people to pay with credit cards — when it meets Feb. 11.

“I think this is a great opportunity for us, and it’s something we could do relatively quick,” Mayor Paul Aronsohn said, pointing out that the system could be “up and running” within six weeks.

“I, too, believe [this] is the way to go, as the meter system will become obsolete in the future,” Councilwoman Susan Knudsen said.

The village started examining how it collects and stores parking meter revenue following the arrest two years ago of its public works manager for stealing more than $450,000 in meter quarters from a storage room in Village Hall. Thomas Rica used a building master key he was given to regularly enter the room and stole quarters for two years.

Rica pleaded guilty in March to four counts of third-degree theft. He was sentenced in July to five years’ probation and ordered to repay about $250,000.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-advances-on-parking-meter-plan-1.1263409

Posted on September 28, 2014 June 27, 2021

Reader says The problem is the inadequate security and accountability provided around the collected money and the unwillingness to FULLY PROSECUTE and FULLY RECOVER the money

file photo Boyd Loving

Reader says The problem is the inadequate security and accountability provided around the collected money and the unwillingness to FULLY PROSECUTE and FULLY RECOVER the money

If it aint broke – don’t fix it.

As to using the theft as a justification for implementing new meters – it is not the METERS fault that there was theft – it was the criminals fault – and if you “blame” the cash for “causing” the theft – then do you also blame the woman for her clothing or actions for “causing” the rape?

The problem is NOT the coin meters. The problem is the inadequate security and accountability provided around the collected money and the unwillingness to FULLY PROSECUTE and FULLY RECOVER the money.

But lets not address the REAL issue – lets implement new meters so we can waste more taxpayer money and line the pockets of a “friend” vendor and provide another data collection point to track citizens and then allow the coin money (and personal data) to be electronically stolen by overseas thieves.

1-800-PetMeds Private Label

Posted on September 26, 2014 September 26, 2014

Reader says anyone who defends the status quo Parking Meters here can only be a part of the problem. We’re not falling for it.

Reader says anyone who defends the status quo Parking Meters here can only be a part of the problem.

…and how amy millions will the new parking meters cost? with the added bonus of tracking residents shopping and parking habits via credit card use. Way to go.
— How about:
1) get all of the stolen money back
2) implement REAL security for the quarters – not just toss them in a open buckets in an unguarded closet.
New security measures have already been put into place which make future thefts much more difficult – so why do we need to spend millions on new parking meters?

So your argument is “let’s not install smart meters that will avoid any slippage for villagers” ? What kind of a Luddite are you ? New meters might threaten the long standing tradition of municipal employees stealing quarters to pay for personal entertainment or help with the mortgage or money launder it through AC, so let’s protest against them? Sorry , anyone who defends the status quo here can only be a part of the problem. We’re not falling for it.

Posted on September 22, 2014 September 22, 2014

Reader says time to Outsource Coin Collection

file photo Boyd Loving

Reader says time to Outsource Coin Collection

Outsource to a company that performs this kind of service . ( check the net) They are bonded. Have the Signal Bureau employees go back to the work they were trained for. If we check the amount of man-hours for these people to collect the coins figure their pay pension and medical against what a company would charges us maybe THE BREATH OF FRESH AIR MANAGER could give the council and more importantly the taxpayers the feeling that something is being done.

Posted on September 21, 2014 September 21, 2014

Reader says All this speculation about Parking Money Collection is for naught

Reader says All this speculation about Parking Money Collection is for naught

The simplest explanation is most likely right Occam’s razor (or Ockham’s razor) is a principle from philosophy. Suppose there exist two explanations for an occurrence. In this case the simpler one is usually better. Another way of saying it is that the more assumptions you have to make, the more unlikely an explanation is. Occam’s razor applies especially in the philosophy of science, but also more generally.

The most useful statement of the principle for scientists is
“when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better.”

All this speculation is for naught, the plain fact is the town was more concerned with getting money back than jailing this loser. When Hemmer stole over a hundred thousand dollars from the Ridgewood PBA coffers, his father paid the money back and he didn’t go to jail either. A meter man got caught falsifying summonses and got charged accordingly but got probation instead of jail. It’s within the prosecutors authority, with consent of the presiding judge to make plea deals and sentencing recommendations end of story all other conjecture is BS.

Posted on September 21, 2014 September 21, 2014

Ridgewood seeks new way to collect coins from parking meters after massive theft

current coin collection file photo Boyd Loving

Ridgewood seeks new way to collect coins from parking meters after massive theft

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014, 12:20 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

It is situated next to a women’s bathroom, across the hall from a senior citizens lounge, and sits behind a nondescript door most would assume opens to utility storage.

But this is no closet.

Thousands of coins extracted from Ridgewood’s parking meters are stored in this little, elongated room on the first floor of Village Hall. It’s where Thomas Rica of Hawthorne, a former public works inspector, methodically stole $460,000 in coins — sneaking in and out of the room undetected for two years, between 2011 and 2013.

Today, Ridgewood’s now-infamous “coin room” is on lockdown. Security inside and around the room has been enhanced. Even the coins themselves are protected inside — secured within heavy canisters as opposed to being packed loosely in open cans, giving Rica a perfect opportunity to swipe fistfuls of quarters. And a villagewide audit of the collection and storage methods of all municipal monetary transactions is under way, local officials said.

But despite those reforms, the village’s method of collecting parking meter coins — in open containers that occasionally spill into the street — is still archaic. It’s a system that one resident warned village officials about in an email several years ago, before the discovery of Rica’s theft. And it’s a system that several nearby municipalities, including Westwood, Paterson and Passaic, abandoned years ago.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-seeks-new-way-to-collect-coins-from-parking-meters-after-massive-theft-1.1092781#sthash.bh0PHIBl.dpuf

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014, 12:20 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

It is situated next to a women’s bathroom, across the hall from a senior citizens lounge, and sits behind a nondescript door most would assume opens to utility storage.

But this is no closet.

Thousands of coins extracted from Ridgewood’s parking meters are stored in this little, elongated room on the first floor of Village Hall. It’s where Thomas Rica of Hawthorne, a former public works inspector, methodically stole $460,000 in coins — sneaking in and out of the room undetected for two years, between 2011 and 2013.

Today, Ridgewood’s now-infamous “coin room” is on lockdown. Security inside and around the room has been enhanced. Even the coins themselves are protected inside — secured within heavy canisters as opposed to being packed loosely in open cans, giving Rica a perfect opportunity to swipe fistfuls of quarters. And a villagewide audit of the collection and storage methods of all municipal monetary transactions is under way, local officials said.

But despite those reforms, the village’s method of collecting parking meter coins — in open containers that occasionally spill into the street — is still archaic. It’s a system that one resident warned village officials about in an email several years ago, before the discovery of Rica’s theft. And it’s a system that several nearby municipalities, including Westwood, Paterson and Passaic, abandoned years ago.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-seeks-new-way-to-collect-coins-from-parking-meters-after-massive-theft-1.1092781#sthash.bh0PHIBl.dpuf

Posted on September 20, 2014 June 27, 2021

Readers Continue to Push for More Answers on Meter Thief

Readers Continue to Push for More Answers on Meter Thief

If you have any information relating to the theft of money relating to the Village of Ridgewood meter revenues please contact John L. Molinelli, Bergen County Prosecutor at:

10 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Mon-Fri (201) 646-2300
After Hours (201) 646-2700

All information received will be held in the strictest confidence.

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