Tag: meter thief

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Reader says Ridgewood meter money theft issue is a pandora’s box of speculation

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Reader says Ridgewood meter money theft issue is a pandora’s box of speculation

I’m usually against conspiracy theorists, be it Kennedy, 9/11, Elvis, the Moon landing, bin Laden’s killing, etc., but I have to say that the Ridgewood meter money theft issue is a pandora’s box of speculation, and in a world where everyone has an online voice, it’s hardly surprising that speculation is rampant. Why? Here’s why:

1. Despite advances made in parking meters in just about most of the world, including other towns and even NYC, Ridgewood, considered to be a highly sophisticated town, decided to keep it’s museum-pieces as a way of collecting parking fees.

2. The man who was caught was able to negotiate an absurd guilty-plea deal whereby he avoided jail time and agreed to pay just some of it back. One has to wonder why the prosecutor agreed to such a sweet deal on a charge of what is effectively massive theft by a public official in a position of trust. The perception is that the deal was made as a way of avoiding a trial, a trial which would have given the defense attorney room to ask a lot of embarrassing questions.

3. There have been unconfirmed accounts that meter money has always been used as a petty-cash box for the Village, a way of paying for incidentals, like lunches, entertainment, etc. There’s no electronic methodology of recording what gets taken in by the meters, and therefore, it’s easy to record this number at whatever you want it to be.

4. This is local government in the state of New Jersey. If you need me to expand on this, then you must be new here.

If we had a truly democratic and open local Government, the meter theft matter would have been publicly addressed, instead of being allowed to fester.

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Parking Meter Scandal : he could not have acted alone

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file photo by Boyd Loving
Parking Meter Scandal : he could not have acted alone
Readers continue to speculate on parking meter security issues and continue to come up with one resounding conclusion ,he could not have acted alone .
Even a $41 million renovation of the Ridgewood Train station did not change the out dated parking meter system .
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While ,Village officials said a forensic accounting firm has been retained to examine how a former employee managed to steal $460,000 in quarters from parking meters.

See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-hires-auditor-in-460-000-meter-thefts-1.1050247#sthash.Ut7rRzDP.dpuf

Although I’m not convinced that all meters would need to be replaced in order to implement a closed container/collection system, I’ll give the Village Manager the benefit of the doubt.

But, at a minimum, they should deep six those open white paint buckets/pickle containers and have all collectors use the carts depicted here:

https://www.pom.com/collectionsystems.htm

Continuing to use those buckets is a huge security risk, for the individual collecting monies (holdup/robbery) and for taxpayers (shrinkage).

It is actually very funny that we can’t afford to secure the Villages’s cash. I’m sure there is a solution out there that costs less than $460,000.

They made a deal and I’m hoping the whole story will come out eventually. Who in the police dept. is/are being protected?

Yet again, taxpayers getting screwed to protect some mob/union crony(ies) in Village Hall and/or the PD. Put in smart meters like NYC and let people use credit cards… how are we doing on Tommy Boy’s restitution ? Is he paying us back every week? The guy is obviously a wise guy, and refused to rat out his minders in Village Hall.

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Reader says who has time to look? We’re too busy making money and driving our kids to soccer practice

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Reader says who has time to look? We’re too busy making money and driving our kids to soccer practice

All but a few old-timers and insiders know what really goes on inside the Village Hall. For most people, Ridgewood is a place you live while your kids go through school, after which you sell up and move out. It’s quite a transient community. An affluent town. Lovely houses. We wave at our neighbors and have cocktails and BBQs. We are a pretty sophisticated bunch, mostly wrapped up in the lives of our kids and the long, stressful hours we put in at some big corporation. We have this natural impression that all our fellow Ridgewoodians are the same. Sophisticated.

That nice looking Village Hall is not staffed and managed by people like you. Just because Ridgewood has that Norman Rockwell image, does not mean it’s run by Norman Rockwell types. These people know all too well that the typical Ridgewood resident is blasting through life full speed and living a very comfortable life, to pay attention to the nepotism, insider perks and the feasting at the trough of what these residents pay in the form of taxes, fees, and yes, parking meter coins.

Hey, who has time to look? We’re too busy making money and driving our kids to soccer practice.

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10 Year Old Ryan Leo Kamm asks ,How did coin thief get away?

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10 Year Old Ryan Leo Kamm asks ,How did coin thief get away?

Leo many in Ridgewood continue to wonder that same thing , the Village had for many year rejected modernizing its parking meters and even after a $40 million dollar renovation to the Ridgewood train station  the old fashioned coin operated meters remained intact .Past mentions of upgrading parking meters were met with fallacious and hostile comments on this blog .


Ridgewood Parking Problems: oh those new fangled meters will never work here

https://theridgewoodblog.net/ridgewood-parking-problems-oh-those-new-fangled-meters-will-never-work-here/

Passion for Parking Meters

https://theridgewoodblog.net/passion-for-parking-meters/

Parking Economics 101 : Its called the Supply and Demand Curve

https://theridgewoodblog.net/parking-economics-101-its-called-the-supply-and-demand-curve/

Regarding “Crime pays” (Editorials, July 11):The editorial says that Thomas Rica stole $460,000 in quarters. According to my math, that’s 1,840,000 quarters.

I am only 10 years old, but I am wondering: If Rica stole 23,000 pounds in quarters, how could he walk out of a building carrying that amount with no pickup trucks available — even if he did it over several years — without being detected?

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/the-record-letters-tuesday-july-15-1.1051331?page=3#sthash.tr4vM13O.dpuf

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Reader says crime really does pay in Bergen County

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Reader says crime really does pay in Bergen County

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

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Man who stole $460,000 in quarters from Ridgewood to be sentenced

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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

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So How Many Quarters is $460,000 ?

Roger Herrin

So How Many Quarters is $460,000 ?

Readers weigh in on “Coin Gate “

One reader says let’s do the math;
$460,000 over 25 months
25 months = 760 days
760 minus weekends = 544 days
544 days minus paid holidays = 524 days
524 days minus 3 weeks vacation = 494 days of work in 25 months
1.8 million quarters divided by 494 days = 3643 quarters per day!
If $100 in quarters equals 5 lbs, then $1000 = 50 lbs,
then 3643= approx 180 POUNDS PER DAY!!
But feel free to check my math.
Either way, this is WAY too much to be a one person job!

but some differ in their mathematical

To put this in perspective, and bearing in mind that $100 in quarters weighs 5 pounds, taking $460,000 in quarters requires carrying 31.5 pounds out of the building every single day. If he didn’t go to work on weekends or holidays, and was there 250 days per year, he’d have to carry out 46 pounds a day. If he missed a day, he’d have to carry out over 90 pounds, more than a sack of cement. You don’t put that in your pants pockets and converting that many quarters to cash would be a full time job by itself.

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most think that he didnt act alone

I don’t think he took 12 tons of quarters. He stole some, and others stole some too.He got caught, and copped to it once he knew he wouldn’t go to jail. The trick will be watching his finances to see where he gets the money to pay it back. My guess is he will be getting lots of bank envelopes full of cash from various people over the next few years.

Esurance

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Ridgewood News Editorial: Coin caper calls for change

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Ridgewood News Editorial: Coin caper calls for change

MARCH 28, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014, 12:32 AM

A former public works inspector’s admission to the brazen theft of approximately 1.8 million quarters is troubling on many fronts. As The Record detailed last week, the effort to make off with what amounted to more than $460,000 in coins is astounding.

 

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-editorials/coin-caper-calls-for-change-1.753168#sthash.LMUIaBiL.dpuf

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Village should be accountable as well

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Village should be accountable as well

MARCH 28, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014, 12:32 AM

Village should be accountable as well
Kira Semler

To the editor:

With regard to the article “1.8 million quarters to be paid back” (The Ridgewood News, March 21, page A1), what is most shocking and appalling about this entire caper is that the Village of Ridgewood takes no responsibility whatsoever for this theft.

Obviously, a person or persons on the staff in the financial department was equally as culpable for this missing money. What was that person or persons doing while this guy was pocketing quarters?

What are the taxpayers of the Village of Ridgewood supposed to think about this? Are they supposed to trust the financial department personnel to be doing their jobs? This is a flagrant miscarriage of professional and fiduciary duties by the staff of the financial department of the Village of Ridgewood.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-village-should-be-accountable-as-well-1.753054#sthash.E7xdztjU.dpuf

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Reader feels a a bad Precedent has been set for Ridgewood coin thief

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Reader feels a a bad Precedent has been set for Ridgewood coin thief

All I know is there should be people lining their pockets with municipal funds nationwide by now. Apparently, all you need to worry about is paying it back, and that’s only if you get caught. And, they’ll let you use your vacation and pension to do it! Precedent has been set.

I want to see a separate account established to receive his monthly payments, and I want to see it made public so that anyone who is interested can know the day he falls behind in payments. And when this gentlemen declares bankruptcy (which he will, trust me) to get the debt expunged, I want him in jail the next day. But that’s not how this is going to happen. He will file for bankruptcy, keep his house, and never have to pay a cent. You will see him at Raymonds with a BMW parked out front.

This is fucking bullshit, and I get angrier every time I read about it.

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Readers divided over No-jail plea deal for Ridgewood coin thief

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Readers divided over No-jail plea deal for Ridgewood coin thief 

I suspect that during the course of the investigation, it became evident that others were helping themselves to the coins. Whether Rica himself provided this information or not, it might be a case of the prosecutor wanting to keep this additional thievery out of the public domain as it would certainly have surfaced had Rica gone to trial. This was probably the crux of the no-jailtime plea deal. Even if Rica was the only thief, a trial would have brought up a lot of information about supervisors not carrying out written control procedures.

and some think …

If he gets charged with a federal charge…say tax evasion, then if he is convicted, a judge could impose paying back the $480,000 as part of sentencing. If that happens, then filing bankruptcy does not allow him to discharge that debt.
I am not sure if the state statutes allow him to file a bankruptcy if part of his sentence is to pay back the money.
Also, if he had ‘info’ on others as the original post stated, then he wouldn’t be sentenced until AFTER he testifies so I’m thinking he doesn’t have anything on anyone else in the Village. He just got a great once-in-a-lifetime deal due to a very good lawyer.

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Readers says Light sentence implies Mr. Rica is in possession of information that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office views as invaluable

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Readers says Light sentence implies Mr. Rica is in possession of information that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office views as invaluable

It is becoming increasingly apparent that Mr. Rica is in possession of information that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office views as invaluable. Perhaps information pertaining to others who were stealing parking meter revenues, and/or information about miscellaneous shenanigans at Village Hall, and/or information about the illicit activity to which the money was being funneled (I personally don’t buy his story that the money was used to help out with family expenses) . The public outcry associated with his receipt of a light sentence will certainly make it difficult for prosecutors to ask for harsh sentences going forward unless there are special circumstances associated with Mr. Rica’s case (that is, he’s dropping the dime on a fish bigger than he is).

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No-jail plea deal for Ridgewood coin thief dismays officials

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No-jail plea deal for Ridgewood coin thief dismays officials

MARCH 23, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014, 9:52 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Questions are being raised over the plea deal with a former Ridgewood official who was convicted of stealing nearly a half-million dollars in parking meter quarters but is likely to be spared any jail time.

“It’s startling to see that type of plea bargain,” said defense attorney Frank Lucianna, of the deal given to Thomas Rica of Hawthorne. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

The deal, which was orchestrated by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Rica’s attorney, Robert Galantucci, calls for the former Ridgewood public-works inspector to receive five years’ probation when he is sentenced June 6. Rica also will have to repay the $460,000 in parking meter quarters he stole over a two-year period.

The proposed sentence also caught village officials off-guard.

In a statement, Mayor Paul Aronsohn said that “the Prosecutor’s Office was clear with us that this was their investigation and their decision, and that we had no say in the matter.”

Aronsohn added: “We were surprised and disappointed that he wasn’t going to get jail time, but I appreciate the prosecutor’s determination to recoup all of the money stolen from Ridgewood taxpayers.”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/no-jail-plea-deal-for-ridgewood-coin-thief-dismays-officials-1.749904#sthash.5DCrnoHf.dpuf

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USA Today: 5 craziest crimes of the week Ridgewood Scores Number One

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USA Today: 5 craziest crimes of the week Ridgewood Scores Number One 

Editors, NewserA most unusual municipal theft and a mailman with a criminally bad work ethic make this week’s list:

Jersey official steals $460K … in quarters: Last year, the public works inspector in Ridgewood, N.J., got caught stealing $500 in quarters from the room where the village dumped its parking-meter coins. To say that’s not the half of it doesn’t even come close. Turns out, Thomas Rica stole taken $460,000 over two years—in the simplest of ways.

Cops: Lazy mailman trashed 1K letters, packages: If you never got grandma’s Christmas card and happen to live on Long Island, this might explain things: A mail carrier threw more than a thousand pieces of mail into garbage bins along his Massapequa and Seaford route.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/21/newser-craziest-crimes/6685325/

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Ex-Ridgewood inspector gets probation after stealing nearly half-million in quarters

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Ex-Ridgewood inspector gets probation after stealing nearly half-million in quarters

MARCH 21, 2014, 7:35 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014, 7:35 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Veteran defense attorneys could only describe it as a sweetheart-like deal ­— a former town official being convicted of stealing nearly half a million dollars and walking away with a slap on the wrist instead of going to prison.

“It’s startling to see that type of plea bargain,” said Frank Lucianna, of the deal given to Thomas Rica. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Related: Ex-Ridgewood inspector admits to stealing $460,000 in quarters from village

The deal, which was orchestrated by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Rica’s attorney, Robert Galantucci, calls for the former Ridgewood public works inspector to receive five years’ probation when he’s is sentenced June 6. Rica also will have to repay  the $460,000 in parking meter quarters he stole over a two-year period.

The sentence also caught village officials off-guard.

In a statement, Mayor Paul Aronsohn said that “the Prosecutor’s Office was clear with us that this was their investigation and their decision, and that we had no say in the matter.”

Aronsohn added: “We were surprised and disappointed that he wasn’t going to get jail time, but I appreciate the prosecutor’s determination to recoup all of the money stolen from Ridgewood taxpayers.”

Rica has to pay at least $2,000 a month over the next five years to Ridgewood, with a lump sum of $69,000 due at sentencing. Rica’s pension with Ridgewood will also count towards his overall debt, as will his unpaid personal time from the village.

Still, it’s the kind of plea deal any defense attorney would be thrilled to get for their client, Luciana said, especially since mandatory sentencing guidelines instituted by the state’s Supreme Court in 1979 imposed five- to 10-year prison terms for theft of anything worth over $75,000.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-ridgewood-inspector-gets-probation-after-stealing-nearly-half-million-in-quarters-1.748235#sthash.b3RnWdAk.dpuf