Maybe now he’ll “change” his criminal ways.
A public-works inspector pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing $460,000 from a New Jersey village — in quarters.
Prosecutors said that over the course of two years, Thomas Rica literally stuffed his pockets with coins from the Village of Ridgewood’s meter-collection room, a total of more than 1.8 million quarters.
“We’re dealing with the theft of quarters over a period of a couple of years,” assistant prosecutor Daniel Keitel, told the court. “It’s difficult to calculate exactly how many quarters were stolen when you’re dealing with millions of quarters over a few years.”
Rica, 43, lost his job with the village in January 2013 after he was arrested and charged with stealing $500 in coins from the room where parking-meter quarters were stored.
But Bergen County officials investigated further and learned that Rica had stolen more than just chump change. Officials said Rica, who worked in the engineering department, sneaked the coins out and deposited them in his account at TD Bank.
He deposited thousands of dollars at the bank each time.
“It was just temptation,” Bob Galantucci, Rica’s attorney, said after the hearing. “He was in a room with a lot of money. He was raising a family. As a result, he thought he would supplement his income with that.”
Officials said the coins, if piled together, would weigh about 11.5 tons, about the same as 6¹/₂ cars.
An employee had noticed coins were missing from a storage area, which sparked an investigation. Detectives then found that Rica had entered the room numerous times without authorization.
Rica, who appeared in court Wednesday, was charged with fourth-degree theft and hindering apprehension. Under the plea deal, Rica will avoid jail time but must repay the money within five years while he serves probation.
The deal calls for him to cough up $69,000 at his sentencing hearing June 6 plus $2,000 a month after that.
“He’s going to work very hard,” Galantucci said. “His family is going to support him.”
He can also never work for another municipality. Galantucci said Rica plans to work with his brother, who owns a contracting business. Rica, of Hawthorne, NJ, made more than $86,000 from his Ridgewood job.
Additional security measures have since been implemented, Ridgewood officials said.