Adventures in public employee malfeasance: Steal $50k, get fired, collect unemployment, pay it back at $10 per month

In Englewood, NJ, crime pays. And keeps on paying. Antoinette Galluzzo embezzled $50,000 in funds earmarked for a kids summer camp. The city fired her, so she cashed in her public employee pension. Then she went on unemployment.

But the best part? Superior Court Judge Eugene Austin ruled that she doesn't have to go to jail, but yes, she has to pay back the $50,000. Well some of it anyway. At $10 per month. Only for the three years of her probation though. After that, if the kids who got screwed want to recoup the remaining money they'll have to sue her in civil court.

So let's do the math. Ms. Galluzzo stole $50,000. Then she cashed out a pension worth at least that much, because prosecutors wanted to garnish it for restitution. Judge Austin put the kibosh on that plan seeing as how she's "unemployed." (Yeah, and the kid who murdered his parents deserves mercy because he's an orphan…) Since she's no longer working she collects $1,881 per month in unemployment benefits. Times 99 weeks that's another $46,500 bucks. Making her total haul at least $150 grand.

And in exchange she has to write the children of Englewood a check for $360.

Not bad for a life of crime, eh?

UPDATE 15 Apr 2012 09:53:
Linked at Ace of Spades HQ. Thanks!

Posted at 10:24 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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