Notice that leaving his job without causing a stink was a condition of his guilty plea. That means that the sub-$200 theft plea was a step down from what he would have gotten nailed with. So he was charged initially with stealing more than $200 worth of stuff I'd assume.

It's more of an integrity issue than anything else. Most government jobs are going to entail access to information & possibly directly to taxpayer $$$. What if the guy processed tax receipts? If he grabbed your social & other info & stole your identity, got caught, and you found out they KNEW the guy was integrity challenged from another incident, I think your head would explode.

Then again, if they threatened him with a big felony, there's a temptation to take the slap on the wrist & move on, rather than roll the dice on a jury. I'm hardly squishy on crime, but it's amazing what can happen to you if the crushing power of government decides it's your time in the barrel, whether to be made an "example" of or otherwise.




GWB

I feel sorry for anyone who throws their career in the gutter by stealing...but theft is theft no matter what amount...$20., $2000., $20,000. it's still taking something that is not yours to take.

FYI, the largest loss most retail companies have is due to internal theft. When I was employed in private sector I had to fire many people for theft and in my last company there was a zero tolerance policy and all/any employees were to be charged when they were caught stealing, no matter the amount.

This is such a shame and it's sad, but I understand why he was terminated.

There's more to this story than meets the eye. Maybe he "forgot" to pay somebody off. Or maybe he messed up somewhere along the line. He might have been a screw up all along and this was the last straw, as if it were the end of the line for him with no more chances or get out of jail free cards.

Quote:

QUICK! Someone call Arnold Diaz!

If people are being nailed for this, please have Rikers get my room ready. I bet the sentence is double for Post-its.

I'm sure there's rampant stealing ... maybe they needed to terminate someone to set the proverbial example?

Yup, all of the politicians are laughing at this - just $200?????

I am amazed how some dude agrees to being forced out of a job with the crap we put up with from our cityhall council representatives not to forget our Mayor.
This dude's union has let him down badly.

Hudson Co. employee pleads guilty to stealing copying paper

Saturday, December 20, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An man employed by Hudson County for the past two decades agreed to give up his job as a condition of pleading guilty Thursday to stealing copying paper from the Hudson County Administration Building, officials said.

Shawn Haley, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of under $200 before Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan yesterday, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio yesterday.

On Oct. 22, Haley was caught by Hudson County sheriff's officers as he was stealing the paper at the building at 595 Newark Ave. in Jersey City, DeFazio said. Haley faces a term of probation when he appears before Callahan for sentencing, DeFazio said.