Don't let crime pay at all
Kudos to Superior Court Judge James Citta for making sure crime doesn't pay ... $600,000-plus in this case. In Ocean County last week, Citta held off sentencing an admitted insurance scammer when he delayed sentencing a 55-year-old Dover Township woman until he finds out where the money went.
Citta was scheduled last week to pass sentence according to the plea bargain between the state attorney general's office and Mary Maschuci. When her lawyer asked Citta for an order that would limit the use of her guilty plea in any civil lawsuits filed by the insurance companies she defrauded by faking her death, Citta learned full restitution was not part of the settlement.
He said he accepted the plea bargain under the impression that all the money would be repaid.
He should have a chat with the deputy attorney general who helped craft the deal that required her to pay back only $105,000 ... far less than the more than $700,000 she's accused of taking. "These monies were ... alleged to have been stolen less than a year ago," Citta said. "Even my wife couldn't spend that much money in a year." (Hopefuly, Mrs. Citta has a good sense of humor.)
Maschuci's lawyer said the amount was based on her "immediate ability to pay." Sorry. Sell your assets, every one of 'em, down to holding a garage sale and getting rid of everything you own if you must. But thieves of any kind should at least compensate for what they took. Then they deserve a fine after their jail time. Crime should cost, not pay.
Citta should make sure every cent is paid back. He should probably take his wife out to dinner or buy her some flowers, too.
Citta was scheduled last week to pass sentence according to the plea bargain between the state attorney general's office and Mary Maschuci. When her lawyer asked Citta for an order that would limit the use of her guilty plea in any civil lawsuits filed by the insurance companies she defrauded by faking her death, Citta learned full restitution was not part of the settlement.
He said he accepted the plea bargain under the impression that all the money would be repaid.
He should have a chat with the deputy attorney general who helped craft the deal that required her to pay back only $105,000 ... far less than the more than $700,000 she's accused of taking. "These monies were ... alleged to have been stolen less than a year ago," Citta said. "Even my wife couldn't spend that much money in a year." (Hopefuly, Mrs. Citta has a good sense of humor.)
Maschuci's lawyer said the amount was based on her "immediate ability to pay." Sorry. Sell your assets, every one of 'em, down to holding a garage sale and getting rid of everything you own if you must. But thieves of any kind should at least compensate for what they took. Then they deserve a fine after their jail time. Crime should cost, not pay.
Citta should make sure every cent is paid back. He should probably take his wife out to dinner or buy her some flowers, too.
1 Comments:
Have you ever seen Judge Citta? His wife should be a candidate for sainthood for having to wake up next to him each morning.
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