A sticky-fingered toll collector was busted for stealing more than $16,000 from truck drivers on the Throgs Neck Bridge, officials said Thursday.
Travis Coley, 19, collected the proper toll amounts from large axle vehicles, then recorded smaller amounts and pocketed the difference, prosecutors said.
He even wrote out fake receipts to drivers.
"When I realized that I wouldn't get caught, I kept doing it for months," the Bronx teen told MTA investigators, according to court papers.
"I knew it was wrong. I did it to help out my mom."
Coley, who was hired as a temporary worker in May, used the con during every shift from Sept. 20 until he was arrested Tuesday, he said.
The scheme unraveled when Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority auditors checked his data input against video recordings.
"It was a stupid thing to do and I regret doing it and I don't have the money to pay it back," Coley told investigators.
"I wanted to stop, but I didn't."
He could not be reached for comment. Coley is charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and falsifying business records.
The teen pleaded not guilty in Bronx Criminal Court Thursday and was released without bond. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
No comments:
Post a Comment