Employee Stole Money From Hudson County Town For 7 Years: Prosecutor

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — An employee of a Hudson County town's construction department was found to have taken payments illegally from 2016 through 2022, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said Monday.

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Public Integrity-Special Investigations Unit arrested Deborah Thiry on charges related to theft from the Town of Harrison, where she was employed as a clerk in the Department of Construction and Engineering since 2015, they said.

Thiry, 52, of Harrison, was arrested without incident at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Jersey City. She has been charged with theft by unlawful taking and tampering with public records.

She was released after being processed. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 2.

The matter was referred to the Special Investigations Unit by the Harrison Police Department following a 2022 internal audit by the Town of Harrison, prosecutors said.

"The audit revealed that from 2016 to 2022 approximately $62,000 in various payments collected by the Department of Construction and Engineering was unaccounted for. Thiry began her employment with the town in 2015," prosecutors said.