Jersey City Parole Officer Charged With Theft

NORTH BERGEN, NJ — A parole officer who lives in Jersey City is charged with stealing items from the North Bergen Target over an extended period of months in 2020.

Jorge Ortega, age 41, of Jersey City, was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with theft by deception, a disorderly persons' offense, by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Hudson prosecutor Esther Suarez said Ortega, on a range of different dates between July and October 2020, used the commonly-called “ticket switch fraud” to change the labels on various higher-value items for lower-value items.

He did this at the Target on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, she said. Ortega is employed by the New Jersey State Parole Board.

He was arrested by detectives with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Public Integrity Unit, Internal Affairs and the North Bergen police.

Ortega was released on a summons complaint. His first court appearance is scheduled for January 4.