Security Guard Stole From COVID Patient At Secaucus Hospital: PD

SECAUCUS, NJ — Secaucus police say a former employee at the local hospital, Hudson Regional, stole from three patients there, including one who died of the coronavirus.

The man worked as a security guard at Hudson Regional Hospital, according to Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller. He is accused of stealing wallets, jewelry and cash from three patients while they were hospitalized, including one patient who ended up dying of COVID-19.

The guard has been identified as Danny Rivera, 40, of Jersey City. He was arrested last Wednesday morning at his home and charged with three counts of theft.

He stole from the patients on April 28, May 29 and July 15, allege Secaucus police. About $500 in cash was stolen and the jewelry was valued at more than $10,000. Some of the stolen items were found at his home in Jersey City, said Miller.

In April and May, the Secaucus hospital was inundated with COVID, and had to create entire wards just devoted to coronavirus patients. As Patch reported at the time, there was a point in early April when every bed in the hospital was occupied by a coronavirus patient, and the hospital was intubating (putting on a ventilator) up to five patients a day. The hospital was also running out of nurses at that time, and put out a call for help.

Hudson Regional started investigating the guard as soon as the items were reported stolen, said a spokesman for the hospital.

"The Hudson Regional Hospital security manager initiated this investigation as soon as valuables were identified as missing, the first such incident we are aware of at Hudson Regional in the last 11 years," said spokesman Ron Simoncini. "For an employee to steal from patients under our care insults every principle of Hudson Regional Hospital's existence and we deeply regret the incident."

Rivera was also charged with one count of illegal weapons possession, a gravity knife. He was taken to the Hudson County Jail.

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