Crime & Safety
Union County Gas Attendant Stole $300K By Rigging Pumps: Police
The Elizabeth man was reportedly stealing well over $100,000 a year from his employer, which is way more than his $22,000 yearly income.
ELIZABETH, NJ — An overnight worker at a busy Elizabeth gas station has been arrested and charged with pocketing more than $300,000 from his employer by rigging the pumps, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced Thursday.
Mario Rosas Delavega Rocha, 42, of Lt. Glenn Zamorski Drive in Elizabeth, is charged with a single count of second-degree theft.
Rocha was the only midnight shift attendant for the BP gas station on the Elmora Circle on U.S. Routes 1&9 in Elizabeth from April 2008 through June 2017, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Derek Nececkas, who is prosecuting the case.
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The company began an investigation in early 2015 when they discovered a discrepancy between the amount of fuel being delivered to the station daily and its daily sales.
The company underwent extensive physical inspections to rule out concerns about mechanical problems, an underground storage leak, and issues with equipment, according to the investigation led by Detective David Nechamkin of the Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Unit.
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It was later found that the discrepancies were only happening during the early morning hours.
Rocha had reportedly manipulated computer equipment on the gas pumps to conceal certain sales of fuel, managing to pocket hundreds of dollars on a daily basis while escaping detection, Nececkas said.
A review of the Rocha's bank and credit card records also revealed six figures worth of deposits and expenditures, which was much more than his $22,000 annual income, according to Nececkas.
Rocha had allegedly stole more than $300,000 from his employer from January 2015 through June 2017. He was arrested without incident at his home Wednesday morning.
Rocha faces five to 10 years in state prison if convicted on the second-degree criminal charge.
(Image via Union County Prosecutor's Office: Mario Rosas Delavega Rocha, 42, of Lt. Glenn Zamorski Drive in Elizabeth)
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