A longtime MTA employee was arrested Tuesday after allegedly swiping practically $206,000 from a transit company counting room over a six-month interval, in response to authorities.
Metro-North Railroad cashier Tom Shabani, who labored in White Plains and logged 24 years with the transit company, was charged with second-degree grand larceny in a case Westchester County District Lawyer Susan Cacace described Wednesday as “an extraordinary breach of trust.”
The worker’s alleged sticky finger scheme began on Sept. 21, 2024 and lasted till March 12, in response to a felony grievance.
Shabani, whose job was to deal with cash obtained from ticket merchandising machines, allegedly pocketed the a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} and blew the money on private bills, the grievance states.
He was arrested by MTA police Tuesday and arraigned in White Plains Metropolis Court docket the subsequent day earlier than he was launched on his personal recognizance.
“Metro-North has no tolerance for any betrayal of responsibility to safeguard public funds for the people of New York,” Metro-North Railroad Govt Vice President and Chief Working Officer Justin Vonashek mentioned in an announcement. “We have taken steps to ensure security measures are reinforced.”
Vonashek mentioned following the MTA police probe, Shabani was relieved of his obligation with out pay pending additional disciplinary motion.
Cacace, the county’s prime prosecutor, mentioned her workplace’s “swift prosecution” of Shabani is a “warning” to different employees who may be tempted to steal public funds.
“Any theft of public funds represents an extraordinary breach of trust, especially when such theft is alleged to have been committed by a public official,” the Democrat mentioned in an announcement.
Shabani is again in court docket on April 16.
