Toll collectors accused of theft arraigned
Prosecutors said yesterday that Massachusetts Turnpike Authority toll collector Joseph R. Fermino siphoned an estimated $1,200 in cash that Suffolk County prosecutors allege should have been handed over to the authority.
Fermino and nine other current or former toll collectors were arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court on charges that they, individually, stole some $7,500 in tolls while working at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels.
Fermino's lawyer, Peter Muse, said his 56-year-old client has multiple sclerosis, two adult children, and 28 years of service with the Turnpike Authority. "He's a good guy," Muse said.
All 10 defendants pleaded not guilty to similar charges of larceny over $250 or for making false entries on the turnpike's books. Only one of the nine, Stephen Golisano of East Boston, who told the Globe he was moving to California, was ordered held $1,000 cash bail. Fermino and the others were released by Judge Thomas Horgan on personal recognizance.
Authorities said that the alleged skimming could date back to 1995 but that they do not how much money was stolen.
It could date back to when the Ted Williams tunnel opened and a two-tiered toll system was created for commercial vehicles and passenger cars, Mac Daniel, Turnpike Authority spokesman, said.
Daniel said the authority has revamped its toll-collection system, fired the former director of toll collection, and continues to watch its employees and their work habits.
The current employees are on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the criminal charges, Daniel said.
A second lawyer for one of the accused men blasted prosecutors after they misspelled the names of three of the defendants. Attorney Stephen D'Angelo objected when Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Edward A. Beagan asked for $1,000 cash bail because he said his client, Justin W. Ruggiero, 27, had spent 60 days in prison for driving with a suspended license.
D'Angelo pointed out that prosecutors had misspelled his client's name and was describing the history of the wrong man. Ruggiero, who had no criminal record, was released without bail.
Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley responded: "Defense counsel can focus on clerical errors. We're focused on evidence developed during three months of surveillance and four months of forensic accounting."
The toll collectors are accused of stealing $7,500 over three months. The alleged thefts were captured on surveillance cameras and discovered through forensic examination of accounts, according to prosecutors.
Turnpike Authority officials contacted State Police in October, prompting an investigation. All 10 toll collectors charged worked in booths at the tunnels connecting the city to Logan Airport.
At those tunnels, taxicabs pay a higher rate than passenger vehicles, and toll collectors had identified the cars as passenger vehicles, pocketing the difference, prosecutors allege.
The others arraigned yesterday were King Chan, 50, of Wellesley; Paul Iacobacci, 48, of Everett; David Jones, 47, of Dorchester; Steven Lorina, 53, of Bourne; Tony Pasuy, 35, of Lynn; Hartley Riley, 67, of Roxbury; and Chi Cheung Wan, 67, of Randolph. 