New Jersey

Pump Attendant Steals $300K From New Jersey Gas Station: Prosecutors

What to Know

  • An overnight employee at a gas station in NJ was arrested Wednesday following accusations that he stole more than $300K, authorities say
  • Authorities say Mario Rosas Delavega Rocha, 42, was stealing moew than $100K annually from his employer from January 2015 through June 2017
  • Rocha, who had an annual income of $22,000 as the only night attendant of the gas station, faces up to 10 years in prison

An overnight employee at a New Jersey gas station was arrested Wednesday following accusations that he stole more than $300,000 from his job over the span of almost three years, prosecutors announced.

Authorities claim that Mario Rosas Delavega Rocha, 42, was stealing more than $100,000 annually from the gast station where he worked between January 2015 through June 2017, which amounted “to more than quintuple his regular income.”

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 added that in early 2015, the company discovered a discrepancy between the amount of fuel being delivered to the station on a daily basis and its daily sales.

Subsequent inspections ruled out concerns about mechanical problems, an underground leak and equipment issues, according to the investigation led by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Unit.

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Additionally, after a series computer diagnostics it was allegedly determined that the loss of fuel was only occurring during the early morning hours.

According to authorities, Rocha allegedly manipulated computer equipment on the gas pumps to conceal sales of fuel, which resulted in him pocketing hundreds of dollars on a daily basis while going undetected, Nececkas said.

Rochas annual income was $22,000, but a review of his bank and credit card records allegedly revealed six figures’ worth of deposits and expenditures, authorities say.

Rocha was charged with a single count of theft in the second degree. He faces up to 10 years in state prison if convicted.

It is not immediately clear if Rocha retained an attorney who could comment on the charge.

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