Former City Receiver Pleads Guilty to Stealing: Roccia Gets Probation, Community Service and $16k Restitution Bill

Former city receiver William Roccia, 42, of Hollywood, Florida and formerly of Everett, pleaded guilty on June 27 in Middlesex Superior Court to a charge of larceny over $250, and has been sentenced to two years probation, 40 hours of community service and to pay restitution of $16,855 to the city.

Roccia worked for the city from 2006 until 2012 as a receiver, a position that required him to collect and track payments to city departments. As part of his duties, Roccia was charged with collecting permit fees and fines for the building department and then turning those monies over to the Treasurer’s Office.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan commended the investigation of the City of Everett and Everett Police Department in the case.

“Any time a public employee violates the trust of their community and taxpayers they mist be held accountable for their actions,” said Ryan, in announcing the guilty plea. “This defendant stole from the city and then attempted to quickly move to another state to avoid being caught. I applaud the work of the city of Everett and the Everett Police Department for investigating this theft of public monies.”

According to the District Attorney’s office, the theft was uncovered beginning in May 2012, after the city had hired an outside auditing firm to assist its fiscal department. At the end of May 2012, Roccia, abruptly resigned his position, giving just five days notice and moved to Florida.

In July 2012, the city started to receive calls from individuals who reported that checks they had written to the city building permit fees had not been cashed. The city and the Everett Police launched an investigation.

The investigation revealed that from January 2012 to May 2012, the building department had generated $154,000 in revenues through permit fees and fines, all of which had passed through the hands of the defendant. None of the checks that were collected during that time had been cashed and of the $154,000 generated, some $16,855 in cash fees was never recovered.

1 comment for “Former City Receiver Pleads Guilty to Stealing: Roccia Gets Probation, Community Service and $16k Restitution Bill

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *