February 3, 1999

DOT METER CHIEF PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING 4,800 QUARTERS COLLECTED FROM CITY PARKING METERS

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown joined by Edward J. Kuriansky, Commissioner of the Department of Investigation, announced today that the former Acting Chief of Meter Collections for the City's Department of Transportation (DOT) pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing 4,800 quarters ($1200) from DOT's Meter Collection Facility in Middle Village, Queens since last April.

District Attorney Brown said that the defendant, Kenneth F. Ginter, 40, of 86-29 106th Street, Richmond Hill, Queens, pleaded guilty before Criminal Court Judge Joseph A. Grosso to the most serious charge pending against him, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree. Judge Grosso indicated that he would sentence the defendant to a one-year conditional discharge, 100 hours community service and $1500 in restitution to the City of New York when he imposes sentence on March 22, 1999. The defendant was also required to resign from his position with DOT.

According to the charges the defendant was accused of taking the quarters on several occasions between April and September 1998 from the DOT facility which is located at 66-26 Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village Queens and converting the quarters to paper currency at "Coinstar" machines located at a Pathmark supermarket at 92-10 Atlantic Avenue in Ozone Park and at a Waldbaum's supermarket at 104-36 64th Avenue in Forest Hills.

Commissioner Kuriansky said that, as Acting Chief of Meter Collections, Ginter supervised a staff of 166 employees at the DOT Meter Collections Facility, which is responsible for collecting and counting approximately $70 million in coin revenue collected annually from the City's 65,000 parking meters. The defendant had been employed by DOT since 1986 and for two years prior to his arrest he served as Acting Chief of Meter Collections.

The defendant was arrested on September 19, 1998, while using a coin redemption machine at Waldbaum's in Forest Hills. The investigation leading to the arrest was conducted by Ronald P. Calvosa, DOI's Inspector General for DOT, and members of his staff, including First Deputy Inspector General Mary T. Piechocki and Assistant Inspectors General John M. Bellanie and Chuck Joe.

Assistant District Attorney Robert S. Ciesla of District Attorney Brown's Integrity Bureau, which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Vincent J. Carroll and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Robert D. Alexander, was in charge of the prosecution.

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