Morristown, NJ – A former parish bookkeeper who admitted to stealing nearly $300,000 from two Roman Catholic churches in Morris County has been sentenced to probation and ordered to repay the stolen funds, prosecutors announced.
Melissa Rivera, 61, of Haskell, was sentenced on Sept. 12 to five years of probation by Superior Court Judge Robert Hanna. As a condition, Rivera must pay back $292,728 in restitution to the two affected parishes at a rate of $800 a month.
Rivera pled guilty on May 19 to two counts of third-degree theft. Prosecutors said an investigation revealed that between May 2018 and May 2024, Rivera wrote 137 checks to herself from parish accounts at Our Lady of the Mountain in Washington Township, totaling $287,487, and three additional checks worth $5,242 at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Pompton Plains.
The investigation, led by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit, began after a referral alleged Rivera had stolen more than $190,000 from parish funds. Prosecutors later determined the total theft was nearly $293,000.
Rivera was formally charged on March 27.
“Morris County residents should know that financial crimes against houses of worship and community organizations will be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted,” said Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll, crediting the Financial Crimes Unit for securing the guilty plea.
Key Points
- Melissa Rivera, 61, admitted to stealing $292,728 from two Morris County parishes.
- She was sentenced to five years’ probation and must repay the stolen money at $800 per month.
- Rivera issued 140 fraudulent checks between 2018 and 2024 while employed as a parish bookkeeper.
The theft spanned six years, but the payback will take decades.