MORRISTOWN, N.J. — A former parish bookkeeper admitted in court to stealing nearly $293,000 from two Morris County churches over a six-year period, prosecutors said.
Melissa Rivera, 60, of Haskell, pleaded guilty on May 19 to two counts of third-degree theft before Superior Court Judge Robert Hanna, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll and Chief of Detectives Robert McNally.
Rivera worked as a bookkeeper for Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in Washington Township and Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pompton Plains. Prosecutors said she created 137 unauthorized checks totaling $287,487 at the Washington Township church and another three checks totaling $5,242 at the Pompton Plains location.
The total loss to the parishes amounted to $292,728.
Restitution and sentencing scheduled
Under a plea agreement, the state will recommend a sentence of probation that includes 364 days in the Morris County Correctional Center. Rivera must also repay the full amount stolen to the two parishes as a condition of probation.
The investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit began after a referral from one of the affected parishes, alleging Rivera had written herself numerous checks from church accounts.
Rivera was officially charged on March 27 following the investigation, which found the thefts occurred between May 2018 and May 2024 while she was employed as bookkeeper at both locations.
Judge Hanna is scheduled to sentence Rivera on July 11.
