Judge says N.J. firefighter must give up job over $7.98 theft

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com ^ | January 8, 2016

[SMGFan]

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — A municipal court judge ordered a Margate firefighter to surrender his public employment following his conviction last month for shoplifting $7.98 in items, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday.

The prosecutor's office handled the conviction of Ashton Funk, 34, and was also pushing for the forfeiture of his job as a firefighter and as a lifeguard, also for the city of Margate. The prosecutor's office sought Funk's removal from his $78,000-a-year firefighting job because he had been found guilty of a crime involving dishonesty, authorities have said. The prosecutor's office also took over the case because Funk is a public employee.

[Don Corleone]

Judge says N.J. firefighter must give up job over $7.98 theft

While at the same time in the District of Corruption......!

[AlaskaErik]

Idiot. You make more than most people and you have to steal. If you want to steal without fear of punishment, become a politician.

[The All Knowing All Seeing Oz]

If he was willing to steal from a store, he was certainly willing to steal from a fire scene.

[hadaclueonce]

Rules matter.

Except inside the Beltway.

[metmom]

That is just ridiculous.

Not that I am defending shoplifting but it’s one of those, *Let he who is without sin cast the first stone* situations.

What this tells me is that they were after him for something and this is the excuse they are going to use to finally get rid of him.

[lee martell]

He must have the worst lawyer in the world! That is flat out ridiculous. The only way this makes sense is if they already have been wanting to get rid of him for more serious crimes that could not be fully proven.

[mowowie]

Well he IS a taxpayer funded government employee......oh wait so are the politicians.

[kingu]

Earns AT LEAST $16,000 more than the average household income in Margate, NJ and still shoplifts.

Bye bye.

[DainBramage]

I worked with a guy who stole tobacco every time we went to the store on the fire truck. We never knew it till one day they brought about a months worth of video downtown and showed them. He was fired.

The store manager knew it was going on but let it go for a while then realized it wasn’t going to stop.

[be-baw]

I had to fire a guy once because he stole a box of thrash bags. One of his co-workers ratted him out somewhat anonymously, which allowed me to get the cops there to catch him in the act.

Everyone was paranoid because this guy was allegedly Michigan militia and rumor had it he brought guns to the worksite that were not allowed.

My boss and our main HR person delegated to me the honor of telling him he was about to be terminated. When we had the meeting to suspend him pending investigation my boss was so paranoid he had an undercover cop, armed, and listening from the adjacent conference room.

[Leaning Right]

If he was willing to steal from a store, he was certainly willing to steal from a fire scene.

Excellent point. Those who think his theft is no big deal should consider what you said there.

[SamAdams76]

When I was in the Marine Corps, my first duty station involved an open squad bay where up to 80 Marines lived. Forty men to a side with a common head (bathroom) in between. All out in the open. We each had a footlocker and small closet to hold our uniforms. That was it.

When I reported for duty, the ranking NCO gave me a brief orientation. He then took me to his rack (bed) and lifted up his pillow to show a $20 bill underneath. He said that we were all Marines and therefore trustworthy. He wanted us to serve in the kind of Marine Corps where you could leave money under your pillow and not worry about it being stolen by your fellow Marines.

As far as I know, that $20 bill stayed where it was the whole time I served there. Everybody that got that speech wanted to live up to those words. To this day, I would never think of stealing anything from anybody.

[Richard Kimball]

This is all kinds of screwed up. Firefighting is a position of public trust. Theft is certainly reason for dismissal. OTOH, it should be up to the department to handle hiring/firing issues, not a judge or prosecutor. However, as screwed up as union contracts and laws are in the northeast, it’s possible the department can’t fire him.

[pax_et_bonum]

I steer clear of anyone who uses thrash bags.

;-)

[DainBramage]

He was off duty.

[Jonty30]

I’m sure you would give the same leeway to a subordinate who stole from your company.

[metmom]

The way the article reads, the shop lifting wasn’t from his employer.

I see your point, but I’m sure he’s not the first one to technically steal from someone.

Taking home pens, markers, any office supplies, making copies on company time and equipment etc, are all forms of theft.

The amount of money puts it in the misdemeanor category.

Fine, don’t let it go, but costing him his job is over the top.

[poinq]

Look, this is not the only time. He probably does it as a matter of course. However, he had tree government jobs. His understanding of right and wrong certainly makes me think he should go home and think about it before he goes off to look for a real job.

[raybbr]

Went looking at Margate's municipal code to see if they were a sanctuary city. Found this (I would not live there): The Construction Code Official is hereby authorized and directed to make inspections to determine the condition of dwellings, dwelling units, rooming units and premises located within the City of Margate City in order that he may perform his duty of safeguarding the health and safety of the occupants of dwellings and of the general public. For the purpose of making such inspections, the Construction Code Official is hereby authorized to enter, examine and survey at all reasonable times all dwellings, dwelling units, rooming units and premises. The owner or occupant of every dwelling, dwelling unit and rooming unit, or the person in charge thereof, shall give the Construction Code Official free access to such dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming unit and its premises at all reasonable times for the purpose of such inspection, examination and survey. Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall give the owner thereof or his agent or employee access to any part of such dwelling or dwelling unit or its premises at all reasonable times for the purpose of making such repairs or alterations as are necessary to effect compliance with the provisions of this chapter or with any lawful rule or regulation adopted or any lawful order issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.