In other corruption news, former Toms River Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco will be sentenced tomorrow in Trenton for, according to the Asbury Park Press, accepting more than a million dollars in bribes from the Toms River School District’s insurance broker
.For nearly 20 years, Ritacco served as superintendent of Toms River Regional, New Jersey’s fourth-largest school district. He oversaw a district with a $200 million budget and nearly 17,000 students. So respected was he in the education community that he was asked by the county superintendent to oversee the Seaside Heights and Seaside Park districts as well.
His downfall came only months after the FBI raided the Toms River Regional offices and Ritacco’s oceanfront home in Seaside Park in April 2010.When he pleaded guilty, Ritacco agreed to forfeit $1 million, his 2010 Mercedes-Benz and more than $8,000 in cash that was found in his Seaside Park home.
Ritacco could be sentenced to up to 25 years in jail and a $500K fine.
