Former church bookkeeper pleads guilty to stealing over $290K from two Morris County parishes
MORRIS COUNTY, N.J. — Melissa Rivera, 60, of Haskell, has pleaded guilty to theft charges related to her former role as a bookkeeper at two Roman Catholic parishes in Washington Township and Pompton Plains, according Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll.
On May 19, 2025, Rivera pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree theft before Superior Court Judge Robert Hanna, Carroll said.
The State has agreed to recommend probation with 364 days to be served in the Morris County Correctional Facility as a condition of that probation. Rivera will also be required to pay $292,728 in restitution to the two victim parishes, Carroll said.
The investigation, conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit, began following a referral alleging that Rivera had misappropriated approximately $192,000 while employed at Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in Washington Township. Investigators later determined that between May 2018 and May 2024, Rivera had issued 137 checks to herself totaling $287,487 from that parish. She also created three unauthorized checks totaling $5,242 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pompton Plains, Carroll said.
Rivera was formally charged on March 27, 2025. She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hanna on July 11.
