Calling it the “worst case of public corruption he has ever seen,” a federal judge sentenced the disgraced former superintendent of Toms River Regional, Michael J. Ritacco, to 135 months – just over 11 years – in prison, Wall Patch reports. Ritacco [1] was sentenced by federal Judge Joel Pisano in Trenton today as his family members, seated in the court room, wept as their relative’s fate was decided. Ritacco must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being released. A restitution hearing will be scheduled in federal court later this year.
Ritacco voluntarily surrendered to U.S. Marshals in the court building, and remained stoic as he was escorted from the court room. His children could be seen in tears as he left.
“This is the worst case of public corruption I’ve ever seen,” Pisano said. Other cases of public corruption are “nickels and dimes compared to this.”
Pisano sentenced Ritacco to 135 months on the first count of an indictment, and 60 months on the 19th count. He ruled the sentences will run concurrently…