N.J. hospital security guard stole valuables from patient who died of COVID-19
Secaucus NJ July 29 2020
A Hudson Regional Hospital security guard has been charged with stealing from three patients, including one who had died of COVID-19, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said.
Danny Rivera, 40, of Jersey City, a security guard at the Secaucus hospital, was charged on July 22 with three counts of theft and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon, Miller said.
The thefts occurred on April 28, May 29 and July 15. Miller said more than $500 in cash and $20,000 in jewelry was taken in the three incidents. When the Secaucus Police Department Detective Bureau determined Rivera was the culprit, they searched his home and recovered some of the proceeds from the thefts, Miller said.
The criminal complaints said each of the three patients had stored their cash and valuables in a secure hospital safe, but Rivera had access to that safe and stole the items.
“We are fully cooperating with authorities on the recent arrest of a former member of our security staff,” said Hudson Regional Hospital spokesman Ron Simoncini. “Out of respect for the investigation, we cannot comment further except to say that for an employee to steal from patients under our care insults every principle of Hudson Regional Hospital’s existence and we deeply regret the incident.”
Rivera was taken to Hudson County jail, but the offenses have been remanded to municipal court.
