Parking Employee Reinstated After 'Sandwich' Extortion Charges Dropped

The charges against Kleber Vera, a parking utility employee in Nov. 2010, were dropped and he will be reinstated in his job, according to City Spokesman Juan Melli. 

Vera, 21, was arrested two years ago by Hoboken police and charged with theft by extortion and official misconduct, after allegedly accepting sandwiches in return for not ticketing a delivery van in front of  When the alleged deal between the two ended, Vera ticketed the delivery van 30 times, according to previous police reports. Those charges were dropped recently.

After the arrest, Vera was suspended without pay. 

Vera will receive back pay for the time he was out of work, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. Vera declined to comment for this article.  

"Vera had a good work record prior to these events," said Transportation and Parking Director Ian Sacs, "I’m happy to hear that his charges were dropped."

"Mr. Vera and his family went through a very difficult and very public process, and now that the charges against him have been dismissed, I welcome him back as an employee of the City of Hoboken," Mayor Dawn Zimmer said in a press release. 

In 2010, police detective Sgt. Sam Williams said court records showed that Vera had two prior arrests before working for the HPU. Vera was arrested in February 2009 in Elizabeth for obstructing the administration of law and possession of drug paraphernalia, which resulted in Vera pleading guilty to violating a local ordinance and the drug charge was dismissed, Williams said.