Gallivanting Rikers Recycling Guard Stole $170K In Unearned Pay: Feds

QUEENS, NY — A Rikers Island guard stole more than $170,000 in unearned pay while he gallivanted on vacation in Aruba, the Jersey Shore and the comfort of his Staten Island home, prosecutors said.

James Internicola, 56, was arrested Wednesday on a Brooklyn federal court criminal complaint that accuses him of falsifying timesheets to get paid for more than 2,250 hours he didn't work.

“Instead of being at work, the defendant was often at home or even on vacation," said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

Internicola, who helps run Rikers' recycling operations, was one of New York City's top overtime earners in 2022, according to city records.

The complaint against Internicola accuses him of lying about the hours, including large amounts of overtime, he worked starting in July 2021.

Investigators instead found that license plate reader data and cell records showed he regularly arrived at work at least two hours late and left early many days.

Internicola also claimed to work on days when he was at home, at the Jersey Shore or in Aruba, the complaint states.

Timesheets show Internicola effectively claimed to work more than 33 hours of overtime a week, documents state.

He was paid more than $390,000 between July 2021 and January this year, despite his salary being roughly $92,000 a year, the documents state.

Internicola submitted paperwork to resign from the Department of Correction after FBI agents interviewed him, court records state.