By: Richard L. Smith
A former church bookkeeper from Haskell has been sentenced for embezzling nearly $300,000 from two Roman Catholic parishes in Morris County over a six-year period, according to information released by Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll and Chief of Detectives Robert McNally.
Melissa Rivera, 61, appeared before Judge Robert Hanna on September 12, where she was sentenced to five years of probation.
As part of her sentencing, Rivera must repay a total of $292,728 in restitution to the two victimized churches—Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in Washington Township and Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pompton Plains—at a monthly rate of $800.
Rivera previously pleaded guilty on May 19, 2025, to two counts of third-degree theft following a detailed financial investigation conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit.
The investigation was launched after suspicions emerged about Rivera’s activities during her time as a bookkeeper at Our Lady of the Mountain Parish.
Investigators uncovered that between May 2018 and May 2024, she had written 137 unauthorized checks to herself, totaling $287,487, from the parish’s accounts.
Additionally, while working for Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, she wrote three checks to herself amounting to $5,242.
The cumulative loss from both parishes came to $292,728.
Rivera was officially charged on March 27, 2025, as a result of the investigation.