State fighting light sentence for ex-NJ Transit worker who sold fake tickets, pocketed cash – NJ.com

A former New Jersey Transit employee who tricked customers into buying fake tickets so he could steal cash and later avoided jail time will be re-sentenced after prosecutors argued his punishment was too light, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Prosecutors challenged John A. Davey’s sentence of a pair of concurrent terms of five years of probation following his 2018 conviction for third-degree charges of official misconduct and theft. On Tuesday, a state appeals court remanded Davey’s case for re-sentencing in Essex County within 30 days.

Davey was arrested in May 2017 after authorities said he placed signs reading “no cash” on the ticket vending machines at the New Brunswick train station, and selling cash-paying customers forged tickets when they came to the ticket counter.

Davey, of East Brunswick, was sentenced on Sept. 21, 2018 following his May 2017 arrest. In pleading guilty, he agreed forfeit his job, which he held for 29 years, as well as his pension.

The state is appealing only on the official misconduct sentence, arguing that the Superior Court judge shouldn’t have granted Davey a waiver that exempted him from prison time.

Prosecutors said, “the sentencing court erred by granting defendant’s motion to waive the mandatory parole ineligibility period required (law) and sentencing defendant to probation.”

It added that Davey fell “short of clearing” the “high bar imposed for a waiver.”

Davey successfully argued for a waiver at his sentencing based on his lack of criminal record and his contention that if he went to jail, it would create an unnecessary hardship for his wife and children. His wife is disabled and his children also suffer from physical ailments, according to court papers.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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