A New Jersey man is accused of stealing from his employer because he’s gone ten years without a pay increase.
Here are the details from NJ.com:
Robert Kitson, 53, took the money from the Reber Transportation’s petty cash fund while working mostly as a dispatcher for truck drivers, authorities told the website. He has been allegedly removing an average of about $135 a week since 2007 by making up expenses and reimbursing himself, the report indicated.
Stealing is stealing but can you blame the guy? Yes, he’s wrong, I’m not arguing that fact but as a man who has gone months and years barely getting by, I kind of see Kitson’s reasoning for pocketing the extra cash. I can’t fathom that Kitson thought that $135 a week would really “stick it” to the guys in charge. There is probably more to the story. Being in Kitson position on more than one occasion in life, I’d like to maybe try and guess some of that story.
He’s gone ten years without a raise but who knows how long he’s been with the company, how much he makes, or if he’s even paid fairly. The cost of living goes up but his paycheck doesn’t get any bigger. In fact, he gets more deducted for taxes and medical, so his take home pay is probably less now than when he started over a decade ago.
A valid response or reaction would be for him to get a different/better job but that’s not always a viable option. He’s 53 and for a man that age the job market is a scary place. He’s probably got a specific skill set, doesn’t make enough money to take training courses to expand his depth of knowledge in his, or any, field and might be just years away from retiring with a decent pension. So he stays put, in a job that doesn’t pay well, hoping for a turn of luck.
Now, because of his theft and deception, he’s royally screwed and could face jail time but I’m sure that’s a fate he’s at least contemplated over the last seven years. If the options were “steal and possibly get caught” or “don’t pay the mortgage or buy groceries this week” then, in his mind, the thefts were justified.
Got an opinion? Let me hear it in the comments section.
NJ man who didn’t get raise in 10 years accused of stealing 43K from employer [NJ.com]