Wow. He's got some 'walnuts', this guy.... I sincerely hope a judge with two brain cells to rub together throws this out of court. But I'm not counting on that- too logical.

He probably has his good friend Chris Christie advising him what to do!

Didn't he already get his money illegally? I think they should take his "unused" sick and vacation days and split it among the schools that he has been stealing from for years.

He breached his contract, so the contract's provisions for all that extra money is void. If TR paid him now, he'd have to pay it back when he's convicted (and he's not going to pay it back from a jail cell). The trial can't come soon enough -- Put Rat in a cage!

he is the bernie madoff of ocean county,punk-azz thief

Some set of Grapes Mike , your suing us, shouldn't the BOE be suing him ???? The town suing Him, the prosecutors office involved with the FBI, IRS suing and pursuing his illegal gotten funds and tax evasion...If you give him this money that is from a poisoned tree , you will NEVER get it back, or will be tied up years in court...Don't fall for his Lawyers maneuvers , they want MORE monies up front as his earnings are NILL....& NO one is calling him to work for them ! Kind of stand offish right now !!!

Its evident through this move where his loyalty really is. If you really cared about the kids then drop it. But no, all you want is money. Money that could be used to upgrade the schools maybe? The Second Coming of Ritacco will not happen. Also, How do you like that sign on the Pine Belt Arena? Stop giving a school district such a bad name.

Sincerely, A TR schools student, class of 2013

He has brass balls: take the taxpayer's money, change the name of the school for his huge ego and sue us? Go to to hell Ritacco and take your cronies with you.
We need to weed out the rest of the crooks in Toms River, especially the ones on the Planning and Zoning Board that give building contracts to their buddies, so no one prospers but them; meanwhile the entire area is being over run with strip malls and square box construction. And don't even get me started on those variances to build huge homes on undersized lots. Dirty Politics in T.T. ALL ABOUT $$$$!

First, Ritacco is NOT GUILTY by the standards of the law...only the opinion of much of the public. He has a right to his monies legally! The Board, by public demand, ILLEGALLY withheld his monies. Until proven guilty, he should have received his unused sick and vacation pay. The BOE is responsible for making prudent fiduciary decisions on the advise of counsel. Of course that said, Monahan enters the picture. Now if I was a conspiracy theorist, I might think this was created to be just another pay day for Gilmore and Monahan. They are / were buddies right? Did MJ RIT, Mike, build Monahan's house in 2006... I think? I would love to know the reasoning by Mr. Monahan when advising the BOE to withhold these funds. So if they serve the board members with intent to sue, will past BOE members Vasil, Garvey, and Malik also be served? The decision to withhold Mike's money was made before the new BOE members were elected. I also believe there is new legislation protecting board members from suit. It is the BOE members oath of responsibility to protect the taxpayers and thereby serving our children! My question is should / can Monahan be fired if Mike wins this one? But Mike may not win the next one! Too much money being spent on lawsuits in this district!...irresponsible law suits maybe created by the incompetence of the Board!

To Mr ? (You realize how suspicious THAT is, right?)
Ritacco is indeed innocent until proven guilty. True enough, as we stick to the letter of the law and the rights we all have under those laws. Now, I'm not a lawyer, and neither are you, most likely -- HOWEVER, until he is exonerated of all charges (any of which would release the BOE from honoring any contract between them and Ritacco), there's no reason he should be awarded any coming pay, pensions, sick time or whatever. Once he's declared Innocent, that is another matter. (And frankly, That's not going to happen).
I'm sure the decision to withhold his money was made IMMEDIATELY upon his official arrest, which came within 24 hrs of his "resignation". Questionable but very convenient timing, that resignation, if you ask me...
The BOE is an entity on it's own, not individuals who may or may not have ties or allegiances to Ritacco or anyone else.
As a Board they are to do what's right and legal while serving the SCHOOL district, not any individuals who want more $$ in their own pockets while awaiting trial.

Hey Christie.....here is your REAL poster boy of greed........

you mean the taxpayers of TR havent knocked all his teeth out and he is still walking around in public .......suckers

Christie and Ritacco... Perfect Together.

Let's see, insider dealings, only a $250,000 school eatery loss, statewide and national embarrassment- the gift that keeps on giving.
DUMP THE TOMS RIVER INCUMBENTS!

His behavior is more like that failure of a governor and Wall St. thief, Jon Corzine.

Added some more to the article from the lawsuit, and added a poll.

Pay the creep. Then attach the payment to a lawsuit seeking to recover the millions he cost the taxpayers in his willful, greedy deceptions. I cracked up when I saw Monahan's name on the list of people being sued. Did Tommy and Taco have a falling out after working so closely together for so many, many years? Or did Georigie boy turn him down for a loan? Maybe Taco is starting to feel as if he got sacrificed like Van Pelt. Van Pelt didn’t squeal, but he didn’t know as much as Taco. Corzine may represent a lot of failures, but Christie's behavior is the failure here. Taco and Georgie were both advance men for Governor Christie's transition team, and Taco was tapped to be Education Commissioner. I doubt he would have messed up the paperwork for the federal school money, or would have covered up Christie’s blunder better, but it probably doesn’t matter much. I don’t think we would have seen a lot of that money anyway. Some habits die harder than others. And please don't refer to Taco as Bernie Madoff. As low as Bernie may be, Taco couldn't stand tall enough to even sniff Bernie's shoes.

I wonder if we would have had all of these lawsuits if Mikey the Rat had be suspended by the BOE after the FBI and IRS raided his home way back in April of 2010. But, then again the people who were seated on the BOE at that time couldn't and didn't do that to him way back when because he OWNED ALL OF them! The way that I see it they all turned a blind eye to what he was up to and what the IRS and FBI said that he was involved in because he gave their family members job in the district.

So EggsnToast, I dont fully understand your address to my comment " ( you realize how suspicious that is, right ?)" Would you explain that ? "The BOE is an entity on it's own, not individuals who may or may not have ties or allegiances to Ritacco or anyone else" Allegiances? the board is an entity on its own? That's the way its supposed to be, but so many think different and said Ritacco was in charge.
"As a Board they are to do what's right and legal" Key word - LEGAL, and the word RIGHT (what should be done) are two different things!! " The withholding of his 457 was given with the advise of tax attorneys form PA, which the APP also stated as not being licensed to practice / give legalize in NJ. Should Monahan have known that, ( being out of state and not licensed here) when he deferred to those attorneys, when he stated he was not versed in that law? As for Ritacco's contract and his right to his unused vaca and sick day money, that is governed by state statute...the law. And as I said, I would love to know the legal basis by which he advised the BOE to withhold that portion of the money. And please, don't think I am defending Ritacco as I think he is guilty since the Feds usually don't make mistakes

Interesting, 230 individuals have taken the Patch poll "Is he entitled to this money?" while there is only 19 comments. 77% of those polled, or 177 voters believe he is entitled to his money while many of the comments here don't seem to think so. Go figure!

He may be entitled to it , but we all know he also stole from us tax payers, so why should we give HIM what he owes us ...first ! Hold this in escrow , untill his day in court...then will pay him , if need be... when convicted he will claim I have no money to pay back the good, stupid sheep of Toms River, I'm SORRY !!! Sorry does not pay the bills ! See the Tuna Lady if you need money, after all she is way over payed by this BOE because of YOU !!!

Why would anyone want to manipulate a poll like this by voting more than once! The purpose of this poll is to inform everyone - YOU- as to what the public opinion is. "YOU" receive nothing from this other than skewed statistics, by voting more than once. Save that for American Idol

EggsnT "The BOE is an entity on it's own, not individuals who may or may not have ties or allegiances to Ritacco or anyone else." Do you believe that is the way it has been? "As a Board, they are to do what's right and legal while serving the SCHOOL district" Again, do you believe that is what has happened in this district? "not any individuals who want more $$ in their own pockets while awaiting trial." Wow!! Maybe not only regards this lawsuit, but past history with the nepotism, cronyism, special and conflict of interest, known to be rampant plague in this district, my comment about the " Gilmore / Monahan payday" could be believable. That statement was made before I found out Monahan was also served, and of course he wouldn't defend himself, but maybe other fat cat pay to play attorneys somewhere in or beholden to the firm might. Oh, and EnT, I am not new to comments on the Patch, I have been here since the Patch first went online. Also I agree, outside legal opinion may be sought as reference, but can it legally be used to support a suit in NJ. Bottom line with this issue is this BOE are deep under rocks and there is no "hard place" This is, and will be a no win for Ritacco, the BOE, the tax payers, and especially the children...what a shame!...only for the attorneys!

Lawyers become rich on both sides, or later on after recognition and go into private practice , judge ships or politics ...the latter preferred as the public once again supports them. Private can be hit or miss and bust your butt every day, where as in public you can float on your back most days....and still get that pay check no matter what ! When alone in that room at the end of that day the only thing you have left is that good name you got from DAD..and Mike you ruined that too !!!! You can NEVER hold your head high again...such a shame ...on you !! You will go down in history , just not for what you wanted...greed took your soul and marriage

How many are left on the BOE that are from the Ritacco era? Also when are they gone, cause we know they will never get elected ever again to any public office.

This suit is just a sham to take the spotlight off tomorrow's county election. Freeholder Vicari, a big supporter and buddy of Mike Ritacco, is running for reelection for the umpteenth time. Instead of suing for more taxpayer money to support his habits like Mike, Joe Vicari is hiding in his garage on his grounded golden magic carpet hoping the voters overlook his backroom style of continually enriching himself with devious financial tricks that defy American values and respect. How many voters get to tell their boss they are taking early retirement so they can collect retirement benefits while still working and being paid for the jobs they officially 'on-the-record' retired from, but didn't really retire from in 'real life'? Why then would we support someone that truly believes they are above the rest of us and are entitled to these self-gratifying entitlements? Voting against Joe Vicari as Freeholder in this election is a financial no-brainer. Getting rid of someone like Vicari and Ritacco that have so little personal class is simply a refreshing, personal bonus. Vicari is the poster-child of GRIP, and deservingly so. It's time for Joe to understand what retirement is all about, so let's retire him officially on Nov. 8. It’s the American way.

Michelle Rosen ? Joe Vicari? Let me think about this one... This is a no brainier Joe Vicari! Why can't the Democrats put up a viable candidate so the residents would have a REAL choice not the Democrats third and fourth choices.

If we ran a monkey or a dog against Vicari does that mean that they would be any better? Gilmore pulling the puppet strings or Wyhat Earp pulling the srings? Seems like the same to me!

Great come back!!! We are on the same page. I agree that we really need to change the way that things are done in this town and county! But, when you only run the incumbents and then run the leftovers from the 1970's there isn't much to pick from. What really needs to happen is that the residents need to come out to the Council and Freeholders meeting and hold all of their feet to the fire!

Mac, you make a lot of sense. You, too, Tired of the Status Quo. Can we get some savvy people to step up to the plate here on Patch, or a new Ocean County Democrat website, or at public meetings? "We're mad, and we're not going to take it any more!"

Money, money, money, and the Dems don't have it! Look at the money spent of signage and mailers by the Repubs especially in Toms River. Most important is look at the issues. Easy to figure, when Brick had a 25% tax increase, so the Dems took over. TR stayed within the 2% cap and so the incumbents stayed. When a party has been in power, the Repubs in TR, you must then look at what, through their governance, they give to and support organized groups of voters. Seniors, veterans, and especially sports leagues always get what they want...just like girls softball. That is a very powerful system that give a large advantage. When you consider that patronage, with no tax issues, and a large political bankroll (supported by "pay to play" lucrative recycled tax payer dollars contracts), you have an automatic win. The Dems, with their two different groups within, and not enjoying the rewards of incumbency ( is that a word?) will never win against that system.

ISTHIS GUY KIDDING US AND THE PEOPLE THAT AGREED FOR HIS COMPENSATION PACKAGE HE DIDNT TAKE ENOUGH FROM ALL OF US??I GUESS YOU MUST HAVE MISSED THE PART WHEN HE WAS AROUND TOWN USING HIS TWP CAR TO DELIVERY TO PICK UP & DELIVERY MATERIALS TO HIS CONSTRUCTION SITES....

he retired knowing he is caught to save his pension (sneaky move than sudden retiremen)if he gets convicted he should by all rights lose it & make restitution by selling his assets when need be ..he good live on the interest on the money he stole from the tax payers..