A Brooklyn tunnel toll collector allegedly stole thousands of dollars in cash tolls and replaced them with counterfeit money, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said Wednesday.
Jonathan Germain, 22, allegedly stole more than $24,000 from deposit bags and replaced it with counterfeit bills during the course of 10 shifts between May 23 and June 13, DA Kenneth Thompson said in a statement. Germain, from East Flatbush, worked on the Brooklyn side of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, formerly the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.
Near the end of one shift, Germain was allegedly seen on videotape taking fake bills from a brown paper bag and exchanging them with more than $3,000 in cash, Thompson said.
Germain was released without bail in Brooklyn Criminal court Wednesday, Thompson said.
He was charged with 10 counts of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and one count of third-degree grand larceny. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Germain could not be reached for comment.
