Longtime Metro-North worker accused of stealing about $206K over six months: MTA police

A longtime MTA worker was arrested Tuesday after allegedly swiping nearly $206,000 from a transit agency counting room over a six-month period, according to authorities.

Metro-North Railroad cashier Tom Shabani, who worked in White Plains and logged 24 years with the transit agency, was charged with second-degree grand larceny in a case Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace described Wednesday as “an extraordinary breach of trust.”

The employee’s alleged sticky finger scheme started on Sept. 21, 2024 and lasted until March 12, according to a felony complaint.

Shabani, whose job was to handle money received from ticket vending machines, allegedly pocketed the hundreds of thousands of dollars and blew the cash on personal expenses, the complaint states.

He was arrested by MTA police Tuesday and arraigned in White Plains City Court the next day before he was released on his own recognizance.

“Metro-North has no tolerance for any betrayal of responsibility to safeguard public funds for the people of New York,” Metro-North Railroad Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Justin Vonashek said in a statement. “We have taken steps to ensure security measures are reinforced.”

Vonashek said following the MTA police probe, Shabani was relieved of his duty without pay pending further disciplinary action.

Cacace, the county’s top prosecutor, said her office’s “swift prosecution” of Shabani is a “warning” to other workers who might be tempted to steal public funds.

“Any theft of public funds represents an extraordinary breach of trust, especially when such theft is alleged to have been committed by a public official,” the Democrat said in a statement. 

Shabani is back in court on April 16.