HACKENSACK — A former Ridgewood employee admitted Wednesday that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in parking meter quarters.

Thomas Rica, the former Ridgewood Public Works Inspector, pleaded guilty to four counts of theft in Bergen Superior Court.

He will avoid jail time as part of his plea agreement, but must pay a total of $460,600 to the Village of Ridgewood and serve five years probation. Rica, 43, of Hawthorne, was ordered to pay the first $69,600 at his sentencing hearing on June 6 and is scheduled to pay $2,000 a month thereafter.

Should he miss a payment, he would be found in violation of his probation and likely sent to jail.

“He’s going to work very hard,” Robert Galantucci, Rica’s attorney, said. “His family is going to support him.”

While working for Ridgewood, Rica had access to a room where parking meter revenue was kept, Galantucci said in the hearing. On several dates in 2012 and 2013, he stole amounts of more than $500 from the room and deposited them into a bank.

Authorities said the thieving lasted between two and three years, with Rica depositing thousands of dollars in quarters at TD Bank each time.

Daniel Keitel, the Bergen Count Assistant Prosecutor on the case, said it was difficult to calculate how much Rica had stolen.

“This is a substantial amount of money that Ridgewood lost,” he said.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn called the theft "outrageous and seemingly incomprehensible," adding that the village is "absolutely determined to get to the bottom of this and take all steps necessary to prevent anything like this from happening again."

Additional security measures have been implemented, according to the village. Incoming Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld has also recommended that an outside firm conduct a full audit and forensic review, the mayor said.

As part of the plea agreement, Rica can’t seek or hold public employment in New Jersey. He plans to work with his brother, who owns a contracting business.

Galantucci said Rica, who was making $86,000 a year before his arrest, spent the money supporting his two children, and not on anything illicit. But he said Rica knew there was no excuse for his actions.

“It was temptation,” Galantucci said. “He was in a room with a lot of money.”