On Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, Joseph Ridley-Jenkins, 48, of Mays Landing, NJ, pled guilty to an amended third-degree Theft. The recommended sentence is four years in New Jersey State Prison. He will also be required to pay $20,000 in restitution and will be permanently barred from working in public employment.
During the guilty plea, Ridley admitted that on multiple occasions between 2023-2025 he used his position as a supervisor in the Atlantic County Department of Public Works to gain access to gasoline at county owned fuel pumps without providing payment.
In May 2025, members of the Atlantic County Department of Public Works alerted law enforcement to irregularities in their diesel fuel logs. An investigation revealed that Ridley-Jenkins had used his position as a supervisor in Public Works to gain access to the Atlantic County fuel pumps to fuel trucks that he owned in connection with his private business, Z5 Logistics. Since March 2023, Ridley-Jenkins directed his employees at Z5 to fuel the trucks almost daily at the county fuel pumps.
This case was investigated by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Professional Standards and Accountability Unit. Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Robinson is prosecuting the case for the State.
