Metro-North Cashier Arrested After Stealing $206,000 From Ticket Machine Counting Room

On March 25, 2025, Tom Shabani — a 24-year Metro-North Railroad cashier at the White Plains office in Westchester County, New York — was arrested by MTA Police and charged with second-degree grand larceny under New York Penal Law § 155.40 after an internal audit and subsequent MTA Police Department investigation found he had removed approximately $206,000 in cash from a ticket machine counting room without authorization. Shabani, 61, of Millwood, exploited his position at the most cash-vulnerable point in Metro-North's revenue cycle, repeatedly concealing stacks of currency in Tupperware-style food-storage containers and walking them out of the building during his ordinary workday between 2024 and 2025. A search of his vehicle recovered still-undeposited stolen cash alongside hundreds of dollars in lottery tickets, indicating the funds were consumed by a gambling habit. On November 24, 2025, Shabani pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny, a class E felony, and on March 9, 2026, Westchester County Judge Erin McGoey sentenced him to three years' probation, ordered full restitution of $206,000 to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and required forfeiture of 25 percent of his pension as a condition of the plea. Metro-North Executive Vice President Justin Vonashek confirmed Shabani was relieved of duty without pay pending termination. The theft diverted roughly $17,000 per month from a public commuter rail system serving approximately 250,000 daily riders — including the retirement savings of a 61-year-old lifelong MTA employee, now permanently reduced, one Tupperware container at a time. - - Disclaimer: This video is a dramatization based on real events. Some visual content was created with artificial intelligence assistance. Some details have been fictionalized and all names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.