Assemblyman David P. Rible retired as a Wall Township police officer at age 31 with a bad back and a fat pension. He’s collected $570,000 in disability payments since a state board decided he was “totally and permanently disabled.”
Yet Rible competes in five-mile and five-kilometer runs along the Jersey Shore. He exercises at a gym, dances as a celebrity and hauls trash to the curb at his Monmouth County home. He commutes to Trenton to represent the11th District in the State Assembly, where he holds a leadership position as Republican Whip and seeks publicity as a tax-fighter.
In addition to his $49,000 salary as a legislator, Rible continues to receive a state disability pension that pays $54,502 a year – without a second look from authorities.
Now 42, Rible is set for life. If he lives until 80, he will pocket another $2 million from the state pension fund. That would raise Rible’s jackpot to roughly $2.6 million, not including cost-of-living hikes or his medical coverage.
“I do oppose government waste, but I don’t see this as government waste,” said Rible, leaving his health club after a workout. “This is something that has been set forth in the rules of the pension.”
Politics, good work if you can get it.
I assume your talking about me. Yeah, I’m a real leftie…..have you ever read my posts?
At a wild guess he can’t lift. Ran into that with a fireman. His doctor had to put his back together and said no more lifting. You can run all you want. Climb all you want but you can’t lift more than a few pounds or you back goes out. He asked for desk duty and they put him on disability.
Then they found out he could still do most things and dumped him with no disability. Fact is if he tried to pick up a case of beans to put them on a store shelf he would most likely need major surgery. He is basically not employable.
Well, one of the very few times I agree with deowll. A friend of mine, now deceased, had a similar problem. There were some things he could do but others were out of the question. To most, he appeared in good health. To those who knew him though, he wasn’t.
Addiction to pain medication was the least of his worries. Relief from pain was. He could only stand for short periods. He could stand for short periods. But, he could ride his motorcycle with little discomfort.
With the gentle man at hand, we don’t know the severity of his disability. Running 5K though does sound like he might be exaggerating his condition, but WE don’t know.
It may be how the rules are set up, but Rible is clearly gaming the system. I agree with the notion that disability payments should be reduced by any amount of alternate income.
It’s too funny reading how people defend time and time again such a corrupt system. I really get a good chuckle out of it! And no, this problem isn’t unique to New jersey. It’s endemic.