New York City Sewer Worker Makes $772,000 -- In One Year

Many Americans long for that day when the ship finally comes in. For several New York City employees that day arrived last year when they raked in more than $700,000.

One of the group, Gerald Mistretta, a city sewer worker, made more than the police commissioner, the schools chancellor and the mayor -- combined, reports the New York Daily News.

The Brooklyn father of three took home $771,841 for the fiscal year that ended in June. The amount included a yearly base salary of $109,850 and $173,000 in overtime -- plus nearly half a million dollars in back pay, according to the tabloid.

Mistretta said the huge lump sum makes up for all the years he went without a raise -- 16.

The payouts resulted from a settlement reached in 2009 after years of legal jousting over Department of Environmental Protection workers' base pay, which resulted in the employees working since 1994 without a contract.

"I know it looks like a whole lot of money," Mistretta told the News. "But people don't realize the hardships we went through.

"It was a very difficult period," he said. "We have families, and colleges to pay for, and mortgages."

Six other senior DEP workers made more than $700,000, while 13 made around $600,000. Another 47 earned about $400,000 to $500,000.

Local 1320 President James Tucciarelli told the News the city has no one to blame but itself for the huge payouts.

"You can't hire skilled trade people to do the jobs ... and then string them out for eight or 13 years without a pay increase and then not expect to see exorbitant back-pay numbers," he said.

JOKE: A Couple Wants a Child

A couple left the gynecologist's office in tears after being told they could never become pregnant. Suddenly, a masked man appeared before them. "I can help you. Go to this address," he said, handing them his business card. "A doctor will take a scraping from your mouth, culture it, and, in less than a year, you will have a baby." The wife turned to her husband and exclaimed, "This is the answer to our prayers!" But when she turned back, the stranger was gone.

"Who was that masked man?" she asked her husband. He looked at the business card and said, "That, my dear, ...was the Clone Arranger!"

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VIDEO: Clumsy Thief Nets $1,300 In Cigarettes

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. -- Police are trying to identify a clumsy thief who they say made off with more than $1,300 in cigarettes from a drug store.

Surveillance video showed a man and a woman at a Walgreen's store on South Federal Highway past 3 a.m. on Monday.

The woman distracted the clerk by asking for help with some wart medicine, and after she drew the clerk away from the counter, the man jumped behind the counter and put 25 cartons of cigarettes into a large bag.

But after he jumped back over the counter, he dropped the bag, scattering the cigarette cartons across the floor. He then picked them all up, put them back in the bag, then hustled out of the store.

The man is described as black, in his 30s, wearing a long, white T-shirt with dark Dickie's shorts. The woman, also black, was wearing white medical scrubs. They left together in a newer-model white or silver Ford.

Tacoma Man Asked Permission To Dump Body In Neighbor's Trash Can

TACOMA, Washington -- Tacoma police say a man suspected of dumping a body in a trash can asked his neighbors for permission before placing the corpse in the receptacle.

Police spokesman officer Mark Fulghum says after the 20-year-old suspect talked to his neighbors, they went to the trash can in the 500 block of East 36th Street and saw the victim's body. Fulghum says the couple left the area, spotted two gang unit officers nearby and told them about the body and their neighbor's request to use the trash can to dispose of it. As the officers were investigating, the suspect walked out of a nearby residence and was taken into custody.

A woman who asked KIRO 7 not to use her name or show her face out of fear of repercussions said her next-door neighbor came to her home and asked her to help him dispose of a body.

"(He asked) if we would help him, that he just killed somebody and there was a dead body in his house, and if we would help him dispose of the body in the trash can in the alley," she said. "He was really calm and laughing about it, so we thought it was a joke at first."

The woman said her friend found the body in her trash can a short time later, when she said the suspect opened the lid as she was waiting to put some garbage inside.

"He lifted the lid and that's when she saw the body in there," the woman said of her friend. "(He said) 'What do you think of this?' I think it's absolutely bizarre."

Fulghum says the suspect admitted putting the dead man in the trash can, but has given three or four different versions about what happened.

"He's given a few different variations of what took place," Fulghum said. "So right now, we've got to sort out those and match the evidence and get the true story."

The Pierce County medical examiner is performing an autopsy Thursday to determine the cause of death. Fulghum says the victim's identification has not been confirmed yet.

The suspect has been booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of murder. He's expected to make his first court appearance Friday afternoon

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