Felony Theft

[mostpost]

This happened somewhere on the East Coast, not sure where. A woman has been charged with felony theft for stealing $9,020 worth of product from the grocery store where she worked. She accomplished this by eating three to five slices of ham on the job each day over the course of more than twenty years.

My question for you is, if you were on the jury and the evidence showed that she had indeed done this, would you find her guilty?

[wisconsin]

She is guilty.

I'm sure her attorney will plea bargain here, probably along the lines of community service and restitution.

[ReplayRandall]

Beyond ridiculous....Now that this employee has over 20 years of service with this grocer, they're coming up with this nonsense?....Might be some kind of pension/profit sharing involved that they're not mentioning, and they want to take it away for theft, maybe?.... Something doesn't add up, more info is needed.

[wisconsin]

Beyond ridiculous....Now that this employee has over 20 years of service with this grocer, they're coming up with this nonsense?....Might be some kind of pension/profit sharing involved that they're not mentioning, and they want to take it away for theft, maybe?.... Something doesn't add up, more info is needed.

This kind of shrinkage is more common than people think. I don't think they can take away a pension or profit sharing, the courts will decide her fate.

[Robert Fischer]

"While my office does not have the authority to make the final decision in this case, I do feel confident that once all of the facts are relayed to the Prosciutto, Felony charges are unlikely.”

[Inner Dirt]

I would say not guilty. It seems like an over jealous prosecution. It seems like 5,000+ cases of petty theft to me. I believe on some of those the statute of limitations should have run out. Even though it is still theft employees consuming the wares in places where food and drink is served and or sold is common place. I used to know people who worked in grocery stores, bags of cookies constantly were "damaged" during stocking and left on tables in the break room.

[xtb]

Maybe she is suing the grocery store for her clogged arteries and the store is countersuing.

[Show Me the Wire]

Depends on the facts, e.g. customary perks of the job, lack of warnings to the employee, etc. but on face value I would not convict.

[Marshall Bennett]

Statute of limitations surely would apply to much of this it seems. She likely doesn't have the means to pay anyway. Sounds like a news story to attract interest. In short "its bullshit".

[thaskalos]

This happened somewhere on the East Coast, not sure where. A woman has been charged with felony theft for stealing $9,020 worth of product from the grocery store where she worked. She accomplished this by eating three to five slices of ham on the job each day over the course of more than twenty years.

My question for you is, if you were on the jury and the evidence showed that she had indeed done this, would you find her guilty?

If I were on that jury, I would argue for bringing charges against the grocery-store owner...for falsely impersonating a human being. :ThmbDown::ThmbDown:

[thaskalos]

She is guilty.

I'm sure her attorney will plea bargain here, probably along the lines of community service and restitution.

Guilty of what? "Felony theft"? :rolleyes:

I was in the grocery business for 30 years, and I know all about "shrinkage" and its affect on 'profitability'. But to allow this sort of minor transgression to accumulate over an 8-year span so you can call it "felony theft" is BEYOND contemptible...IMO.

http://couponsinthenews.com/2018/09/10/grocery-employee-accused-of-stealing-9200-in-deli-meat-one-bite-at-a-time/

[PaceAdvantage]

This happened somewhere on the East Coast, not sure where. A woman has been charged with felony theft for stealing $9,020 worth of product from the grocery store where she worked. She accomplished this by eating three to five slices of ham on the job each day over the course of more than twenty years.

My question for you is, if you were on the jury and the evidence showed that she had indeed done this, would you find her guilty?No.

[wisconsin]

Guilty of what? "Felony theft"? :rolleyes:

I was in the grocery business for 30 years, and I know all about "shrinkage" and its affect on 'profitability'. But to allow this sort of minor transgression to accumulate over a 8-year span so you can call it "felony theft" is BEYOND contemptible...IMO.

http://couponsinthenews.com/2018/09/10/grocery-employee-accused-of-stealing-9200-in-deli-meat-one-bite-at-a-time/


No, not guilty of "felony" theft. But she is guilty of petty theft.

It'll be a civil fine and settled upon restitution at worst.

[AndyC]

...My question for you is, if you were on the jury and the evidence showed that she had indeed done this, would you find her guilty?

As a jury isn't it their job to rule on the facts and not on the merits?

[OntheRail]

3-5 slices per day lets say average 4X260=1,040 lets say about 20 per lb that's 52lbs of ham in a years time or $363.48 @ $6.99 per pound.

Now if they were aware of it years ago they should of told her to stop, wrote her up of something their inaction allowed it to happen. I don't think they have a felony case... a petty case yes. Winnable... questionable... In the Case of Old lady snacking. :lol:

[ldiatone]

"While my office does not have the authority to make the final decision in this case, I do feel confident that once all of the facts are relayed to the Prosciutto, Felony charges are unlikely.”

:ThmbUp:

[mostpost]

As a jury isn't it their job to rule on the facts and not on the merits?

There is a legal tradition known as Jury Nullification in which a jury finds a defendant not guilty of a crime that defendant has clearly committed if they feel the law is unjust or the punishment does not fit the crime.


Some folks on here have suggested a plea bargain involving community service and restitution. That would be a possible solution.

On theRail posted this:
3-5 slices per day lets say average 4X260=1,040 lets say about 20 per lb that's 52lbs of ham in a years time or $363.48 @ $6.99 per pound.
That's $3271.32 over nine years which is considerably less than the $9020.00 claimed in the story. Maybe she added the occasional small salad and a cappuchino. (however you spell that.)

I apologize that I did not make clear that the store was not watching her for nine years. Apparently someone complained that she kept taking "samples" and claimed she had been doing so for a long time. The store then began surveilling her and turned her over to police. In my opinion they will have a tough time proving anything which happened before they started the surveillance.

Still, I think charging someone with a felony for something which is at best petty theft is ridiculous.


One more thing, I got this story off the radio and only heard it once. The details are as I remembered but may not be perfectly accurate.

[Tom]

Depends on the facts, e.g. customary perks of the job, lack of warnings to the employee, etc. but on face value I would not convict.

I would not only not convict, I would suggest the store owner be arrested and charged with felony assholiness. What the heck was that hump doing for 20 years?

The stupidity of some people never amazes me.

[OntheRail]

There is a legal tradition known as Jury Nullification in which a jury finds a defendant not guilty of a crime that defendant has clearly committed if they feel the law is unjust or the punishment does not fit the crime.


Some folks on here have suggested a plea bargain involving community service and restitution. That would be a possible solution.

On theRail posted this:
3-5 slices per day lets say average 4X260=1,040 lets say about 20 per lb that's 52lbs of ham in a years time or $363.48 @ $6.99 per pound.
That's $3271.32 over nine years which is considerably less than the $9020.00 claimed in the story. Maybe she added the occasional small salad and a cappuchino. (however you spell that.)

I apologize that I did not make clear that the store was not watching her for nine years. Apparently someone complained that she kept taking "samples" and claimed she had been doing so for a long time. The store then began surveilling her and turned her over to police. In my opinion they will have a tough time proving anything which happened before they started the surveillance.

Still, I think charging someone with a felony for something which is at best petty theft is ridiculous.


One more thing, I got this story off the radio and only heard it once. The details are as I remembered but may not be perfectly accurate.

I was basing it off a 5 day work week... and normal slices... maybe she was cutting them extra thick... anyways the whole thing is... if they did not warn her and just placed the cameras for a gotcha moment...then I hope this lady looks like Aunt Bee. And they have a PR back lash for acting like swine over its... :coffee:

Edited to add you first post claimed 20 years so that is 7269.60 but if in fact it was everyday that would move the cost to a bit over 9400 at today's price.

[Show Me the Wire]

There is a legal tradition known as Jury Nullification in which a jury finds a defendant not guilty of a crime that defendant has clearly committed if they feel the law is unjust or the punishment does not fit the crime.


Some folks on here have suggested a plea bargain involving community service and restitution. That would be a possible solution.

On theRail posted this:
3-5 slices per day lets say average 4X260=1,040 lets say about 20 per lb that's 52lbs of ham in a years time or $363.48 @ $6.99 per pound.
That's $3271.32 over nine years which is considerably less than the $9020.00 claimed in the story. Maybe she added the occasional small salad and a cappuchino. (however you spell that.)

I apologize that I did not make clear that the store was not watching her for nine years. Apparently someone complained that she kept taking "samples" and claimed she had been doing so for a long time. The store then began surveilling her and turned her over to police. In my opinion they will have a tough time proving anything which happened before they started the surveillance.

Still, I think charging someone with a felony for something which is at best petty theft is ridiculous.


One more thing, I got this story off the radio and only heard it once. The details are as I remembered but may not be perfectly accurate.

The $9k is hyperbole to make the story. As pointed out most of the theft, if it is theft, would be covered by a statute of limitations barring prosecution. However, felony theft depending on the state could be for amounts as little as $300. Therefore, technically she could be prosecuted for felony theft during the surveillance period.

[Ocala Mike]

If it was Boar's Head and I were the defense, I'd go for mitigating circumstances. That stuff is primo!

Anyway, this case is a lot of baloney, so not guilty!

[AndyC]

There is a legal tradition known as Jury Nullification in which a jury finds a defendant not guilty of a crime that defendant has clearly committed if they feel the law is unjust or the punishment does not fit the crime.

I wouldn't exactly call it a tradition. Shouldn't the outcome best be handled in the sentencing phase?

[thaskalos]

I would not only not convict, I would suggest the store owner be arrested and charged with felony assholiness. What the heck was that hump doing for 20 years?

The stupidity of some people never amazes me.

The voice of reason! :ThmbUp:

[sammy the sage]

Pretty damn obvious from all the comments that MOST of you have NEVER owned a business yourselves...that said...no way a conviction...just fire her with no unemployment claims possible...end of story...

[thaskalos]

Pretty damn obvious from all the comments that MOST of you have NEVER owned a business yourselves...that said...no way a conviction...just fire her with no unemployment claims possible...end of story...
Another great humanitarian. :ThmbUp:

[HalvOnHorseracing]

I'd say if it is just ham, the penalty should be light, but if there was bread, cheese, and mustard involved, that's a different story.

[thaskalos]

I picture a long-time grocery employee slicing cold-cuts in some deli for 8-10 hours a day...and then I see her put a single slice of salami in her mouth every 2 hours or so. And for that...I should accuse her of "grand theft", and drag her through the legal system? Wow...

[JustRalph]

If somebody works for me 20 years, there is no way I prosecute them. The amount of money made off her labor over those years would entitle her to eat a whole damn hog.......

[OntheRail]

If somebody works for me 20 years, there is no way I prosecute them. The amount of money made off her labor over those years would entitle her to eat a whole damn hog.......

I agree... after 20 yrs most are heading into retirement .. If I owned it I would have a party and instead of a watch I'd give her a spiral cut ham. :lol:

[thaskalos]

True story:

A well known Chicago-area independent grocer, who owned and operated 3 large grocery stores, would often brag to the other grocery store operators -- myself included -- about what a hard-line owner he was...and how he would fire any of his employees who dared put even a single piece of fruit in their mouth without paying for it. Well...the cycle of fortune turned, as it sometimes does...and this "hard-line" owner was rendered completely broke and on the verge of homelessness...as a result of some misguided real-estate investments that he made. His desperate state led him to my own store...where he asked me for a job for him and his son. I told him that I would be glad to offer them work...as long as I never caught them putting anything in their mouth on the job without paying for it. He became red out of embarrassment...and confessed to me that he had been an asshole as a boss. "Yes", I told him. "But, isn't it strange that you had to go broke in order to realize that?".

I sincerely hope that the grocery store owner of this thread experiences the same turn of fortune.

[MargieRose]

Is there any deli in any grocery store that doesn't offer free 'samples' of any sliced meat just for the asking? So, this employee either worked in the deli and took a few free samples for herself (the ones that customers never asked for), or she could just have easily gone over to the deli and asked for a sample or two, and I can't imagine that the behind-the-counter employee would not have obliged.

If she actually is going to be prosecuted, she should ask for a jury trial and then settle out of court for lawyers' fees and damages.

[mostpost]

Is there any deli in any grocery store that doesn't offer free 'samples' of any sliced meat just for the asking? So, this employee either worked in the deli and took a few free samples for herself (the ones that customers never asked for), or she could just have easily gone over to the deli and asked for a sample or two, and I can't imagine that the behind-the-counter employee would not have obliged.

If she actually is going to be prosecuted, she should ask for a jury trial and then settle out of court for lawyers' fees and damages.

I had the impression that she worked in the deli herself.

[mostpost]

http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2018/09/10/ohio-grocery-store-employee-facing-felony-theft-charges-for-eating-9200-deli-ham.html
According to this and several other sources, a felony charge is very unlikely. I should have known better than to trust Dan Bernstein. (Thask will know what that means.)

[FakeNameChanged]

This happened somewhere on the East Coast, not sure where. A woman has been charged with felony theft for stealing $9,020 worth of product from the grocery store where she worked. She accomplished this by eating three to five slices of ham on the job each day over the course of more than twenty years.

My question for you is, if you were on the jury and the evidence showed that she had indeed done this, would you find her guilty?
Funny, I was just at my local grocery deli yesterday and the young woman serving me after going over my 1/2 and 3/4 lb. requests by almost 40-50% just threw the excess back onto the slicer to throw away. Most of the clerks will drop it back onto your order rather than throw it away. So it was around noon, and I thought to myself, I'd probably eat some of that rather than toss it out. So hopefully the judge goes with no jail time.

[mostpost]

Funny, I was just at my local grocery deli yesterday and the young woman serving me after going over my 1/2 and 3/4 lb. requests by almost 40-50% just threw the excess back onto the slicer to throw away. Most of the clerks will drop it back onto your order rather than throw it away. So it was around noon, and I thought to myself, I'd probably eat some of that rather than toss it out. So hopefully the judge goes with no jail time.

I'd say she needs to practice. Occasionally my order will be over by a little, but never by 40-50%. They will usually ask if I want the extra and I always say yes. I assume that I am paying for the extra, but have never really checked.