Employee thefts caught on tape

Tony Kessler

Did anyone see Dateline NBC last night (8-2-09)? It was about a series of undercover sting operations involving clerks at various lottery sales locations (mostly convenience stores). The mystery shopper -- outfitted of course with an undercover camera -- would ask the clerk to run a lottery ticket through the machine to see if it was a winner. Naturally, Dateline knew it was a winner. The clerk would check it and, more often than I would have expected, come back with the bad news that, no, it wasn't a winner. The shopper would go his or her merry way, and the clerk would save and later cash in the ticket. The "prize" -- 3 to 6 months in jail and 3 years probation. tk

In this snippet, a lotto clerk insists she is a good person after being caught in the sting:
[URL]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30524641#30524641[/URL]

Here is a link to the full program:
[B][URL]http://tinyurl.com/l4fwbq[/URL]
[/B]

Paul in Cannon Beach

I dont play the lottery but I think here in Oregon you can scan your tickets yourself and find out you didn't win.

That does seem like a fairly simple way to rob people. I am referring to the employee theft, not the lottery.

NaeNae55

Just makes me sad. People who do these things never make out in the end. Small stealing leads to big stealing and eventually you have to bear the burden.

You can argue Bernie Madoff got away with it for years, but I wonder if he thought all the money was worth it when he lived in fear for those years. Think of the constant realization of what would happen to his family and standing once the truth came out. The fear of prison, and the feal of the humilation. He said himself he was surprised it went on so long, so he must have been just waiting for the ax to fall for so long. That was probably harder on him then if he had actually been caught and gone to prison years ago. Of course, that thought probably doesn't help those who got ripped off.

joannie

You can argue Bernie Madoff got away with it for years, but I wonder if he thought all the money was worth it when he lived in fear for those years. Think of the constant realization of what would happen to his family and standing once the truth came out. The fear of prison, and the feal of the humilation.

Nae, you are assuming he had a moral conscience. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but didn't care. All he had was a case of greed.

NaeNae55

[QUOTE=joannie;717255]

Nae, you are assuming he had a moral conscience. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but didn't care. All he had was a case of greed.[/QUOTE]

Moral conscience would have to do with the harm he was causing those he was stealing from. Obviously that didn't weigh much with him. However, even a sociopath who delivers pain just for the fun of it cares about him or herself. That's the part I was talking about. His fear of getting caught. In a recent interview he admitted that he couldn't believe he got away with it for so long. He believed he would be caught any minute, so he was constantly expecting the worse and looking over his shoulder all the time. I can't imagine any amount of money being worth that (but that is just me... ) He also must care about his wife as he cooperated in order to make things easier on her. He is also not fighting the conviction, which will save lawyer fees. That doesn't help him at all, but it helps her. His moral compass is obviously broken, but he sounds relieved to have it out in the open. He is probably better off right now than he was before it came to light...unless he is sharing his cell with big bubba who has a thing for older men. :angel:

ACU Frank

Back in my WOCO Frank days, we had quite a few employees busted. Internal theft is the main cause of shrink in the convenience store biz.

My favorite was the overnight guy who filed a work comp claim because he wrenched his back leaning over from his stool. He told us exactly what time it happened, and we checked the video. Yup, you could see it plain as day. He leaned sideways and the look of pain on his face was pretty evident. So was the fact that he was leaning over to put stolen scratch-off tickets in his lunchbag.

We were able to fire him and get his work comp and unemployment denied. Trifecta!

NaeNae55

[QUOTE=ACU Frank;717258]the fact that he was leaning over to put stolen scratch-off tickets in his lunchbag.

We were able to fire him and get his work comp and unemployment denied. Trifecta![/QUOTE]

=D>

Sharon McKnight SPHR

[quote=NaeNae55;717248]Just makes me sad. People who do these things never make out in the end. Small stealing leads to big stealing and eventually you have to bear the burden.

You can argue Bernie Madoff got away with it for years, but I wonder if he thought all the money was worth it when he lived in fear for those years. Think of the constant realization of what would happen to his family and standing once the truth came out. The fear of prison, and the feal of the humilation. He said himself he was surprised it went on so long, so he must have been just waiting for the ax to fall for so long. That was probably harder on him then if he had actually been caught and gone to prison years ago. Of course, that thought probably doesn't help those who got ripped off.[/quote]

There was man in the town where I live who did the same thing as Bernie Madoff only on a slightly smaller scale. I had read about his generosity and his elaborate contributions to charity in the papers for years. Unfortunately, by the time they caught him the money was had all but run out and all the people he scammed were left with nothing. He didn't take money from celebrities or wealthy people either. He took the life savings of everyday people, $25,000 here and $50,000 there. They never got a dime back. While he was out on bail before the trial he committed suicide. At least Bernie Madoff is taking his punishment and facing the horrible publicity.

Tony Kessler

Nae, you suggested that Bernie Madoff probably went quietly to prison to try to limit the damage to what remains of his wife's suddenly-turned-upside-down life. I believe there is a lot of truth to what you say. An update in today's Wall St. Journal, however, suggests that Ruth Madoff will continue to suffer at least some minor indignities for her husband's many sins. Today's news is that Mrs. Madoff has agreed to provide a court-appointed trustee with a monthly account of her income, disclosing any expense of more than over $100. I don't feel too sorry for her, though, since I believe she was allowed to keep $2 million. Here is a link to today's update. tk

[B][URL]http://tinyurl.com/lwrzya[/URL][/B]

Paul in Cannon Beach

She has to disclose expenses of over $100? How in the world is she supposed to have lunch?

ACU Frank

She's just going to have to decide on soup or salad... she can't have both anymore.