How many of you have caught people at work stealing items? Not stealing items from The Company, but stealing items from other employees. In the past, we had a small volume of subtle yet not irrelevant thefts; gloves, food, radio, and one time $300 in cash. However, the following story I believe takes the perverbial cake. Sit back, and listen to the tale of the Thief of All Thiefs, and we’ll call her MM.
The date is sometime in December of 2004. MM had worked for our company for about a year or so, functioning on-par with an average employee that has occupied her position. She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she came to work ontime, didn’t complain, and generally did what she was supposed to do. She had a few annoying quirks, but no more than the average person, so she was your regular Jane Doe employee.
She claimed to have it rough. (From here on out, I’ll be using the word “claimed” as, based upon the ending of this story that you will shortly read, I do not know what is and isn’t true anymore.) She claimed to have an ill husband, and a teenager involved in a recent car wreck, sustaining debilitating injuries.
For Christmas 2004, our company “sponsored” a family in need of financial assisstance. That family was M&M’s. She received close to $1,000 in cash and an assorted array of gifts, donated by other employees.
A woman that M&M worked very close with at work – we’ll call her CA – often volunteered to help M&M out in many ways, some financially but usually help on the everyday things. For example, CA would often let M&M borrow her 2003 Nissan Pathfinder on a daily basis while at work, either to rest in, do her errands, and so forth.
Around May of 2005, M&M tendered her resignation, stating she would be leaving as of July 1st, 2005.
On July 1st, a Friday, our company threw her a going away party, and several employees – including CA – gave her expensive, personal gifts.
At the end of the work day on July 1st 2005, Claire left as she always did, at about 7pm. She took her car keys out, and went to her car. Except it was gone.
She was 100% positive that it was stolen.
In speaking to her, CA said that M&M asked her once what the best way to make a copy of a car key would be. The joke around the office from July through Thanksgiving was that “hey I got a Pathfinder for ya, but you gotta go to South Carolina to pick it up.” Jokes along those lines.
To make a long story short, on Thanksgiving Day, CA received a call from a detective with the South Carolina State PD. M&M had been pulled over for a minor traffic infraction, and she got pulled over in a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder matching the description & registration/plates of CA’s stolen Nissan Pathfinder.
M&M had either driven it herself, or had someone drive out of work on 7/1/05. Stupidly, she never changed the plates or sold the car for parts. She continued to drive it, thinking she was safe.
Among other charges include identity theft, identity fraud, and probably a host of “conspiracy to committ…” charges, as it looks like all theivery was premeditated. Unless she has a pleabargin, she probably faces double-digit prison years.
She has 3 small children, who, without a father in home, will most likely be seperated.
A family ruined by one person’s selfish acts, or alleged acts of despiration.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Hopefully, I’ll have some better news to post here, but this little tale really hit a nerve as it’s someone the entire company trusted, and someone who a few people considered “family”.
