Nearly $50,000 theft alleged from McDonald's in Dunmore

Joseph Kohut, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
Updated ·2 min read
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Apr. 18—A Madison Twp. woman who said she fell on hard times stole nearly $50,000 in six months from a Dunmore fast food restaurant where she worked, borough police alleged.

Questioned by Detective Alicia Hallinan, Stephanie Marie Vansickle promised to pay back the money she should have deposited at McDonald's on the O'Neill Highway.

The thefts, which police said happened between the beginning of September and the end of March, came to light after an accountant found discrepancies between amounts deposited and what cash register printouts show should have been deposited.

In her interview with police, a remorseful Vansickle said she missed work due to illness and it impacted her finances, according to a probable cause affidavit. Vansickle's mother also went through financial difficulties and she wanted to help her out.

No one seemed to notice her activity, she told police. She wanted to come clean to her boss, but she had never done anything like this before and she was frightened, she said.

Attempts to reach Vansickle, of 288 Hillside Park, on Tuesday were unsuccessful. It was unclear from court documents if the 32-year-old retained an attorney.

Vansickle's deposits were "consistently short" of what they should have been, Hallinan wrote in an affidavit.

As the detective investigated, she discovered Vansickle's history of questionable activity began with a deposit Sept. 6 that was short $20.35 of what the register printout showed it should have been.

Two days later, she shorted the business $400.76, police said.

By the end of that month, she had shorted the business $3,153, police said. In October, she took $6,535. In November, $9,903 had been shorted. In December, the month's total was $10,529.

After the new year, the amount of shorted deposits, and the frequency in which deposits were shorted, seemed to decline.

However, by the end of March the grand total reached $48,625.

A message left Tuesday at the restaurant's business office for comment was not returned.

Vansickle was arraigned Tuesday by Magisterial District Judge Paul Ware on felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property. She was released on $10,000 unsecured bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled May 2.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.