HOUTZDALE – A Curwensville man is facing felony charges for allegedly stealing money from the bank deposits of a Penn Township store.
Harold Robe Burnett III, 40, was charged by state police with felony counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property after an investigation into his actions as an employee of the store.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, in May police spoke with the store’s district manager who reported that two deposits from early April were flagged as missing. After getting this information, she began investigating and discovered Burnett, who was the manager, had dropped off those deposits on April 22. She saw this as a “huge red flag” because the deposits are required to be made daily.
Further investigation revealed that several deposits were not made in a timely manner. In all, it was reportedly verified there were seven missing deposits in excess of $10,000.
Police say on April 24, Burnett only worked a few hours and left with the deposit for the 23rd, which never made it to the bank. Burnett had not shown up for work since that time and wouldn’t answer phone calls or emails from his employer.
Surveillance video reportedly shows Burnett taking the deposits out of the building.
The district manager said “It’s supposed to go to the bank the next morning or the next afternoon, he’s (Burnett) seen multiple times on CCTV being the one who physically removed them (the deposits) from the safe, had them on his body and then they never make it to the bank after that.”
A viewing of the footage by investigators confirmed her story.
After a cash audit, it was determined that $12,758.81 was missing, according to the report.
When questioned police by phone about the allegations, he said “well, if you’re going to arrest me then you might as well just do it.” He refused to meet with police to discuss the deposits and said he will “pay the fine and pay the money back.”
A preliminary hearing in this case is scheduled for Dec. 17 during centralized court at the Copper Cork Center.
