A young man of Bioche who betrayed the trust of his employer now has to find $2750.00 to pay as a consequence of that betrayal. Thirty-one year old Ike Antonio Maronie of Bioche, after working as a bar tender at the De Champ Restaurant and Bar in Portsmouth, involved himself in a mini scam with regards to customer’s payments. He pleaded guilty to two counts of theft when he appeared before Magistrate Candia Carette-George on January 15th.
Maronie, who is the father of two, was on duty at De Champ on Wednesday December 5th when medical student Lisa L Roberts went to the restaurant about 5:45 pm for dinner along with her friends. After having dined, she requested the bill of the defendant and gave him her National Bank debit card to facilitate payment. She signed the receipts for the amount of, gave him a $20.00 tip and exited the restaurant.
On January 5th, having spoken to the owners of the De Champ Restaurant, Miss Roberts filed a complaint with the Portsmouth Police Station regarding an additional charge on her account.
Several days later on January 12th, corporal O’Brien visited the defendant at his home in Bioche and informed him of the report which had been made against him. He did not offer any explanations at that time and was arrested.
However, the following day he admitted to the police that he swiped the card twice, duplicated Miss Robert’s signature, took the cash from the draw and replaced it with the receipt. “I apologize for the offence I have committed. It is not in my character to do so and I accept the consequences,” he told the police officer when he was formally charged for theft of $200.00 on January 14th.
The second complaint was from a Dominican who resides in New Jersey but visited the island during the Christmas holidays. On December 26th, Angela Sylvester visited the De Champs Restaurant with her husband and two children for dinner about 9pm. Her bill amount was EC$133.00, gave the defendant her Chase debit card to process the payment, signed the receipt and left the restaurant.
When Mrs Sylvester checked her account online on December 30th she saw four additional transactions; $250.00 on the 26th of December, $250.00 on the 27th, $250 and $300 on the 29th and made a report at the Portsmouth Police Station. The defendant was accosted by police officers who informed him of the allegations made; he admitted to the offence and indicated that he was willing to repay the money.
Attorney at law Wayne Norde who mitigated on Maronie’s behalf, pleaded with the court for leniency as his client admitted his guilt, is a first time offender and a man who has potential as he holds an accounting degree from Devry University. “Bear in mind when people trust you with their money, their card or their business, you must not betray their trust because you will find yourself in trouble or in embarrassing situations,” Magistrate Carette-George admonished the defendant.
He was ordered to compensate Miss Robert $200.00 before the 25th of January or in default spend one month in prison and Mrs. Sylvester $1050.00 before the 15th of February or in default spend three months in prison. He was also fined $500.00 for stealing from Miss Roberts which must be paid before the 15th of March or in default serve two months imprisonment and $1000.00 for stealing from Mrs. Sylvester before the 30th of April or in default serve three months imprisonment.
Magistrate Carette-George also advised him to pay the compensatory awards first and then the fines.
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