Business owner warns about employee theft
By Denise Dick
POLAND — The owner of a U.S. Route 224 convenience store wants other small-business owners to avoid the mistakes that he made.
A trusted employee who worked for John Kotchmar for more than 10 years took money from him.
“She took advantage of my loss of quickness,” said Kotchmar, owner of Dairy 224.
The employee, Pamela Sankey, 53, of Hillsville, Pa., pleaded no contest and was convicted earlier this month in Struthers Municipal Court on three counts of misdemeanor theft.
Sankey was sentenced to 12 days in jail and 168 days under house arrest and one year of probation.
Kotchmar said she took at least $2,600 from his business, primarily from Ohio Lottery ticket sales.
“She was my right hand,” Kotchmar said. “She was my manager, and I trusted her completely.”
He acknowledges that he was lax in keeping track of Lottery sales, and that facilitated the theft. He’s more diligent now, he said.
“I want to send a message to other small businesses in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys” to keep track of sales.
Sankey didn’t offer a reason for the theft, Kotchmar said.
Chief Brian Goodin of the township police said police haven’t seen an increase in employee thefts since the economic downturn began. The Dairy 224 theft seems to be an isolated incident, the chief said.
Lt. Robert Schaeffer, who leads the detective division at Austintown police, also reports no increase in retail employee theft.
Jack Nichols, Boardman’s police chief, said there’s been a slight uptick in thefts reported to have been committed by employees since the start of the economic slump. The increase isn’t dramatic, though, he said.