Canfield man charged with theft from Covelli Centre business, investigation continues

YOUNGSTOWN — A Canfield man was arraigned today in Youngstown Municipal Court on a theft charge involving an embezzlement scheme inside the Covelli Centre.

Police charged Mark P. Daigle, 38, of 7075 Steeplechase Drive.

Police said on Jan. 26, the Centerplate Corporation, a food vendor inside the Covelli Center, reported an aggravated robbery. During the investigation, city detectives uncovered information of an embezzlement scheme taking place within the vendor's operation.

The headquarters’ personnel of Centerplate, based in Stanford, Conn., were notified of the scheme at which time a theft report was made on June 2.

An exhaustive audit was conducted on the local operation. The examination uncovered that a sizable amount of cash from the business was embezzled by two local suspected employees who worked at the downtown business between the dates of Dec. 7, 2007 and March 18 of this year.

Police said a second suspect is being sought. The case is still being investigated with the possibility of additional charges to be filed at a later date, police said in a news release today.