Wal-Mart Worker Caught On Tape
Wal-Mart Worker Caught On Tape
Posted by: Josh Boose, Reporter
Created: 1/31/2007 10:25:31 PM
Updated: 2/8/2007 1:14:28 PM
Imagine accidentally leaving an envelope of cash at a checkout and then finding it gone in a matter of minutes. That's what happened to a local woman. She's out her money, right? But thanks to a surveillance camera, that's not the end of story!
2 On Your Side's Josh Boose has been investigating this story for months now. He started looking into this case in November. That's when we got an email from Amy Ditmar.
She left an envelope with about five hundred dollars in at a Wal-Mart checkout. She wanted 2 On Your Side to look into it, to see what really happened to that envelope.
"What we have here, in my opinion, is a crime of opportunity," says Cheektowaga Police Captain, John Glascott.
"You can't trust anybody," says Ditmar.
Ditmar was doing some early Christmas shopping just before Thanksgiving at the Wal-Mart on Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga. She paid for what she bought, then went on her way. But she realized something was missing.
"I left an envelope with some money on the counter and I didn't realize I left it there until about twenty minutes to a half-hour later," say Ditmar.
In that envelope she says, was about five hundred dollars in cash and her debit card.
Less than 45 minutes later, Amy went back to Wal-Mart, hoping someone found the envelope and turned it in.
Ditmar says, "I went right up to the cashier I was dealing with earlier and asked her if she saw the envelope and she looked at me and said she was too busy with other customers."
Amy talked to the store manager. He told her he would look into it. But, she wasn't satisfied.
She approached a Wal-Mart security guard who was also an off-duty Cheektowaga police officer.
The officer told her they would check the surveillance tape to see what happened to her envelope.
Watch the surveillance video.
Amy says it took about a half hour for the manager and police officer to review the tape.
"They told me they didn't see anything. And if anything happened they would call me back, so I was a little upset about that," recalls Ditmar.
Upset, because she needed that money.
"The presents I was buying everybody, I had bills due. It really put a damper on things. I had to ask my mother for some help and that was kind of embarrassing," says Ditmar.
Later that night, Amy got a call at home. It was the off-duty police officer from Wal-Mart. "He called me that night and told me he was positive that I didn't lose the money on my own. Pretty much, he told me the cashier is the one to blame. And his hands were tied because of Wal-Mart policies."
We later found out the officer was so frustrated with what happened, he quit. He wouldn't discuss the problem on camera, but his supervisor at the Cheektowaga Police Department did.
"He was just unhappy working for Wal-Mart and what their corporate policies were in regard to this", said Captain John Glascott.
Back to that missing envelope.
We stayed in contact with the Cheektowaga Police for four weeks as they investigated. A month after Amy lost her money, they showed us the surveillance tape. 2 On Your Side showed it to Amy.
"Right there," says Ditmar, watching the tape.
While watching the video, Amy claims she saw her envelope sitting by the cash register. If you look closely to the surveillance video (you can see the video by clicking on the video link above), a customer points it out and then hands it over to the cashier, Germaine Hayes. Within a few minutes, the customer checks out and it appears Hayes leaves her register, envelope in hand.
"You would think her being on camera, I mean, she knows there's surveillance everywhere," says Ditmar.
It appears Germaine Hayes now goes to another register to visit with a co-worker. It looks like she still has Amy Ditmar's envelope.
Then, right in full view of the camera, police say she puts the envelope in her pocket.
"It makes me so mad," states Ditmar.
From there, Hayes and her co-worker go into the ladies room. Police say that's where the "empty" bank envelope was later discovered.
From there, Germaine Hayes walks out the back hallway and out the door.
"Going home. Going for a shopping spree," Ditmar says chuckling.
2 On Your Side's Josh Boose asks Cheektowaga Police, "You're trying to find her?"
"We're trying to find her, we're unable to locate the woman right now." says Captain Glascott.
While Cheektowaga Police we're trying to track down Germaine Hayes, 2 On Your Side's Josh Boose contacted Wal-Mart. He wanted to know why the store manager and security officer told Amy they didn't see anything on the tape. Wal-Mart told Josh they weren't aware of any conversations like that. But they did have something to say about Germaine Hayes.
They told 2 On Your Side: "The associate in question is no longer employed by Wal-Mart. We don't tolerate theft by anyone at our facilities."
Read all of emails between Josh Boose and the Wal-Mart spokeswoman
Just more than a month after the incident, Cheektowaga Police tracked down Germaine Hayes. "She was found, she came in and she was arrested for grand larceny," says Captain Glascott.
When it was time for Hayes to appear before a judge, 2 On Your Side was there as she came out of the courthouse. She was laughing.
"Do you want to make any comments at all?" asks Josh Boose. "There's no comments at all. Have a nice day," responds Hayes.
"This isn't a joke, not to me. She finds it humorous," Ditmar says.
"Do you ever think you're going to get your money back?" Josh Boose asks Amy.
"I do," she responds.
Since November, 2 On Your Side called Wal-Mart five times, we emailed them six times. We wanted to know if they would give Amy her money back.
Sixty six days after Amy lost her money, she received a letter in the mail from Wal-Mart.
Ditmar says, "I got a letter from the manager at Wal-Mart explaining how sorry she was for my troubles and if I had any more problems to call her. And she gave me a giftcard for $500."
A gift card for Walmart.
So this simple story of something most of us have probably done before, leaving something behind, turned out to be not so simple after all. All thanks to a surveillance camera and one woman's determination.
Germaine Hayes is due back in court March ninth.
Amy Ditmar hopes she'll see her money back when the court proceedings wrap up. She'll be in that courtroom, waiting and watching to see what happens.
2 On Your Side will too.
We've been getting a lot of response to this investigation. On Tuesday, 2 On Your Side's Josh Boose contacted Wal-Mart again with questions.
Here's what Wal-Mart had to say;
"We care about the safety and security of our customers and associates while they are shopping and working in our stores. This incident was very unfortunate and we fully cooperated with the police during its investigation, as we do whenever and wherever an incident occurs. First, we shared surveillance tapes with law enforcement which I understand was very helpful in the investigation and the arrest of suspect. Secondly, we terminated the associate who was arrested for the incident. Lastly, because we felt it was the right thing to do, we gave our customer a $500 gift card to help offset the loss that she suffered. We are hopeful and supportive that Ms. Ditmar will be successful in receiving $500 in cash as the case proceeds through the judicial process in March. At this point, we consider the matter closed."
WGRZ-TV
Posted by: Josh Boose, Reporter
Created: 1/31/2007 10:25:31 PM
Updated: 2/8/2007 1:14:28 PM
Imagine accidentally leaving an envelope of cash at a checkout and then finding it gone in a matter of minutes. That's what happened to a local woman. She's out her money, right? But thanks to a surveillance camera, that's not the end of story!
2 On Your Side's Josh Boose has been investigating this story for months now. He started looking into this case in November. That's when we got an email from Amy Ditmar.
She left an envelope with about five hundred dollars in at a Wal-Mart checkout. She wanted 2 On Your Side to look into it, to see what really happened to that envelope.
"What we have here, in my opinion, is a crime of opportunity," says Cheektowaga Police Captain, John Glascott.
"You can't trust anybody," says Ditmar.
Ditmar was doing some early Christmas shopping just before Thanksgiving at the Wal-Mart on Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga. She paid for what she bought, then went on her way. But she realized something was missing.
"I left an envelope with some money on the counter and I didn't realize I left it there until about twenty minutes to a half-hour later," say Ditmar.
In that envelope she says, was about five hundred dollars in cash and her debit card.
Less than 45 minutes later, Amy went back to Wal-Mart, hoping someone found the envelope and turned it in.
Ditmar says, "I went right up to the cashier I was dealing with earlier and asked her if she saw the envelope and she looked at me and said she was too busy with other customers."
Amy talked to the store manager. He told her he would look into it. But, she wasn't satisfied.
She approached a Wal-Mart security guard who was also an off-duty Cheektowaga police officer.
The officer told her they would check the surveillance tape to see what happened to her envelope.
Watch the surveillance video.
Amy says it took about a half hour for the manager and police officer to review the tape.
"They told me they didn't see anything. And if anything happened they would call me back, so I was a little upset about that," recalls Ditmar.
Upset, because she needed that money.
"The presents I was buying everybody, I had bills due. It really put a damper on things. I had to ask my mother for some help and that was kind of embarrassing," says Ditmar.
Later that night, Amy got a call at home. It was the off-duty police officer from Wal-Mart. "He called me that night and told me he was positive that I didn't lose the money on my own. Pretty much, he told me the cashier is the one to blame. And his hands were tied because of Wal-Mart policies."
We later found out the officer was so frustrated with what happened, he quit. He wouldn't discuss the problem on camera, but his supervisor at the Cheektowaga Police Department did.
"He was just unhappy working for Wal-Mart and what their corporate policies were in regard to this", said Captain John Glascott.
Back to that missing envelope.
We stayed in contact with the Cheektowaga Police for four weeks as they investigated. A month after Amy lost her money, they showed us the surveillance tape. 2 On Your Side showed it to Amy.
"Right there," says Ditmar, watching the tape.
While watching the video, Amy claims she saw her envelope sitting by the cash register. If you look closely to the surveillance video (you can see the video by clicking on the video link above), a customer points it out and then hands it over to the cashier, Germaine Hayes. Within a few minutes, the customer checks out and it appears Hayes leaves her register, envelope in hand.
"You would think her being on camera, I mean, she knows there's surveillance everywhere," says Ditmar.
It appears Germaine Hayes now goes to another register to visit with a co-worker. It looks like she still has Amy Ditmar's envelope.
Then, right in full view of the camera, police say she puts the envelope in her pocket.
"It makes me so mad," states Ditmar.
From there, Hayes and her co-worker go into the ladies room. Police say that's where the "empty" bank envelope was later discovered.
From there, Germaine Hayes walks out the back hallway and out the door.
"Going home. Going for a shopping spree," Ditmar says chuckling.
2 On Your Side's Josh Boose asks Cheektowaga Police, "You're trying to find her?"
"We're trying to find her, we're unable to locate the woman right now." says Captain Glascott.
While Cheektowaga Police we're trying to track down Germaine Hayes, 2 On Your Side's Josh Boose contacted Wal-Mart. He wanted to know why the store manager and security officer told Amy they didn't see anything on the tape. Wal-Mart told Josh they weren't aware of any conversations like that. But they did have something to say about Germaine Hayes.
They told 2 On Your Side: "The associate in question is no longer employed by Wal-Mart. We don't tolerate theft by anyone at our facilities."
Read all of emails between Josh Boose and the Wal-Mart spokeswoman
Just more than a month after the incident, Cheektowaga Police tracked down Germaine Hayes. "She was found, she came in and she was arrested for grand larceny," says Captain Glascott.
When it was time for Hayes to appear before a judge, 2 On Your Side was there as she came out of the courthouse. She was laughing.
"Do you want to make any comments at all?" asks Josh Boose. "There's no comments at all. Have a nice day," responds Hayes.
"This isn't a joke, not to me. She finds it humorous," Ditmar says.
"Do you ever think you're going to get your money back?" Josh Boose asks Amy.
"I do," she responds.
Since November, 2 On Your Side called Wal-Mart five times, we emailed them six times. We wanted to know if they would give Amy her money back.
Sixty six days after Amy lost her money, she received a letter in the mail from Wal-Mart.
Ditmar says, "I got a letter from the manager at Wal-Mart explaining how sorry she was for my troubles and if I had any more problems to call her. And she gave me a giftcard for $500."
A gift card for Walmart.
So this simple story of something most of us have probably done before, leaving something behind, turned out to be not so simple after all. All thanks to a surveillance camera and one woman's determination.
Germaine Hayes is due back in court March ninth.
Amy Ditmar hopes she'll see her money back when the court proceedings wrap up. She'll be in that courtroom, waiting and watching to see what happens.
2 On Your Side will too.
We've been getting a lot of response to this investigation. On Tuesday, 2 On Your Side's Josh Boose contacted Wal-Mart again with questions.
Here's what Wal-Mart had to say;
"We care about the safety and security of our customers and associates while they are shopping and working in our stores. This incident was very unfortunate and we fully cooperated with the police during its investigation, as we do whenever and wherever an incident occurs. First, we shared surveillance tapes with law enforcement which I understand was very helpful in the investigation and the arrest of suspect. Secondly, we terminated the associate who was arrested for the incident. Lastly, because we felt it was the right thing to do, we gave our customer a $500 gift card to help offset the loss that she suffered. We are hopeful and supportive that Ms. Ditmar will be successful in receiving $500 in cash as the case proceeds through the judicial process in March. At this point, we consider the matter closed."
WGRZ-TV
posted by Walking Contradiction at 6:17 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home