Dollar Tree Bandit

 
I ran into my friend Jack from Seneca Street last night at a local lawn fete. He had a bizarre story to tell and asked me to share it with the six people who read this blog.

Jack, was shopping at the Aldi store recently when he inadvertently dropped his wallet. Realizing he had misplaced it, he called the store and asked them if anyone had returned it. The store had not seen it, and Jack assumed it would be the end of the story (and his wallet). 

A couple days later, the store manager called Jack and told him they were going over surveillance camera footage and spotted the theft. A woman, about 4 1/2 feet tall, was seen on the tape looking around before placing the wallet in her purse. Making matters worse, she was shopping with a young child (who witnessed this terrible behavior and probably thinks stealing is an acceptable practice.) Jack or the store manager, I'm not sure who, recognized the thief as the manager of the Dollar Tree store in the old Ames Plaza (behind Burger King) on Seneca Street. When the West Seneca police contacted the woman, she denied everything. She said she had found the wallet and tried to return it to it's owner. I guess it never occurred to her to give it to the store manager at the Aldi store, like any honest citizen would. 

In any event, Jack did receive his wallet in the mail (minus the cash that had been inside it) a few days later. The woman must have mailed it back as soon as she knew the police were involved. What the mystery woman didn't know was that Jack is a friend of the Blogger. It would really be nice if this story got back to her, and she returned Jack's money. If you do shop at this Dollar Tree, count your change twice and don't leave anything lying around when this woman is working. Obviously, she will steal if given the opportunity.

On a side note, Jack and his wife are such nice people, they don't want the woman fired from the Dollar Tree. They fee taking away her livelihood would not benefit anyone. They simply want her to do the right thing and return the cash. Perhaps the Dollar Tree upper echelon will give her the "encouragement" she needs.