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Employees Rip Off Barnes & Noble, Best Buy on Upper West Side

By Leslie Albrecht | May 5, 2011 6:28am | Updated on May 5, 2011 7:01am
A cashier at the Barnes & Noble at Broadway and West 82nd Street was arrested recently on suspicion of stealing more than $4,700 from the store.
A cashier at the Barnes & Noble at Broadway and West 82nd Street was arrested recently on suspicion of stealing more than $4,700 from the store.
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DNAinfo/Leslie Albrecht

By Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER WEST SIDE — The economy is improving, but sticky-fingered employees at some Upper West Side stores are doing their best to hurt retailers' bottom lines, police say.

Workers at two Upper West Side stores have been arrested recently on suspicion of stealing from their employers, according to police.

On April 29, a 23-year-old head cashier at Barnes & Noble on Broadway and West 82nd Street was caught allegedly stealing $4,761 from the bookseller, according to a police report.

The theft was discovered when employees were doing inventory and noticed several items missing. When police questioned the cashier, he allegedly admitted to selling the items, then voiding the transaction in the cash register, as would happen if the merchandise had been returned.

Instead of handing back cash to a nonexistent customer, the cashier allegedly pocketed the money himself, according to a police report.

On April 12, police arrested a Best Buy employee suspected of stealing from the store over a six-month period.

The 27-year-old allegedly made off with more than $10,000 from the Best Buy on Broadway and West 62nd Street, according to a police report.