A former bookkeeper with Frenchy's Corp. restaurants has been arrested and charged with stealing almost $300,000.
According to Clearwater Police, 52-year-old Mary Catherine Buffano was arrested on Thursday and charged with with grand theft and scheming to defraud.
Police said Buffano was an accountant responsible for making bank deposits for the restaurants. Authorities said during a period of four years, Buffano would steal portions of the deposits and then alter balances to disguise her thefts.
Authorities said the total stolen was $292,187. More than $48,000 in cash was found in a closet at Buffano's Virginia Avenue in Palm Harbor.
Detectives said she confessed to the crime while being questioned.
She was taken to the Pinellas County Jail and released Friday morning on $100,000 bond.
"We would like to thank Detective Robert Lazzaro and the Clearwater Police Department for their hard work," said Frenchy's owner Michael Preston. "We are shocked and deeply disappointed that one of our former employees is now charged with stealing from our business. As soon as we became aware of it, we immediately contacted law enforcement.
"The Clearwater Police Department has been working with us on this investigation for several months now. Since we discovered the theft, we have reviewed all of our accounting procedures and have put in place new checks and balances to make sure something like this can’t happen again."