A Villager told law enforcement his wife’s prolonged illness forced him to steal money from his employer.
A deputy met with the owner of Low Ball Louie’s cigar bar in Lady Lake to discuss an employee theft investigation on Saturday afternoon, according to a case report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The owner said the 62-year-old employee, Fred Thomas McGhee of the Village of Silver Lake on the Historic Side of The Villages, stole from the register every three to four days he worked.
The owner explained that she had proof on paper for five theft incidents and footage for three, totaling $140.39. McGhee would either pretend to ring up cash or ring up the transaction and immediately cancel the sale after the customer paid. Her documentation recorded incidents on May 26, May 30, June 2, June 6 and June 8, the report said.
She showed the deputy videos and computer records demonstrating that McGhee completed transactions, gave customers their products and change, and then canceled the transactions in the computer system. He worked a shift that day, starting at 2:30 p.m., and she wanted him arrested. She did not want it to reach the felony level, though, due to his wife recently undergoing heart surgery, the report said…