Electrician's Bookkeeper Charged with Embezzlement

A former bookkeeper for Pete’s Electric Co. in Pawcatuck, Conn., is facing charges including embezzlement. Police said she used a company credit card at times over a four-month period to make personal purchases, racking up nearly $18,000 in debt.

According to a report from The Westerly Sun, Marissa K. Yalango was arraigned in court earlier this month on charges of second-degree larceny, third-degree identity theft and spending more than $500 on a revoked credit card. She immediately entered a not-guilty plea to each charge and was released on a promise to appear on Sept. 16, according to court documents.

Officers first began investigating in March after Kevin Grills, owner of Pete’s Electric Co., approached the department early in that month to report an embezzlement from his company.

In an arrest affidavit, police said Yalango had worked as a part-time bookkeeper for the company over the past 10 years prior to being terminated on March 5 after unauthorized charges were discovered on company American Express and Chase Slate credit cards. Further investigation revealed that between November 2015 and February 2016, Yalango had charged the cards for purchases from the Stop & Shop store in East Lyme totaling $17,969.92.

Yalango told officers that the money taken was used to support a drug addiction.