Westmoreland Co. Woman Jailed, Accused Of Stealing $50,000 From Bank
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A Westmoreland County woman was jailed on charges she stole $50,000 from a local bank.
Martina Papa, 62, of Jeannette, is accused of taking the money from Teamsters Local 30 Credit Union.
Papa began working at the credit union in 2008, but is no longer an employee following her arrest.
Westmoreland County detectives say the first sign of a problem with the credit union's money came after it was audited by an independent accounting firm.
Papa was then questioned about what happened to the money.
According to the criminal complaint, she told county detectives that when she started the job then-credit union president Larry Chrzan told her… "he ran the board. Other members didn't say no to him and did whatever he instructed." And that she was told to give Chrzan "$1,200 every month for a voluntary position."
But when Chrzan died, Papa allegedly kept taking money.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators say Papa allegedly "took funds to pay personal loans and pay other personal bills."
The criminal complaint goes on to say Papa allegedly "manipulated bank reconciliations to conceal her theft," and "embezzled more than $52,000."
"I never knew nothing about it… what was going on," said Pasquale Papa, the suspect's husband. "She never did nothing in her life. Worst thing she did is run a stop sign. There's a lot of people who knew about what he was about anyway. They knew what kind of person he was, put it that way."
Papa remains free on $10,000 unsecured bond and is charged with embezzlement.
For his part, Papa's husband says his wife is a good woman who may have made a bad choice and he'll stand by her.
"I'm not like a rat jumping off a sinking ship. I couldn't do that," he said.
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