Police charge secretary with stealing $225K from Washington Township firm
Jul. 23—The former secretary of a Westmoreland County trucking firm was arrested Friday on charges of stealing $225,413 from her employer, according to court documents.
Christie M. Parker, 43, of Penn Hills, was arraigned on charges of forgery, receiving stolen property, theft by deception and unlawful use of the computer in connection with secretly diverting cash from company accounts at her former employer, A.D. Weaver Services Inc., located along Route 66 in Washington Township, into a personal account over a five-year period, according to township police.
Police Chief Scott Slagle reported in court documents the thefts occurred from January 2016 until April 29, when company officials discovered discrepancies in account documents and fired Parker.
According to court documents filed by Slagle, company officials discovered the account discrepancies when they were moving furniture and discovered paperwork of secret transfers kept in her desk drawer indicating that she was diverting cash from company accounts into a personal account.
"The victims stated that the only person to have access to these accounts was the actor, Christine Parker, and they had not made any of the transfers," Slagle wrote.
In addition to online transfers, company officials also provided police with 18 checks totalling $22,500 on which, they say, Parker forged the names of company officials to divert into the personal account at Clearview Credit Union. Police said each checks was endorsed by Parker.
Parker was arraigned Friday and released on $100,000 recognizance bond pending a preliminary hearing Aug. 16.
She was hired by the company in 2015, according to court papers. Online dockets indicate Parker has no prior criminal record in Pennsylvania.
Parker's private attorney, Casey White, declined to comment on the case.
Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter .
