My father had a saying

"If you're going to steal, steal big. For whether its $5 or $5,000 when you get caught you're going to jail." Wise man.

Kimberly Padilla must adhere to that advise. Today she was arrested on theft, forgery and fraud charges. Ms. Padilla stole over 139k from her employer by making out checks to herself over a four month period. One good question- Why didn't anyone question these checks for so long? Lax bookkeeping?

I hope Padilla enjoyed. For now she is going to do some serious jail time.

Open Post- Jo's Cafe, Quietly Making Noise, Bright & Early,

Kimberly Padilla hit a winning streak before she started working for Pace 2000 Homes, taking in enough gambling money to buy a 2002 silver Mitsubishi Spider convertible, according to Port St. Lucie police.

But Padilla, 36, lost out Wednesday when she was arrested on theft, forgery and fraud charges after she allegedly signed and cashed 155 checks from her company to herself, totalling nearly $139,000.

Port St. Lucie Police seized the car because it was used to cash the checks.

Padilla worked for a year as a bookkeeper for Pace 2000 Homes, a homebuilder in Martin and St. Lucie counties. She was not on Pace 2000's signature card, listing people allowed to sign on the company account.

According to the police report, an accountant noticed money missing from the business and told the president, Andrew Nadalin. Nadalin found out from the business' bank that about 155 checks had been made out to Padilla between December and March.

Police Detective Tom Nichols said Padilla forged Nadalin's mother's signature on the checks.

Padilla told police she stole the money to support a gambling habit. Nichols said she liked to play slots at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.