Store employee charged with theft of $66,000

Store employee charged
with theft of $66,000

EAST BRUNSWICK — A woman employed by OfficeMax on Route 18 was arrested last week after being accused of stealing more than $66,000 from the store through cash receipts.

According to police, Teresa Bermel, 35, of Old Bridge, an employee at the store since September 1999, had been stealing money during the course of the last two-and-a-half years. At the time of her arrest, she was employed as the store’s customer service manager. Police said Bermel was using receipts from customers’ product purchases, giving refunds and keeping the money. OfficeMax personnel became suspicious, according to police, after a customer tried to make a legitimate return on an item, and the computer showed that a refund had already been given on the item. She was arrested and charged with theft at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 13 by East Brunswick Police Detective Kevin Zebro. OfficeMax’s district loss prevention department had begun investigating the matter a month earlier, and East Brunswick police became involved about two weeks into that investigation, according to Police Lt. Geraldine Garrett. The investigation revealed that Bermel might have been giving the money to her brother, Michael, also 35, of Manhattan, who was also arrested last week and charged with possession of stolen property, police said. Both suspects were released following their arrests, pending a municipal court appearance scheduled for this week.