CT tax collector arrested after alleged coupon scam

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http://wtnh.com/2017/01/04/newington-tax-collector-arrested-after-alleged-coupon-scam/

>NEWINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — Fraud and forgery at the hands of a tax collector. Police say it was an elaborate con to bilk Stop & Shop out of thousands. Now, she is under arrest and police are trying to figure out how long and how far reaching the scam is.

>Police say a forger allegedly used copied coupons and bogus barcodes to rip off Stop & Shop. They have arrested one of the Newington town tax collectors, 52-year-old Rosemarie Taber. She worked for years in the Newington tax office.

>“The barcode label did not match what was on the label, but it didn’t match what she was purchasing and there were too many copies made,” said Lt. Eric Rocheleau of the West Hartford Police Department.

>Right now, she is under arrest in West Hartford, but detectives believe she may have hit other stores in other towns and are broadening their investigation. Police say they tracked down the name on the Stop & Shop card she was using and it turned out to be someone else’s identity.

>“According to Stop & Shop, it has been going on for quite some time, enough so that it rose to the level of a full investigation on their part, and including the police in the matter,” said Rocheleau.

>We did put in a call to Stop & Shop to see what they had to say about this, they had no comment about it. They are working with police trying to figure out how this was pulled off so they can prevent this in the future.

>The Town Manager for the Town of Newington said she can’t comment on an ongoing investigation. We asked if Taber has been suspended with pay or without pay. She wouldn’t comment on that, only to say that it has been addressed.

>Taber is facing larceny, forgery and criminal impersonation charges.