The big doll house
$1M ‘Church Lady’ embezzler gets prison
- Last Updated: 4:10 AM, October 12, 2012
- Posted: 3:12 AM, October 12, 2012
Goodbye, dollies.
An angry judge sentenced an elderly embezzler obsessed with Madam Alexander Dolls to at least 4 1/2 years in prison yesterday for stealing $1 million from the Archdiocese of New York — calling her crime “outrageous.”
Anita Collins, 69, of Schulyerville in The Bronx, blew much of the money on the pricey dolls, Belleek China, furniture from Bloomingdale’s and clothing from Brooks Brothers.
Collins, described as a devout churchgoer by friends, has forfeited possession of all of her dolls and other trinkets, which now sit in storage in dozens of boxes in the Manhattan DA’s Office in preparation of being inventoried and sold to reimburse the church.
Steven Hirsch
‘GRAN’ LARCENY:Anita Collins was sentenced yesterday for stealing $1 million — much of which went to buying Madam Alexander dolls.
“You were put in a position of trust by a trusting religious organization,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lewis Bart Stone told Collins, who had pleaded guilty to grand larceny last month. “You stole $1 million — that is an outrageous amount.”
“The church gave you a second chance,” the judge added, referring to Collins having been convicted of grand larceny back in 1999, for stealing from a temp agency.
“And look what you did,” he said. “It was outrageous.”
Collins ripped off the church while working for seven years as an accounts-payable clerk in the archdiocese offices at 1011 First Ave.
She took the money by writing herself check after check — a total of 450 of them over the years. She’d cover her trail by always sending the church false invoices in amounts less than $2,500, the threshold for supervisor approval.
Her forfeited dolls and other ill-gotten loot is valued at only $30,000 to $40,000, according to Collins’ lawyer, although a law-enforcement source predicts the appraised value will be “substantially” higher.
The rest of the stolen cash is unaccounted for, and Collins has insisted there is none left. She technically owes $1,073,358.83 in restitution, but the odds on any repayment are long, given her age and looming prison sentence.
“Nobody can really explain what happened to the money,” Collins’ lawyer, Howard Simmons, told reporters afterward. “They lived very plain lives in a simple apartment. She was very well thought of at the archdiocese. She’s a very nice woman.” She’s lost 40 pounds” since her arrest in February, he said.
Collins’ daughter, Helen, for whom Collins had been the sole care-giver, is dying of cancer, and is fighting for the return of some of the seized items, including a printer and jewelry, which she insists are hers, the lawyer said.
“The defendant managed to embezzle from her employer through incremental theft, which exceeded $1 million over 7 1/2 years,” said DA Cyrus Vance Jr.
“Companies that believe they have been victimized — including nonprofit organizations and religious institutions — should be on watch for theft by insiders,” Vance said.
The DA’s Special Prosecutions office, which handles such crimes, has a hot line at 212-335-8900.
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GJ - Who went to prison when $8 million disappeared from WELS funds? No one. Piepenbrink lifted about $300,000 and WELS had a fit. He should have done file-sharing, as fellow staffer Hochmuth did: public absolution and less than one year in the hoosegow.
Or - what is the penalty for buying a new office building without selling the old one? For not having a contingency contract in a down market? "We will complete this purchase only if we sell the falling-down piece of garbage called The Love Shack. Otherwise, no deal."
Vote for Romney, so real estate prices go up and there is actually a demand for commercial real estate in Milwaukee.
Cheering news - Appleton must be thriving, because a twice-failed bar is worth over $500,000. How much offering money from the entire synod was donated by Free and Schroeder to buy this stinky old bar? How much was loaned to remodel it? When will WELS tell the truth about this? Never.
Or - what is the penalty for buying a new office building without selling the old one? For not having a contingency contract in a down market? "We will complete this purchase only if we sell the falling-down piece of garbage called The Love Shack. Otherwise, no deal."
Vote for Romney, so real estate prices go up and there is actually a demand for commercial real estate in Milwaukee.
Cheering news - Appleton must be thriving, because a twice-failed bar is worth over $500,000. How much offering money from the entire synod was donated by Free and Schroeder to buy this stinky old bar? How much was loaned to remodel it? When will WELS tell the truth about this? Never.
