PHOTO
The owners of Arrowtown’s Night ‘n Day say the theft of $5500 in cash and goods by its manager was a “devastating” betrayal of their trust.
Hamish Garrick, who co-owns four Night ‘n Day stores in the Whakatipu with his father, Alan, tells Mountain Scene they sponsored Glory Cardeno’s work visa in 2019, and promoted her to store manager last year.
That made her offending “gut-wrenching” and hard to comprehend.
Cardeno, 53, a Filipino national, was sentenced in Queenstown’s court this week on a charge of theft arising from her offending over two weeks last August.
Police say her manager’s position gave her responsibility for balancing the till — checking that the items sold matched the day’s cash and electronic payments — and the ability to process refunds.
CCTV footage showed her “under ringing” — after a cash sale processed either by herself or another staff member, she would refund the sale on the till and keep the cash for herself.
“The defendant would also simply open the till when she served a customer who paid in cash, and later pocketed the cash at the end of the day.”
Garrick says he began monitoring CCTV footage in the store after becoming suspicious about her behaviour.
When he confronted her, Cardeno admitted to stealing more than $3500 in cash and stock during the two-week period, as well as $2000 from under-ringing the till.
She also told him she had been stealing from the store for more than two years, but after seeking legal advice, only admitted the August offending to police.
Garrick says they believe she had stolen at least $150,000, but because their CCTV system’s hard drive was deleting footage every few weeks at the time, they could not produce the necessary evidence.
However, the store had been struggling financially until she was caught, then subsequently recovered, making her offending as “clear as day”.
Defence counsel DeAnn Nicoloso requested a community work sentence on the grounds Cardeno had no previous convictions and had offered to pay back the $5500.
There were also likely to be immigration consequences from her offending, which was punitive in itself and would serve as a deterrent to others.
The defendant was a hard worker, often doing three or four jobs to support her family in the Philippines, Nicoloso said.
She was actively involved in her church, and was having to deal with “embarrassment and shame” within the Wakatipu’s Filipino community.
Judge Russell Walker said Cardeno had told her pre-sentence report writer her working conditions at the store had been difficult and her efforts not always recognised.
“The remedy for that, Ms Cardeno, is to find alternative employment, not to help yourself from the till or pocket cash.”
From a starting point of 16 months’ imprisonment, he applied a 40% discount for her guilty plea, lack of previous convictions and offer to pay reparation.
That reduced the nominal term of imprisonment to nine months, which he converted to three months’ community detention.
Walker also imposed 100 hours’ community work, and ordered her to pay the reparation in two instalments this month.
Other convictions
● Mark Michael Robinson, 41, of Queenstown, trespass, December 16, obscene exposure, December 22; two charges of breaching bail, June 2, fined $500.
● Ross Wilson, 30, painter, of Sunshine Bay, drink-driving (600mcg), Fernhill Rd, September 11, Queenstown, fined $500, disqualified six months.
● Christian Gea Rodriguez, 32, of Kelvin Heights, drink-driving (480mcg), Frankton Rd, September 20, fined $380, disqualified six months.
● Stephane Laurent Sebastien Colonier, 29, of Queenstown, careless driving causing injury, Dublin St, June 3, Queenstown, disqualified six months, reparation $4263.18.
● Xin Li, 27, of Queenstown, theft (items valued at $340.86 from Pak’nSave Queenstown), March 17-April 8, convicted and discharged.
● Larissa Gyan Madeline Thompson, 34, of Wānaka, drink-driving (490mcg), Wānaka-Luggate Hwy, August 15, fined $390, disqualified six months.
● James Liam Toa, 27, student, of Lake Hāwea, drink-driving (487mcg), Riley St, July 19, Lake Hāwea, fined $380, disqualified six months.
