A Sad Saga of Security Gaps

[Curtis Baillie]

From the Philladelphia Inquirer:
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008

For retailers, a sad saga of security gaps
By Mari A. Schaefer

Inquirer Staff Writer

Anthony Fussell was a human-resource manager's dream come true. Or so it seemed. He was a well-spoken Morgan State University grad, a former Marine Corps reservist with a solid resume who convinced interviewers at ShopRite, Kmart, Value City, Toys R Us and Ross Dress for Less that he had the retail business down cold.
Police say Fussell also turned out to be an expert at slipping through retailing's often porous security systems.

Detectives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey allege that the 35-year-old Gloucester County man stole as much as $220,000 from eight companies by getting hired as a store manager, working for a few days or weeks, then disappearing with cash receipts.


Here's the whole story: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news...rity_gaps.html

This guy is every retailer's nightmare. It appears that none of them properly vetted this guy, and just handed him the keys to their stores.

Of interesting note - Shoprite of Cherry Hill, New Jersey is looking for a new Director of Loss Prevention. I have no knowledge if the open position is connected to this story.

[LPAjh9558]

Sounds like none of them even did backrounds or anything did they? Man, he really took 'em all for a ride Seems to me that if he was only staying at each job for a few weeks and left.....should've thrown some red flags long the way Hopefully he will be missing from the retail scene for a long time to come

[Curtis Baillie]

Some jobs he only stayed a few days.

[Bill Warnock]

Curt that is an all too frequent occurrence. Sad, very sad.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[LPAjh9558]

He was giving new meaning to the term "working the system"

[NRM_Oz]

1 LPM role I had, resulted in an urgent call from 1 of my investigators. He recalled an employee was fired for fraud but was now working again for us. I asked his manager and got his name - say it was JOHNSON JAMES. He was now using JAMES JOHNSON and this was 7 years after he had been fired. HR Mgt had failed to pick this up and conduct a proper check and also it was found he was asking to have his wages go into his sister's bank a/c as he was working on welfare fraud as well.

So when I finalised up the evidence it was a major egg on the face of the management team but again was anyone fired or reprimanded over this screw up ? Was my investigator thanked by anyone but me ? Was he charged with fraud or obtaining a benefit by deception ? Nooooooooooo mgt was a far too busy worried about their jobs to admit someone screwed up.

[R.boyle2003]

Hate to say it but mgmt. even from my lowely night stocking prospective is only out to save them selves and their buddys.

I literally handed a employee theft case to a zone manager at my store and guess what, the guy got off scott free.

I persionally observed the first 3 of the big 5
Guy enteres WITHOUT the gloves even tells me he wants to get a new pair.
He goes and browses the glove rack.(while on the clock) I was 4 feet away.
Selects a $25 pair of mechanix gloves and returnes to his area of the store.

I witnessed him using the gloves later that night.

I inform a Zone manager and he goes after him, but nothing was ever done. I questioned the guy that "stole" (in my opinion) them and he told me that the Zone manager (apparently his buddy) store used them for him. What kind of idiot store uses a $25 pair of gloves when the company has employee use gloves redially avaiable!

I HATE the good ol' boy system, it makes me sick.

[NRM_Oz]

Welcome to retail .................. As a state LPM and later National LPM, I came across area managers tipping off their stores I was coming in for a visit so they would ensure everything was hidden but I would come a day earlier and catch them in the act of concealing undisclosed shrinkage. When approach my boss (company 2IC) he went to push it through the 3IC of Ops only for it to be covered up and no action taken. It was the culture of a slack arse former NLPM who was too busy having lunches with these area managers whilst the company was falling apart.

Another thing I have come across is the need for people to work for 6 months, save up well in those months and then apply for credit cards or loans, take the money and run off with it. Had a case before Xmas that our feds were asking for my assistance in another state - seems it was all too common for banks to be caught out unawares.

[bpdblue]

Yeah, even the high and mighty can be scum of the earth, and all the good people working can figure it out, but since mister high and mighty is management, others in management just couldn't believe it.