A bank vault manager admitted on Wednesday that she put cash in her pockets and purse numerous times, ultimately stealing over $120,000 from an Arlington branch of Comerica Bank.
Sallie Lazzaro, 33, pleaded guilty to theft by a bank employee after she was accused of embezzling money in 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Northern District of Texas office.
Lazzaro, also known as Sallie Marie Perry, was caught stealing the money in 2021 when the bank counted the cash in her teller drawer and found it was short $100,000.
Lazzaro started working for Comerica in July 2015 as a teller at its Arlington branch, The Herald-Sun reported. She was later promoted to vault manager and “was tasked with overseeing the operation and funds of the bank vault.”
Lazzaro entered false information into the bank’s computer system to hide what she had stolen. When the bank vault contents were counted in May 2021, about $265,508 was missing, and Lazzaro admitted to taking nearly $120,000.
From the beginning of 2020 to May 2021, Lazzaro took cash from the teller drawer multiple times throughout the day, in varying amounts. She hid it in pockets or her bag, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Lazzaro’s defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment, and Comerica does not comment on judicial proceedings, according to The Herald-Sun.
