Monroe Chat

By Danielle Wilson
Staff Writer
Updated 6:21 PM Monday, June 15, 2009
MIDDLETOWN — Police say a former doctor’s office accounting employee admitted to taking $500,000 from her job to pay for private school.
According to a Middletown police report, a co-worker told Middletown Medical Group manager Kim Cash that Susan Best, 51, was embezzling money from the company.
Best, of Santa Fe Road in Middletown, was arrested today, June 15, on charges of grand theft and tampering with records, both third-degree felonies. She was released from Middletown City Jail this afternoon after posting a $15,000 bond.
The company determined the money had been taken since 2004, according to the police report. Internal investigations revealed bank deposit slips had been altered before money was delivered to the bank.
Middletown police Lt. Rodney Muterspaw said Best told police she took the money to pay her children’s private school tuition.
Best is no longer employed at the facility, according to police.
She is expected to be arraigned Wednesday, June 17, in Middletown Municipal Court
Muterspaw said his department has seen “a lot of embezzlement cases lately,” with several in the $20,000 to $500,000 range.
The crime can go on for months or years before anyone is caught, and offenders think they’ve gotten away, Muterspaw said.