A woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $120,000 from the Arlington bank she worked at.
Sallie Lazzaro, 33, also known as Sallie Marie Perry, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of theft by a bank employee, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of as much as $1 million. Her attorney declined to comment on the case.
According to court documents, Lazzaro was hired in July 2015 as a teller at the Comerica branch in the 4200 block of South Cooper Street in Arlington. She was later promoted to vault manager.
From about January 2020 to May 2021, Lazzaro took cash from the teller drawer “at various times throughout the day and of differing amounts” and hid it in her purse or pocket, court documents say. Authorities said Lazzaro hid the theft by inputting false information into the bank’s computer system and manually changing the teller drawer balances.
No other bank employees participated or had knowledge of the theft, court documents say.
On May 20, 2021, a cash count investigation showed the bank was missing more than $265,000, according to court documents. At the time, Lazzaro was on duty as vault manager, and she later admitted to stealing approximately $120,000.
Lazzaro was arrested last week and has been released from custody until her sentencing, which is scheduled for March.
Comerica did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
