Local Teacher Facing Charges Of Retail And Identity Theft
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A teacher at Shaler Area Middle School is facing charges of retail and identity theft after she was accused of stealing other teacher's driver's licenses and using them to return items at area stores.
According to police, the school resource officer received complaints that Jeannine Vittorino had taken the driver's license of a fellow teacher. The teacher told the officer that she saw Vittorino crouching under her desk where her purse and wallet were located. When Vittorino exited the room, the teacher checked her wallet, which was left open, and her driver's license had gone missing.
Five days later, the school resource officer received another complaint of the same manner. The second teacher recalled that while she shared a classroom with Vittorino the previous school year, she needed her ID for a transaction and found it missing.
Over the next several days, other teachers recalled their driver's licenses going missing following interactions with Vittorino.
The original complainant attempted to return an item to the TJ Maxx in Greensburg on January 7 and was told she could no longer return items to TJ Maxx. When she asked why, she was given a report that showed she returned an item 20 minutes beforehand via a mobile app called "The Retail Equation." The location of the store, a Marshalls in Robinson Township, was approximately and hour and 20 minutes away from the TJ Maxx.
The report showed the original complainant had made 19 returns between November and January, with only three of them being of her own doing.
Most of the returns took place in Robinson Town Centre.
Police were able to obtain security footage that showed Vittorino, along with a juvenile, making several of the fraudulent returns.
She is facing charges of theft by unlawful taking, access device fraud, retail theft, corruption of minors, and identity theft.