Aide facing new charges after more thefts discovered

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January 19, 2013

Aide facing new charges after more thefts discovered

BY JULIE MANGANIS STAFF WRITER The Salem News Sat Jan 19, 2013, 04:30 AM EST

SALEM — More charges have been filed against a former nursing assistant after bank records showed that she had taken nearly $15,000 from an elderly patient at the nursing home where she worked.

Ana Rodriguez, 31, of 46 Peabody St., Salem, who was already out on $3,000 cash bail following her arrest last November, pleaded not guilty to 14 new counts, including felony larceny, credit card fraud and forging and passing forged checks during an appearance yesterday in Salem District Court.

Rodriguez allegedly wrote at least seven checks from the account of a 70-year-old disabled resident of the Bertram House in Salem, according to police reports by Salem Patrolman Kathleen Rocheville.

Rocheville added the additional counts after receiving bank records that showed more checks written out to Rodriguez and her mother dating back to July 2011. Police believe that Rodriguez was using her mother’s identification to cash some of the checks.

The bank will reimburse the patient’s account for approximately $12,900, the total of the paper checks allegedly forged by Rodriguez. However, it won’t cover the fraudulent use of the patient’s debit card, which investigators say was used for $1,557 worth of transactions.

Prosecutors yesterday did not seek additional bail for Rodriguez, who has also surrendered her passport amid concerns about her ties to the Dominican Republic.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March 7.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, via email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter @SNJulieManganis.