Knoebels worker arrested for stealing

Maybe its just me, but I think I would have attempted to keep this matter as private as possible. Doesn't really seem like the public's business.

Not a chance...Criminal charges are almost always public record.

Kudos to Dick Knoebels to allow a plea agreement where she gets probation and couseling. If I were in his shoes and someone stole that much from me, I don't know how I'd feel, but I doubt I'd let her off so easy.

As far as "keeping it private" Matt, we're not talking $20 out of a cash register. We are talking 50-60 thousand dollars.

They did their internal investigation and found that a lot had been taken by her. When they began to realize the scope of the issue, that is when they called in the police. Knoebels staff can only investigate so much, but when it came time to check her bank records, they needed subpoenas to get that information, which they would not be able to get but the police would...

I said as private as possible. I've been involved in circumstances very similar to this, and its uncomfortable for every person involved, especially when you personally know the perpetrator.

This sort of thing happens all the time in private business, but it doesn't show up in the papers every day.

True, but this is a small-town newspaper reporting on a local story. If someone took $50k from a company in Chicago, it would not be that big of a story... This (so far) has not made it to the regional news outlets or large newspapers in Pennsylvania.

When crime happens it should be made public.
And it should be uncomfortable, very public and uncomrfortable for the criminal who feels its perfectly ok to steal from their employee.
And no kudo's for Dick. This criminal deserves jail time as probation and restitution is a mere slap on the hand and is no deterrent for anyone else. If all one is going to get is counseling and probation then it was a waste of time and money spent to apprehend and prosecute this criminal.

Bob O, your not in a position to determine what this person deserves, even if you were similarly wronged in the past. And if the wronged party decides it's best to show mercy, so be it. As for a *deterrent*, don't put so much stock into it. There's no guarantee that jailing her up would stop anyone else from taking money at their job if they felt they could get away with it. She has already made substantial restitution, and I'm sure that played a role in Knoebels' decision not to seek jail time. To err is human; to forgive is Divine.

To put it into perspective, 50-60 thousand dollars is about the price of their Rockn' Tug, or their Frog Hopper. Imagine if one of those companies asked to pay the invoice on those rides and they didn't have the money because of this woman.

All I can say about this matter is....What a shame:(

I wonder how long that would take to payback working at the park? I think this woman is getting off pretty easy. Being as old as she is a 7 year sentence could be life. I think Dick made the right choice. If we see someone fixing the gardens at Knoebels wearing an orange suit we will all know who it is.

For a fine example of a conservative view point, read Bob O's post. For another well written rebuttal that outlines the liberal view point check out Robocoaster's post! On this political night that includes the State of the Union speech, I found both of these posts interesting! Two point of views that are polar opposites, yet each so reasonable when argued as presented!

Which side are you on? Consider your choice honestly and wisely---and---vote accordingly. These types of differences in opinions do matter and are related to our amusement park enjoyment! With so many ride related litigations and new state laws on the horizon, the thrills you receive from current and future rides is threatened, and will be affected by how you feel about the 2 posts above (should you vote)!

Think long and hard!

Robocoaster,m not a judge so i wont determine the sentence but we ALL have a right to give our opinion on what we believe the proper sentence for this crime is.
The victim has a right to give their thoughts to a judge(alot of states have a system for victim impact statements) on what they believe the sentence should be but they also dont determine what the proper sentence is and their statement is one of many factors judges will use when determing the proper sentence.
People who steal from their employers are treated way too lightly IMHO and just because resitution is paid back doesnt lessen the impact of the crime that was committed. So if one robs a bank with a gun should we treat them nicer if they later give a portion of their proceeds to charity??
Now if she was in the park wearing a orange suit saying "im a thief" helping to pay off what she stole that could be a good part of the sentence. We need to bring back a sense of "shame" when one commits a crime, as that is often missing and instead the criminal seems to think they were somehow entitled to the money they stole and somehow are the real victim.
Luckily i havent been wronged in the past but i deal with criminals on a daily basis and view firsthand the impact they have on society and the excuses they make for their criminal actions.

So we've gone from one woman stealing at work, to future thrill rides being threatened because of litigation and new state laws.

Yeah.

Its been a looong, cold off season.......

Matt:

You can play dumb and keep your head in the sand, but this does not change reality! The people that we put in political offices are having a great affect on the entire amusement park industry. From the overhead restraints on Revolution, to the excessive breaking on rides, to the g-force limitations recommendations coming out of NJ! You can choose to ignore what is happening and believe that will never happen! But the current sue-happy climate and liberal thought pattern does affect this industry that we all love!

Here are just 2 articles from a quick search to give you some evidence of what I'm talking about! Of course, if you've already made up your mind that my opinions are worthless, don't let the facts get in your way! Keep voting without any regard of the consequences that may come from that fundamental right!

http://www.intix.org/article_detail.cfm?ID=9938

http://www.njsbf.com/njsbf/student/eagle/spring99.cfm#1

People who feel the need to classify people as one or the other live in a fantasy world of absolutes. Liberal vs. conservative has nothing to do with anything when it comes to stupid laws, it just has to do with stupid people.

Oooohhh...he highlighted the word liberal.....ooooooohhhhhhhh! What a bunch of finger pointing crap!

Wait a second......woman not going to jail for stealing money from Knoebels = liberals are bad because of g-force limitations on coasters in New Jersey?

Ladies and gents, our minds have just been blown! :)

You have to look deeper into what Jeffrey was trying to say, but he does make a point. I don't like to argue liberal and conservative issues because I'm more middle of the road here. Jeff Putz is right. It's about stupid people who classify themselves as one or the other only, that cause all the problems. Think about it, most people are middle of the road and not on the far left or right. It's the ones who are out on the extremities that make life difficult for most of us. It's one of the things that bothers me about politics anymore.*** This post was edited by Thrillerman 1/21/2004 2:13:19 PM ***

Actually Thrillerman, I would argue that the problem isn't the people on the far left of far right, but the people that feel the need to classify other people and make everything a "us" against "them" "left" vs. "right" thing. There are people on both sides that would rather point fingers and blame the other side for everything instead of actually being a practical about it. For some conservatives its all about "the liberal media" and "liberal conspiricy" etc etc etc. They'd rather make that the issue than actually talk about the real life issues. Its been called "Ann Coulter-ization." Not that there aren't some on the left that are just as much to blame.