DA: 'Plaza employee scams student'
Guest services representative arrested on charges of forging a $50 check of UWEC junior
Emily Hartwig
Issue date: 3/6/06 Section: Campus News
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According to the complaint, at the time of her arrest, Ashley Pappas, 20, of Bloomer, admitted to opening a package that Studer received from her aunt, stealing a check, forging her own signature and depositing the $50 check in her own bank account.
The complaint additionally showed that one of the officers also found a suspicious multicolored glass pipe in Pappas' purse when she was taken into custody.
Pappas is charged with one count of uttering forgery, a class H felony, theft of movable property, a class A misdemeanor and two misdemeanors for possession of THC and drug paraphernalia, according to the complaint.
Sally Birtzer, the senior operations manager at The Plaza, said Pappas was a good employee.
Birtzer said that since Pappas admitted to forgery when she was arrested, her employment was automatically terminated because of hotel policy.
Birtzer said Studer's mail was delivered to the hotel even though she moved out for the spring semester. Instead of turning the misdirected package over to the university, however, Pappas decided to take it, said Birtzer.
Pappas faces up to seven years, three months and 30 days in jail and a maximum of $21,500 in fines if she is convicted on all four counts, according to the complaint.
She will have her driving privileges revoked for up to five years if found guilty on the drug charges. Pappas' hearing will be held on
April 10.
According to the criminal complaint, Studer made contact with the police on Feb. 23 after she found out from her aunt, Marykay Tullis, that there was a suspicious signature on the check she mailed to her niece.