Illinois Walmart Manager Charged For Taking Bag With $135K Inside

I remember seeing Rodney Dangerfield many years ago on the Tonight Show when he talked about how his father had worked for a bank for 30 years, but was fired for stealing pens.

A much-younger me just didn't get the joke until my dad explained that it was funny because if you were going to steal from a bank, you should probably choose money instead of pens.

I guess we can give a Walmart manager (a former manager now) some credit for allegedly stealing a bag full of cash instead of a handful of blue vests and a shopping cart.

The Theft Took Place At The West Jefferson Street Walmart In Joliet Back In November, But The Suspect Turned Herself In To Cops On Monday Of This Week

On Monday, 47-year old Melissa Vanderwall, of Romeoville, was arrested and processed, then taken to the Will County Adult Detention Facility for burglary and theft after turning herself in to authorities on an arrest warrant.

So, how exactly did all of this go down?

According to Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English (hat-tip to Patch.com), police were called and notified of a past-theft at the Walmart location in Joliet back in November of last year. They then discovered that Vanderwall, working as a night manager, was the person suspected of theft.

You're Probably Wondering How Someone Could Grab $135,000 And Just Walk Out Of The Store

According to the story at Patch.com,

While Vanderwall was working as the night manager, she had emptied a large amount of cash from cash recyclers that are used to restock the store’s cash registers.

Vanderwall emptied the cash into a shopping bag, abruptly ended her shift at the store, and left. The incident was captured on surveillance video. Police believe Vanderwall stole $135,988.00.

Even though an arrest warrant was issued on November 29th of last year, there was no sign of Vanderwall until last Monday morning when she turned herself in--leaving us all to wonder where she went for the last three months while police searched for her.

And, as long as we're on the topic of stealing from stores, this video, featuring a shoplifter getting caught by a store employee who was not in the mood for retail theft, is well worth seeing: