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Bookkeeper's alleged crime 'devastated' victim
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NORTHFIELD - Andrea Amato thought there should be more money when she received less than $5,000 from her mother's estate.
Emma Mary Amato had taken pride in stocking away a savings that would leave enough for her funeral and other expenses. But the check her daughter received was barely enough to cover the coffin.
Andrea Amato asked bookkeeper Patricia Ahearn if she was sure there wasn't more. There apparently was. A lot more. But Ahearn put it into her own bank account, according to criminal charges against her.
Ahearn, 31, of Egg Harbor City, made her first appearance in Northfield Municipal Court on Wednesday to face charges of theft by deception. She is accused of taking $107,879 from three accounts with her then-employer, Michael Goloff, a certified public accountant in Northfield.
More than $25,000 of that was from Emma Amato's trust, according to the charges.
"She devastated me financially," Andrea Amato said of Ahearn. "I will recover one day, but she devastated me."
It has been a tough couple of years for Amato.
She spent a year and a half taking care of her ill mother, aided financially by the man she would marry, Allan Jacobs.
At 54, Amato was marrying for the first time and shared her excitement with Ahearn, who was also engaged. They showed off pictures of their respective fiances and talked of rings.
Amato and Jacobs married June 21, 2008. A car accident delayed their honeymoon, but they were able to get away that July. Three days into their vacation, Amato's mother died. The couple came home. That's when she found out there was little left of the savings her mother had proudly stocked away.
The money went toward aides and other bills, Amato said Ahearn told her.
Amato was a bit suspicious, but had little time to dwell on it. She and Jacobs tried again with a honeymoon in August. On the last day, Jacobs died of a massive heart attack in Greece.
It cost time and money to get the body from Europe. And Jacobs had no insurance.
Amato's home is in pre-foreclosure, and she says she is "calling up all my creditors and pleading for mercy."
But she's afraid Ahearn will get the real clemency.
During Wednesday's brief hearing, Judge Henry Broome told her she is eligible for the pretrial intervention program, which allows first-time offenders to avoid jail and have their records cleared as long as certain requirements are met.
"I'm just disheartened to know there's a strong possibility she'll get away with it," Amato said. "What hurts is that my mom took pride that she was able to put that money away. That pride was stolen."
Ahearn left the courthouse without comment, but told the judge she could not afford an attorney and will apply for a public defender.
Meanwhile, Amato - a certified registered nurse anesthetist - starts a new job in upstate New York next week, thanks to a friend of her late husband.
Every day gets better, she said: "There will be a happy ending."
E-mail Lynda Cohen:
Posted in Atlantic on Thursday, July 2, 2009 3:10 am
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