NEWS

Ex-secretary admits swiping $72,000 from Randolph law firm

Peggy Wright
@PeggyWrightDR

A former legal secretary for a Randolph-based law firm pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing $72,646 from the attorneys who employed her for nearly five years.

Wendy Wainstein, 53, of Dover, admitted to one count of theft by unlawful taking in 2013 from the business account of a law firm owned by Sara Sencer McArdle and her husband, Kevin McArdle, who have since relocated their practice to Parsippany.

"We had trusted her to the point we allowed her to pay bills out of our business account," Kevin McArdle said after the plea, on which Wainstein will be sentenced Jan. 9.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Rappa has recommended to Superior Court Judge Robert Gilson that Wainstein be sentenced to five years' probation and full restitution. Wainstein's defense lawyer, William Johnson, declined comment after the plea.

McArdle said the thefts started out small but amounted to $15,000 in one month alone. He said that Wainstein cashed 130 checks from the law firm over the course of last year and pocketed the money, and also contacted the firm's payroll company and advised it she was owed several thousand dollars in overtime pay that she hadn't worked.

Sara McArdle was examining ledger books last New Year's Eve and noticed three missing pages of carbon copies that should have reflected to whom checks were written. Wainstein told the McArdles she would go over the books with them on New Year's Day but she never showed up. Discovering the thefts, the McArdles contacted Randolph police.

"Sara and I were wondering why we were working so hard" but bank balances didn't show the effort, Kevin McArdle said.

He said he is not optimistic that Wainstein will be able to make full restitution but her agreement calls for her to pay $1,000 at sentencing and $100 a month afterward.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com