Woman accused in credit, check thefts
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By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: September 11, 2009
MANCHESTER – A Florida woman was charged with two felonies after police said they believed she took credit cards and checks from two residents at Equinox Terrace, both of whom were in their 90s, and ran up hundreds of dollars in debt.
Melissa F. Langone, 29, of Apopka, Fla., was arraigned in Bennington District Court on Sept. 1 on two dockets. For each case, she was charged with a felony count of financially exploiting a vulnerable adult and four misdemeanor counts of using false pretenses to obtain merchandise worth less than $900.
In the first case, Manchester Police Officer Patrick Owens said his office was contacted by a staff member at Equinox Terrace, an assisted living facility, on July 30.
Owens said the daughter of a 91-year-old resident of Equinox Terrace had complained that her father's credit card bill had almost $1,700 in charges even though he is confined to a wheelchair and only leaves Equinox Terrace for medical appointments.
Owens said staff members also told him that Langone seemed "overly concerned" about the missing credit card.
According to the affidavit, Owens was able to track down video surveillance footage that seemed to show Langone spending more than $100 at Walmart in Bennington on July 6 and about $500 during two transactions at Price Chopper in Bennington on July 6 and July 7.
Owens said both transactions at Price Chopper showed that one of the store's discount cards had been scanned before the sale. The cards were registered to Langone, Owens said.
The card was used a third time to buy gas and cigarettes in Manchester on June 30.
In a separate affidavit, Manchester Police Officer Paul McGann said the department was contacted again on Aug. 4 because the nephew of another Equinox Terrace resident had noted unusual activities on a credit card and two checks.
The credit card that belonged to the resident, who is 96, was used to purchase almost $775 in merchandise at the Bennington Walmart on June 26 and about $50 in merchandise at a Shaftsbury gas station on the same date.
Two checks from the residents account, in the amounts of $850 and $780, were cashed at Citizens Bank in Bennington on June 24 and 29. Both checks were endorsed in Langone's name and using her driver's license, McGann said.
During Langone's arraignment, Bennington County State's Attorney Erica Marthage requested $10,000 cash bail for several reasons including Langone's criminal records in Florida and New Jersey. Marthage said the state was relying less on those records as proof of prior conviction than as indicators that Langone had out-of-state ties.
Public Defender Frederick Bragdon said his client had lived in Shaftsbury since the fall of 2008 and now lived in Charlotte. None of Langone's criminal charges indicated that she had failed to appear for court proceedings, he said.
Judge John Wesley released Langone without bail, but said it was a "close question" because Langone was unemployed and had "only recent and not particularly strong ties to Vermont." Wesley said he ultimately decided not to impose bail because Langone has three young children.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
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