ODESSA, Fla. (AP) - After a year of investigating, Florida authorities have arrested two people on charges that they bilked a 69-year-old chewing gum heiress out of nearly $500,000.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Barbara DiCioccio and Chet Ragsdale worked for 69-year-old Helen Rich, the heiress to the Wrigley gum fortune. Officials say DiCioccio and Ragsdale siphoned thousands of dollars from their wealthy employer who had promoted them from housekeeper and ranch hand.
The documents lay out how 52-year-old DiCioccio and 45-year-old Ragsdale took on increasing responsibilities and used an array of schemes to pilfer from her.
When she discovered financial improprieties in January 2017, Rich took the discovery to the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, which requested help from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.
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