Employee theft led to changes at Yonkers skating rink

YONKERS, NY - Alleged thefts of cash entrance fees by staffers at the city's skating rink has officials scrambling for new security measures.

Earlier this week, the parks department announced it would no longer accept cash for admissions, then it suddenly reversed the decision.

"Parks was 'piloting' a cashless facility, but it has been decided to still accept cash, along with credit cards and other forms of payment," Yonkers spokeswoman Christina Gilmartin wrote in an email Thursday.

The flip-flop on cash at the E.J. Murray Memorial Skating Center at 348 Tuckahoe Road is in response to the alleged theft of thousands of dollars in missing cash from the rink that resulted in one arrest.

Employees' complaints about a hostile workplace and about changes in how cash was handled led to an investigation last year by city inspector general Brendan McGrath, who released a report on the case Dec. 18.

On Oct. 12, Yonkers Police arrested Anna Tomanelli, 54, of Yonkers, and charged her with misdemeanor larceny for allegedly stealing about $500 from the rink's cash register.

Additionally, rink manager Denis McKiernan left his position.

"We were able to look at (revenue) reports and compare those numbers to the patrons actually entering the rink and together that information revealed, more likely than not, McKiernan was stealing from the rink," McGrath wrote in his report.

As of Friday, McKiernan, who was hired in May 2015, has not been charged with any crime by the Yonkers Police, according to police spokesman Dean Politopoulos.

McGrath wrote that Tomanelli's alleged pilfering over her more than 30 years as a cashier at the rink might have run into five figures. In the 2016 fiscal year, the rink generated about $780,000 in revenue and $970,000 in expenses, according to McGrath's report.

"Based on the number of years the employee worked as a cashier at the rink, it is reasonable to believe that the theft resulted in the loss of $10,000 or more to the City of Yonkers," McGrath wrote about Tomanelli, who he only identified in his report as the arrested employee.

Mayor Mike's Spano's office initially ignored questions about thefts and an arrest at the skating rink.

Later, Gilmartin wrote that it has instituted some of McGrath's suggestions for increased security, including a new computer terminal in the cashier's booth to record cash transactions and new protocols for preparing deposit slips that involves at least two people counting and recording the cash received.

The city also appointed a new rink manager, Patty Urban, a former assistant rink manager.