Aberdeen Buy-Rite Liquor Store Employee Stole $5K in Lottery Tickets, Manager Says

ABERDEEN, NJ - Do you ever shop at the Super Buy-Rite liquor store on Rt. 34 in Aberdeen? An employee there has been quietly helping herself to thousands of dollars worth of lottery tickets over an extended period of time, and is now on the run, the store manager says.

Store manager Ali Ramani said the alleged thefts were first brought to his attention in February. He employs two women to work at the front register and one of them told him that the other had been taking lottery tickets out of the bin.

"She was continuously taking Instant Game tickets out of the bin and putting them in her purse," said Ramani. "The other girl saw her and took a cell phone picture and showed it to me."

Each Instant ticket is worth $30 and she was stealing upwards of 20 at a time, he said. "It was $600 in one shot," he said. "When I found out I said, 'Oh my god, what's happening?'"

Incredibly, the employee, who had worked there for 10 months, would occasionally win and would brag to her co-workers about her winnings. "It was usually $250 here and there. But she would always say, 'Don't tell Ramani, don't tell the manager,'" he said.

Ramani said he reviewed security footage and saw the employee on tape stealing the tickets. He confronted her and she started crying and promised she would pay it all back. That was in February. He tried to work out payment plans with her twice, he said, but each time she failed to pay him. That was when Ramani said he had no choice but to go to the police.

He contacted Aberdeen Township police on March 16, and they are now investigating the theft, Police Chief John Powers confirmed. In total, Ramani said more than $5,000 worth of lotto tickets were stolen; he's pressed charges for robbery and theft.

Ramani said he is ashamed such a thing could happen in his store, where's worked for 10 years and said he knows many customers by name.

"They'll find her. How can one of my employees not be honest or truthful and steal from me right in front of my eyes?" he wondered. "We cannot keep an eye on our employees 24/7, but I never expected them to steal. It's a shame."

Google Earth screenshot of the Highway 34 Buy-Rite in Aberdeen.