Employee Faked Story Of Tanger Holdup, Stole Money Himself: Police

RIVERHEAD, NY — An employee who worked at the store made up a story about a holdup at the Guess Factory Outlet store at Tanger II in Riverhead in December and made off with the stolen money himself, police said.

Thomas Whitson, 23, was arrested after an investigation stemming from a reported robbery at the store on December 12, 2016 at approximately 6 a.m., police said.

Whitson reported while opening the Guess Factory Outlet for business he and a fellow employee were forced into the store by an unknown person who stated he had a weapon and demanded money, police said; the unknown person was said to have fled the store with cash, police said.

Upon further investigation it was determined that Whitson had fabricated the story in order to remove the money from the location, police said.

Whitson was charged with third degree grand larceny, a felony, and falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor, police said.

During the course of the investigation it was determined that Whitson participated in two additional thefts at the Guess Factory Outlet, police said.

On November 28, 2016, Whitson allowed two different people to leave the store without paying for clothing; he was charged with fourth degree grand larceny, a felony, and petty larceny, a misdemeanor, police said.

Whitson was processed and arraigned in Riverhead Justice Court on Wednesday, police said.