Crime & Safety
Tewksbury Woman Guilty of Stealing $16,000 From Elderly Resident
The former director of nursing pleaded on Wednesday to larceny over $250.
Attorney General Martha Coakley announced on Wednesday that a Tewksbury woman pleaded guilty on charges that she stole more than $16,000 from an elderly resident while working at an area nursing home.
Laura Siano, 62, was previously the director of Kirkwood House Nursing Home in Wakefield, a facility that is now closed. Investigators said that while working at Kirkwood, Siano was in charge of managing a 75-year-old resident's financial account.
The Tewksbury resident allegedly made unauthorized cash withdrawals from that account, regularly for around $400. In addition, prosecutors accused Siano of using the elderly resident's debit card to make purchases at a variety of stores for things such as a laptop, decorative items, cat food and cat litter.
On Wednesday, Siano pleaded guilty in Malden District Court on one count of larceny over $250. Judge Emily Karsetter sentenced Siano to one year in prison, suspended for a probationary period of three years.
Siano was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the resident within 30 days as a condition of her probation.
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