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AAA expects over 50,000 local travelers over the holiday weekend

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James Michaels, of S. Abington Twp., named chief information officer at The Commonwealth Medical College

DALLAS &#8212; The chief financial officer for Northeast Title and Tag is accused of stealing over $100,000 in 2013 and 2014 to support gambling and drug habits.Kelly Annette Jones, 47, of Sweet Valley, faces two felony theft charges and a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance.Jones was hired by the company in 2000 and promoted to chief financial officer in 2006.According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were contacted by Luzerne County 911 on Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in reference to a theft at Northeast Title and Tag on Route 309 in Dallas.An officer arrived and met with owners Marie and Edward Carter. Marie told police she noticed money missing from the location, and questioned Jones about the missing funds. During that conversation, Jones allegedly told Marie she had been stealing money due to a gambling and drug problem.Jones was interviewed by police on the same day and allegedly indicated in a written statement she had been stealing money from the business for the past year for personal use. She estimated she stole up to $15,000, and said the money was for gambling and drug habits.When asked by police if she had any drugs in her possession, Jones allegedly reached into her purse and handed police a packet of suspected heroin. Marie fired Jones on the spot and asked for her keys to the building.Investigators met with the Carters on Nov. 18 to conduct an internal audit to determine how much money was allegedly stolen. During the audit, the owners learned Jones allegedly created fake deposit tickets to match store records to cover the alleged thefts.Jones was also responsible for electronically transferring PennDOT state funds from three store locations&#8217; escrow accounts to the state escrow account. Instead, police said Jones electronically transferred the state funds to the Dallas location&#8217;s escrow account to cover up the cash she allegedly took.As a result of Jones not auditing and controlling the state escrow account, Northeast Title and Tag was charged approximately $5,985 in overdraft fees from First National Bank of Pennsylvania.Police say state funds were not deposited into the state account and state payments were not honored by the bank. Northeast Title and Tag subsequently received 12 intents to suspend contract agreements from PennDOT.It was also determined Jones was issuing receipts to customers, but would then delete records when the customers left the business. Police say that enabled Jones to keep the cash customers paid.Investigators say the total amount stolen was $27,600.09 in 2013 and $86,739.94 in 2014.Kelly appeared before Magisterial District Judge James Tupper Wednesday for a preliminary arraignment. She will appear before Tupper for a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 3.Tupper set Kelly&#8217;s bail at $50,000 unsecured.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Travis Kellartkellar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Northeast Title and Tag CFO allegedly stole over $100,000 to support drug, gambling habits