Stephanie Paparo Arrested For Stealing Dropped Money At WaWa Convenience Store

Stephanie Paparo confessed to stealing money dropped by Jim Duffy at a Philadelphia-area WaWa convenience store, as captured in this surveillance footage.

If you find money on the ground, it's your lucky day, right?

Not for Stephanie Paparo. And not if it fell out of someone's pocket right in front of you.

The 28-year-old Philadelphia-area resident was arrested Tuesday night on charges that she stole $2,300 in cash dropped by a fellow shopper at a WaWa convenience store. Surveillance footage from the store captured a woman grabbing two wads of cash that fell from a man's pockets while he paid for water and a snack, NBC Philadelphia reported. Numerous anonymous tips led police to Paparo after the footage was broadcast on the local news.

Jim Duffy, the victim, had planned to use the money for a down payment on a new car, according to local broadcaster WWLP. The station reports that one of Paparo's friends said she'd fallen on hard times and "just made a mistake." Police did not note any evidence of premeditation on her part, nor did she have previous arrests.

Paparo confessed, police told the NBC affiliate, and told authorities she spent some of the money on her three children and used the remainder to cover overdue rent with her boyfriend.

Paparo has been charged with misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property and was released on $10,000 bail, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

"She saw it. She knew whose money it was," Upper Darby Police Superintendant Michael Chitwood told the paper. "She didn't make any effort to return the money to the individual. It's a theft."

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Comments

[thebearclaw007]

04:25 PM on 04/30/2012

He's right about the loss of moral character. Look at all the people supporting a murderer: George Zimmerman. Furthermore, when institutionalized racism is destroyed in the US that will be a big plus for the moral character of the country as well.

[media1]

07:58 PM on 05/01/2012

Supporting a murderer?
Supporting self-defense.

[thebearclaw007]

08:45 PM on 05/01/2012

OK supporting self defense and a murderer.

[who919]

04:01 PM on 04/30/2012

I will agree finding money is one thing seeing some one drop it right in front of you then pocketing it is stealing she might have well just stuck a gun in his back and robbed him, make no excuse for her she fell on hard times, hell a lot of people are on hard times so that is no excuse I guess it is ok for me to go rob a bank then cause I'm on hard times.

[QtheHero]

03:26 PM on 04/30/2012

Finding money is one thing. Actually, seeing someone drop their money and retrieving it is theft.

[iRock]

03:45 PM on 04/30/2012

yup

[wa0cal]

10:31 AM on 04/30/2012

As the old saying goes " HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY"

[Therasa K Oliver]

09:52 AM on 04/30/2012

It does NOT matter if you have fallen on hard times. In this situation she saw him she saw him drop the money. As others have said, its not like it was 10 bucks laying on the road. There is a huge difference.
To use the financial hard times as an excuse is pathetic. It makes no difference what your financial situation is, people just do these things, no rhyme no reason.
She should be held accountable. You didnt know what the mans intentions or situation was until posted here. What if they didnt say it was for a car downpayment? Maybe it could of been a pay out to someone else in a tough situation. Would you change your answer then?
For all the whiners..really? And if it was you, would you look the other way, pat her on the back and say, its ok, its my money but hey you can take it.

[RedneckDem]

06:12 PM on 04/29/2012

Mid-nineties I left my wallet on a counter and a guy in the navy took it and used my ATM. This stuff happens every day regardless of economy, it is a character issue, not desperation.

[lovely09]

05:53 PM on 04/29/2012

It's one thing if you find a $20 bill on the ground and DID NOT see who dropped it.

It's another when you do know. That is theft plain and simple.

[Capn Scott]

01:35 AM on 04/29/2012

""She saw it. She knew whose money it was," Upper Darby Police Superintendant Michael Chitwood told the paper. "She didn't make any effort to return the money to the individual. It's a theft."

And yet when the big banks do the exact same thing with their 'foreclosures' its just 'business'?

No, sorry. Expect more of this kind of behavior when people see large corporations do the same exact thing with impunity.

[RedneckDem]

06:01 PM on 04/29/2012

While I agree with your take on big corporations, I totally disagree with your opinion on how we treat each other....

[stevenmitchell]

09:10 PM on 04/28/2012

Based on the video, I don't know if we, as witnesses to the video, can actually tell what she saw and that the money specifically fell from the guy in front of her. How often do people find money on the ground and go looking for the owner? It is not clear from the video that she can see who the source of the lost money is. It is clear that when she finds the money, that she feels some guilt or uncertainty over what she is doing, as she looks directly at the store camera. But unless it can be demonstrated that she knew who's it was, I don't see how they can prosecute her for picking cash up off of the floor.

Also, why is it OK for "professional" financial traders to steal from the general public and yet only small-time thieves are the focus of attention. Is it just that we need very simple, perfunctory situations to be able to gauge differences in morality, or simple Right and Wrong circumstances? If it's too complicated, is it just over the head of law enforcement?

[RedneckDem]

06:05 PM on 04/29/2012

So...since we got hosed by Wall Street, it's ok to hose each other?? Haven't we let them win when we start acting like them to each other?

[dling31]

01:32 PM on 04/30/2012

Right on

[Dr JohnS]

07:18 PM on 04/28/2012

I just wonder how much the boyfriend got. It did not say that he was very responsible since they both had let the rent pile up. I am guessing the boyfriend is freeloading off of the woman.

[jal6641]

02:35 PM on 04/28/2012

Put that horrible woman in jail!

[Gary Storch]

12:03 PM on 04/28/2012

Financial stress will make people do impulsive and stupid acts.
Our country is heading into a time when people will resort to devious acts just to survive.
The safety nets are disappearing for the average person and people are becoming more desperate on a daily basis.
The politicians are too busy protecting the corporate welfare handouts to the ones who need the least help and turning their backs on the countries backbone, the average working person.
The lobbyists win, since they bribe our politicians. The average American has no lobbyists.
We need campaign finance reform and take all the money out of our elected officials pockets.
This is not an isolated incident and its going to get worse.
I forgot, since we have privatized jails, prisons and those that supply those entities, we need to keep our jails filled. This is an excellent method to keep funding corporate America.

[RedneckDem]

06:08 PM on 04/29/2012

Incidents like this happen every day and every year, regardless of economy. To try to make this into anything else without overwhelming evidence to corroborate your assumption is pushing logic...

[The Dude67]

10:13 AM on 04/28/2012

Hi crimes.

[Lord Rae]

04:29 AM on 04/28/2012

Good thing the guy didn't get stopped by police. That cash would have been seized as "drug money". Technically it's a "Crime" to carry that much money. Ugh.

[Deba1010]

11:08 AM on 04/29/2012

Just an FYI: It is not a crime to carry 2,300 dollars around in your pocket.

[goairforce]

09:45 AM on 04/30/2012

Deba1010 --> I think Lord Rae is referring to a MN waitress who received $12,000 in cash as a tip, but turned it into cops b/c she was worried that someone passed such a huge amount to her. The cops tried to keep the cash after the 30-day waiting period, claiming it was drug money. Ultimately, the woman got to keep the money after a lot of bad PR for the town cops. So I think LR above was being snarky.
I could be wrong.

[leebogee]

06:44 PM on 04/27/2012

Karma is a B***ch! I have found money and given it back every time. I left my purse in a cart in a parking lot at Christmas time. I had gift cards totally $600; I had cash and credit cards. We were scheduled to take a trip out of the country in the next few days. I was devastated! Two wonderful ladies found my purse and called my number. They apologized for having to go through my purse to find my name! I offered them a reward, could I buy them dinner, something to show my gratitude. They didn't want anything, except to do the right thing! My Angels! Karma will bite you or it will save you, you choose....

[lovely09]

06:00 PM on 04/29/2012

That's wonderful.

There are idiotic comments who are blaming the current economy on this woman's actions. Pathetic.

Wrong is wrong. Even when I got down to chunk change in my purse, I still never thought to steal or take advantage of anyone.