Douglas commissioner admits to pocketing $100 from employer

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE -- Saying it was an accident, Douglas County Commission Chairman Steve Weissinger admitted taking $100 from a Raley's safe and pocketing it.

Weissinger, a Raley's manager, was cited for allegedly taking $100 from a store safe, authorities said.

"That was my mistake, and I admit it. But I was in the store at that time and had every intention of putting that money back into the safe," Weissinger said.

The citation was issued Friday after South Lake Tahoe police officers responded to the Crescent V grocery store for a petty theft report, said Sgt. Alex Schumacher.

Speaking from his Gardnerville Ranchos home while serving a two-day, unpaid suspension from work, Weissinger said putting the $100 bill in his left pants pocket was a simple oversight.

"There's no question about it. It was a cash-handling error on my part."

Weissinger said when he was confronted by security, he knew he had made a mistake and pulled the money back out. Weissinger said he is looking forward to appearing before Raley's management and a South Lake Tahoe judge to state his case.

Schumacher said Weissinger was caught with the money by store security personnel, who filed a citizen's arrest. The alleged incident was caught on video surveillance.

"There was an admission on this $100, and it is an ongoing investigation," Schumacher said.

Weissinger declined to go into detail about cash-handling procedures at the store and would not elaborate on how the bill got into his pocket.

A Raley's spokeswoman declined comment.

The penalty for petty theft is a fine and six months in county jail, said Assistant District Attorney Hans Uthe, adding he hasn't received the case.

Weissinger, 44, started in the produce department and has worked at the Crescent V Raley's for 14 years. For six years, he has been in management.

Weissinger was elected to the Douglas County Board of Commissioners in 1996 then re-elected in 2000. He represents the Gardnerville Ranchos.