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Thrill-seeking theft: Woman charged for allegedly swiping 36,000-plus theme-park passes from local company

Thrill-seeking theft: Woman charged for allegedly swiping 36,000-plus theme-park passes from local company
Community News Group / Anthony Rotunno

Her ride is over.

A 51-year-old woman was indicted in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Wednesday for allegedly stealing more than $1-million worth of theme-park tickets from a Red Hook charter-bus company.

The treasure trove of 36,000-plus passes to Dorney Park and Six Flags Great Adventure would have allowed the defendant, a resident of bucolic Staten Island, to ride the Pennsylvania and New Jersey parks’ roller coasters every day for the next century.

But if convicted, the alleged thief may have to seek her thrills behind bars for up to 25 years — the maximum sentence for her crimes, according to Brooklyn’s acting District Attorney.

“We intend to hold the defendant fully accountable for her egregious acts,” Eric Gonzalez said.

The woman worked for 16 years in the Red Hook offices of charter service Best Trails and Travel, on Sigourney Street between Ostego and Columbia streets, where she was responsible for buying amusement-park tickets with a company credit card, accepting their delivery, and storing them in a company safe.

But between 2014 and 2016, however, she ordered 23,136 passes to Dorney Park and 13,102 to Six Flags, which she stored in a separate safe only she could access, Gonzalez alleges.

The defendant’s employer discovered her scheme in 2016, after an audit revealed the company card was used to buy many more tickets than the bus service could sell, according to the top prosecutor.

She is being held on $250,000 bail and was charged with grand larceny in the first and second degree, as well as criminal possession of stolen property in the first and second degree, Gonzalez said.

Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4505.