Exclusive: Accused Midway Embezzler Talks From Jail
Veronica Monay claims innocence in jailhouse interview
By TONY SHIN and R. STICKNEY
Updated 10:24 AM PST, Thu, Jul 9, 2009
A former employee of the Midway Museum has been arrested, accused of embezzling thousands from the non-profit.
Veronica Monay, 35, spent three years with the Midway Museum, employed as an Accounting Manager, according to a friend. Police say Monay, used her position to embezzle a large amount of money from the museum -- as much as $100,000, according to Monay’s friend.
Officers arrested Monay at her current job in Eastlake.
"I was shocked, just because you know, I didn't do it and it's surprising for me to hear that," Monay told NBCSanDiego in an exclusive jailhouse interview.
Monay said she left her job at the Midway Museum in March for what she describes as a better job that's closer to her Eastlake home and her 10-year-old daughter. She also said she handled payrolls and ticket sales, but at least two other workers also had access to those accounts.
"I don't want to point fingers at anybody but I know I didn't do it," Monay said.
She was taken to Las Colinas Detention Facility and held on $45,000 bail. On Friday, she will be arraigned on charges of embezzlement and commercial burglary.
Monay's boyfriend told NBCSanDiego that he does not believe the charges.
"I tend to think that she's being used as some sort of scapegoat for somebody else's mistake or somebody else's crime," Erik Nelson said. Nelson and Monay have rented a townhouse together for the past two years and he said has never seen her display any signs of wealth.
"If there was $100,000 floating around here, I think I'd see it," he said.
A Midway spokesperson released this statement; "Earlier this year we discovered an apparent accounting discrepancy and turned it over to the proper authorities for investigation. We cooperated with them throughout the investigation, but cannot comment any further."
Monay lists other local accounting jobs on her LinkedIn profile including past positions at The Gillespie School and Elite Racing.
The museum opened in June 2004 and allows visitors to tour the engine room, galley and crew sleeping quarters.
First Published: Jul 8, 2009 3:19 PM PST
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