Chef, Owner Of New York Restaurant Indicted For Embezzling $200,000

A former chef and part-owner of Maestro's, a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York, have each been indicted for multiple charges, including grand larceny, forgery, and falsifying records.

The pair is believed to have embezzled an estimated $200,000 from the establishment over the course of three years.

The chef, 52-year-old John LaPosta, and ex-owner, 55-year-old Tina Kruger — described by The Associated Press as a couple — reportedly began stealing from the restaurant in 2011, shortly after they took over the restaurant's operations. The theft continued until 2014, when Kruger's ownership ended.

In court on Wednesday morning, October 14, each received 10 felony counts and pleaded not guilty to all charges. LaPosta and Kruger were subsequently released on $10,000 bonds.

According to the Albany Times Union, LaPosta and Kruger are now the owners of Innovo Kitchen in Latham, New York, which opened earlier this month.

In a statement to the Times, a lawyer for LaPosta said that prosecutors had turned a simple business dispute into a criminal case.