Pricey Sushi Restaurant Masa Ripped Off by Bookkeeper

Note to all restaurateurs: Find a bookkeeper you can trust.

The Times brings us a frightening story about a bookeeper at high-end sushi restaurant Masa in the Time Warner Center, where Rafael Thomas, the former bookkeeper, reportedly stole almost $100,000 from the restaurant. Thomas was indicted Thursday with one count of grand larceny, as well as 20 counts of falsifying business records. These are all felony charges.

Thomas, who was hired in January 2011, was entrusted with depositing funds from cash sales, processing payroll, and keeping tabs on the books.

A year later, the manager noticed that Thomas added $34,000 to his base salary of $52,000, the indictment says. Thomas also paid himself his regular salary plus an additional 80 hours of vacation.

According to the indictment, Thomas had paid himself an extra $96,000 from the restaurant, as he also wrote $12,5000 worth of corporate checks he cashed himself.

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