WEST PALM BEACH A Palm Beach County clerk who investigators said in March had embezzled more than $25,000 from fees strippers pay for identification cards has been formally charged in the theft, authorities confirmed Thursday.
Anita Pedemey, 54, of suburban West Palm Beach was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail just after midnight and was expected to make her first appearance Thursday morning.
She was charged with one count of larceny of between $20,000 and $100,000, one count of fraud of $20,000 to $50,000, and 11 counts of falsifying official documents. The charges stem from an investigation done by the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s Office, John Carey confirmed Thursday.
In late March, the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s office, following an audit, reported that Pedemey, who worked at the county’s Public Safety Department, cooked books to skim from the $75 fees strippers pay for required photo identification cards, usually with cash.
The investigation found that Pedemey took an additional $4,605 from the county’s victim-services fund, much of that money coming from criminals who get the option to donate in lieu of community service. At least $1,300 of that was cash, the report said.
Pedemey resigned Dec. 8, and the report said the county might try to recover some of the more than $30,000 taken from the two departments.
The case also was referred to the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office for possible felony charges. The alleged acts would be second-degree felonies, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
“Over the years, I think there’s been 17 arrests or prosecutions made through the state attorney’s office directly through our audits and investigations, so we have a history of working together,” Carey said.
The strippers’ fees were especially vulnerable because the exotic dancers are in a cash business and typically pay their fees in cash, while others usually use either checks or credit cards to get a driver’s license or other ID. More than 70 percent of the fees paid for the strippers’ ID cards was in cash, the inspector general’s report said.
“That was the biggest recommendation we made,” Carey said in March. “It’s usually best not to deal in cash.” He said at the time that because so many transactions were done in cash, the actual amount stolen might be “much more .”
The report said the Public Safety Department has since agreed to no longer accept cash for adult entertainment IDs. And the victim services division has beefed up its record keeping.
Pedemey was hired by the county in February 1999 and earned about $54,000 annually, according to county records.
The county identification program, which began in 1998, is meant to keep underage girls from working in strip clubs. More than 9,000 adult entertainers, almost all women, have been registered so far for the lifetime IDs. In 2008, the fee was increased to $75 from $25.
I predict an even larger number of strippers than usual will start asking their PLs to pay for their Adult Cabaret Licenses if they are not able to pay cash. Guys get ready for the deluge, or even better learn to say no.