[StBernard] Purple dye helps deputies crack Chalmette restaurant theft case

[Westley Annis]

Purple dye helps deputies crack Chalmette restaurant theft case
By Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune 
March 09, 2010, 5:28PM
There's being caught red-handed and then there's . . . well . . . being
caught purple-handed?

The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office said Reanna Machado, 26, and Bridget
McKnight, 27, both of Chalmette, were caught stealing money from the
restaurant where they worked after some "bait'' money doused with invisible
ink left Machado with a pair of purple hands.


A Sheriff's Office news release said Machado McKnight were booked March 6
with felony theft after "systematically stealing a substantial amount of
money over a period of months.'' Machado and McKnight, both of 3338 Pakenham
Drive, have been released on bonds of $10,000 each, the Sheriff's Office
said.

The owner of the restaurant, which the Sheriff's Office would not identify,
determined a large sum of money was missing over a period of nearly a year
and asked authorities to investigate, the Sheriff's Office said.


Deputies used money with the invisible purple dye as bait to try and catch a
suspect, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said. The owner was told that
if anyone handled the marked money the dye would cause their hands to turn
purple. The restaurant owner was told the call investigators if an employee
turned up with purple hands, the Sheriff's Office said.

The owner reported on March 6 that bait money was missing and that an
employee, Machado, had purple dye on her hands, Pohlmann said. He said the
Sheriff's Office recovered a store video of money being stolen and after
questioning Machado both she and McKnight were booked with felony theft.

The Sheriff's Office did not provide further details of the incident or
arrests.