Cops: Man Stole 300K Pennies From Work

Mechanic left trail of coins behind him
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 10, 2016 5:49 AM CDT
Cops: Man Stole 300K Pennies From Work
Napolitan left a trail of pennies behind him, police say.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Talk about penny pinching: A Pennsylvania man is accused of stealing about 300,000 pennies from his employer. Police in Taylor, just outside Scranton, have charged 34-year-old Robert Napolitan with burglary and related offenses. He's accused of taking a steel drum filled with $3,000 worth of pennies from Pyne Freight Lines, where he worked as a mechanic, the AP reports. A criminal complaint says he loaded the 1,600-pound drum onto a hand truck at the company building Monday and rolled it to his Jeep.

Police say the company owner used the drum like an enormous spare change jar for his pennies. The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that tracks through the dust and a trail of pennies marked Napolitan's path through the building. Police searched his Jeep and found pennies underneath the seats and floor mats. Police say he admitted to taking the drum. Napolitan was jailed in Lackawanna County in lieu of $50,000 bail, which he would need 5 million pennies to cover. (This Texas man paid a speeding ticket with 22,000 pennies.)

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