Police officer's wife sentenced for stealing from widow

A Tauranga police detective's wife has been sentenced to home detention and community work after she stole more than $25,000 dollars from an 84-year-old widow and a bank to bankroll her secret gambling addiction.

Forty-four-year-old Vicki Lee McCaskie - the wife of police officer Rob McCaskie - stole $17,591.51 from the widow and $8000 from her employer, Westpac, to cover gambling losses her family knew nothing about, the Bay of Plenty Times reported.

She was sentenced in Tauranga District Court yesterday to five months' home detention and 250 hours' community work after earlier pleading guilty to five charges of obtaining by deception and one charge of theft by a person in a special relationship.

McCaskie developed a personal relationship with the victim after her husband died and would help her with transactions. Between July and October last year, McCaskie made numerous withdrawals from her two bank accounts.

The victim realised the money was missing and complained to police.

Police also found that McCaskie had obtained substantial extra money from Westpac. During an interview McCaskie admitted she had helped herself to $8000 from the Cherrywood branch's ATM cash float this year and tried to cover the losses by holding a false balance in her teller's cash records.

McCaskie told police she had started gambling after the death of her father four years ago but she was unable to control it.

None of her family were aware of the "double life" she was leading and that she had taken the money to pay off debts.

Judge Peter Rollo told McCaskie she had "fallen far" and must now pay the price.

The harm done to her victims and family was significant, particularly to her husband who had cashed in his superannuation to help repay the stolen money, the judge said. The victim had been reimbursed.

Western Bay police commander Inspector Mike Clement said the case had been handled by a senior investigator from outside the area and McCaskie's husband, a well-regarded member of the Western Bay police, would continue to serve in the police.

The case follows that of Michelle Campbell, 43, who defrauded more than $1 million from Ebbett Tauranga. Campbell was at the time the wife of Tauranga constable Steve Campbell.

- NZPA