Burnsville Woman Charged with Stealing from West St. Paul Kmart

A Burnsville woman has been charged with theft after authorities say she skimmed money from a West St. Paul store where she worked as a manager.

Cynthia Conolly Gellerman, 57, faces one count of felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Gellerman began stealing cash from the West St. Paul Kmart last April, and continued the practice through July. 

West St. Paul police were called to the store on July 29 on a report of an employee theft. They were told that Gellerman had taken $250 in cash from the store safe and told another employee to create a false voucher for the shortage, according to the complaint.

Once Gellerman learned that the store was aware of the false voucher, she replaced the $250 in the safe – a move that was caught on store surveillance video, the complaint says.

Store employees interviewed Gellerman, who admitted taking the $250, but said she had intended to replace it – though she also admitted that she had the money for about two weeks, according to the complaint.

A subsequent police investigation found that on April 8, Gellerman was supposed to submit $600 from the store to the city of West St. Paul for a permit to sell items on the sidewalk. She wired the $600 in her name on two money orders that were cashed on April 13. City officials reported that they had never received money for the permit.

On June 23, Gellerman took $200 in cash from the store to pay for tips for bus drivers for an off-site store function, the complaint says. Police contacted the bus drivers, who said they had not received tips.

Police determined that Gellerman took a total of $1,050 from the store, according to the complaint.