Teh One Who Knocks
02-23-2012, 12:48 PM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
http://i.imgur.com/cwfu5.jpg
NORTH BERGEN -- A Target employee who police say staged an elaborate scheme in an effort to fake an accident and collect workers' compensation apparently forgot one thing in the planning -- the cameras in the storeroom were rolling.
"If you are considering a crime, you have to remember eyes are on you when you least expect it," said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Zevitz of the indictment of Victoria Colon, 28, of Union City, which was handed up yesterday.
Colon was employed in the customer service area at the North Bergen Target on June 2 when she claimed a box she was carrying hit the edge of a shelf and boxes fell off the shelves and struck her head, neck and back -- and even caused her to vomit, authorities said.
The store launched an investigation and a review of security video showed Colon staged the accident, authorities said.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the 10-minute segment of the video shows:
Colon loosened a shelf in the storeroom that caused the boxes to fall when she bumped into it. She then positioned herself under the boxes before pulling a shopping cart containing additional items onto herself.
A fellow employee responded to Colon's calls for help, but when the other employee left, Colon picked up what appears to be batteries and hit herself in the head with them several times.
Colon then left the area and returned with a beverage and what appears to be Goldfish crackers. After eating some crackers and drinking some of the beverage, Colon knelt down and vomited. She left again, then returned and re-staged the accident scene before taking pictures of it.
Colon later put in a claim for workers compensation, saying she suffered neck and back injuries, Zevitz said. Colon, who authorities said did not receive any workers comp money, was arrested on Jan. 17 and is currently out on bail.
The charge against Colon carries a possible penalty of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. It will likely be several months before the case goes to trial, Zevitz said. Prosecutors would not release the video.
http://i.imgur.com/cwfu5.jpg
NORTH BERGEN -- A Target employee who police say staged an elaborate scheme in an effort to fake an accident and collect workers' compensation apparently forgot one thing in the planning -- the cameras in the storeroom were rolling.
"If you are considering a crime, you have to remember eyes are on you when you least expect it," said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Zevitz of the indictment of Victoria Colon, 28, of Union City, which was handed up yesterday.
Colon was employed in the customer service area at the North Bergen Target on June 2 when she claimed a box she was carrying hit the edge of a shelf and boxes fell off the shelves and struck her head, neck and back -- and even caused her to vomit, authorities said.
The store launched an investigation and a review of security video showed Colon staged the accident, authorities said.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the 10-minute segment of the video shows:
Colon loosened a shelf in the storeroom that caused the boxes to fall when she bumped into it. She then positioned herself under the boxes before pulling a shopping cart containing additional items onto herself.
A fellow employee responded to Colon's calls for help, but when the other employee left, Colon picked up what appears to be batteries and hit herself in the head with them several times.
Colon then left the area and returned with a beverage and what appears to be Goldfish crackers. After eating some crackers and drinking some of the beverage, Colon knelt down and vomited. She left again, then returned and re-staged the accident scene before taking pictures of it.
Colon later put in a claim for workers compensation, saying she suffered neck and back injuries, Zevitz said. Colon, who authorities said did not receive any workers comp money, was arrested on Jan. 17 and is currently out on bail.
The charge against Colon carries a possible penalty of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. It will likely be several months before the case goes to trial, Zevitz said. Prosecutors would not release the video.