Mount Kisco resident Maria Rodriguez, 46, was sentenced May 20 to two to seven years in prison after pleading guilty in February to felony charges of first- and second-degree grand larceny as well as third-degree criminal tax fraud.
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore’s office said that beginning in June 2008, Rodriguez, who was employed as the manger of the M&T Bank  branch in the village of Ossining, began systematically stealing from two of the bank’s customers.
The first victim, a woman who Rodriguez knew since the mid-1990s, trusted Rodriguez to assist her with her personal banking and banking for her business. Over the course of five years, Rodriguez stole money from the victim by writing unauthorized checks to cash, making unauthorized cash withdrawals, requesting an ATM card and making unauthorized ATM withdrawals for a total of $1,112,127.40.
The second victim, a 92-year-old man and former village police officer, dealt exclusively with Rodriguez for his banking needs.
According to DiFiore’s office, the man believed he was withdrawing only the interest out of his bank account, when in fact the defendant was making unauthorized withdrawals worth thousands of dollars over several years totaling $192,144.
The thefts came to light when several of Rodriguez’s subordinates at the Ossining bank called M&T’s whistleblower hotline to report suspicious activity. M&T then initiated an internal investigation, which led the bank to refer the matter to the Village of Ossining Police Department, which in turn contacted the district attorney’s office.
In addition to prison time, Rodriguez has been ordered to pay restitution to the victims and New York State Tax Department.
