Salesman who put $18,000 in company bank deposits in his closet gets probation

NEW PORT RICHEY — Jesse McCabe was responsible for making bank deposits at work, but authorities say he never made it to the bank.

McCabe, 29, was working as a salesman for the phone provider MetroPCS in September when authorities discovered more than $18,000 socked away in his closet on Amulet Drive in New Port Richey. That represented 13 deposits he should have made between Aug. 19 and Sept. 2.

Despite his claim he never intended to steal the money and just hadn't made it to the bank yet, McCabe was arrested and charged with grand theft, a felony.

This month, he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of petit theft, a misdemeanor. He was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to a year of probation, 50 hours of community service and a curfew.

His sentence included no restitution, a prosecutor said, because all the money was paid back.

Sheriff's reports said when McCabe's boss first confronted him about the missing money, McCabe went home and had his parents drive him to the bank to deposit the cash.

When he was arrested, McCabe told investigators he never told his boss about the missing money because he had been drinking and using prescription medication illegally, reports said.

Molly Moorhead can be reached at moorhead@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6245.