Is it really sad that LuAnn Ostanski was charged for petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property?”
She took some money from an envelope, and some more from a bank bag, a series of surveillance photos shows — a total of $160, most of it from petty cash, police said. A couple of days later, she reported the money missing to police. A week later, confronted with the photos, she confessed in Town of Tonawanda police headquarters. She even admitted taking money on five or six occasions in recent months, police say. Thursday, for the second day in a row, district administrators declined to return phone calls about the case. Many are wondering what would motivate someone to risk their career for a petty crime. But Ostanski offered police no explanation for what she did. “Why would you trade your career for $160 or $1,000? Why, after serving so many years as an advocate for kids, would you pilfer money that belonged to them?” said Donald A. Ogilvie, superintendent of Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services. “The facts of this matter are relatively small, but the issues behind it ar
While police look into reports of funds stolen from Kenmore East High School and the Lewiston-Porter School District, LuAnn Ostanski pleaded not guilty to petit larceny and possession of stolen property in town court. The former Kenmore East high school principal and Lew-Port administrator made no comment after a quick arraignment Thursday afternoon before Judge Mark Gruber, Ostanski’s attorney Kevin Spitler scheduled her next appearance for June 18. Ostanski is accused of stealing $160 from a cash box that was kept inside a Ken East vault. The stolen property charge stems from Ostanski’s possession of an unauthorized key to the box, that lock for which had been changed in reaction to previous thefts. While Ostanski admitted to taking money multiple times, she told police the total was less than $1,000. But police reports since 2002, when Ostanski started working at the school, show more than $1,000 has gone missing, and last week superintendent Mark Mondanaro said the district reserve
