Cops: Granny used 4-year-old in theft

PERHAPS the 4-year-old girl thought shoplifting was a game - a game her skill set suggests she's played one too many times before.

She knew just what to do when her grandma handed her the merchandise. She knew how to hide it and she knew how to play it cool.

But what not even grandma knew to do was to look up - at the video surveillance cameras monitoring their every move.

On Monday night, Monica Vitale, 42, was arrested by Upper Darby police for allegedly using her 4-year-old granddaughter as an unwitting accomplice in the theft of $359 worth of merchandise from the Sears store on 69th Street.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood, a man known for words like "outrage" and "scumbag," chose a different word to describe his reaction to this crime - "saddened."

"Not only is this lady, 'grandmom,' stealing from Sears, she's stealing this child's innocence," he said. "This goes way beyond Take Your Child to Work Day."

Chitwood said Vitale's shoplifting spree lasted more than an hour Monday night. During a news conference yesterday, he showed a four-minute surveillance clip of Vitale's apparent misdeeds.

The tape shows Vitale, of Upper Darby, placing numerous items in purses and bags. She carried a shopping list detailing what sizes of clothing she planned to take, police said.

Vitale appears unconcerned with the whereabouts of her young granddaughter, who runs around the store unsupervised until Vitale needs her assistance. She then hands the child a blanket. The child takes it, places it flat in her toy baby carriage, pulls up the carriage's hood and strolls away.

A similar incident involving Vitale and her granddaughter occurred at Sears the previous night, Chitwood said, but store security officers were reluctant to chase her in the parking lot because they feared for the child's safety.

So, when Vitale reappeared with her granddaughter the following night for another five-finger discount, Chitwood said, store security was watching her every move.

Vitale was charged with one count of retail theft and two counts each of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children. At the time of her apprehension, a bench warrant was out for her arrest for failure to show up in court on a retail-theft charge, Chitwood said.

Vitale has three prior retail-theft charges on her record, but the disposition of those cases is not clear. Online Delaware County court records show that Vitale pleaded guilty to drug-related charges in 1997 and retail-theft charges in 2006. She is listed as awaiting trial in an August retail-theft case from Sharon Hill.

The child was returned to her mother, Vitale's daughter, who police said was "outraged" when she learned of the theft. Police said Vitale watches her granddaughter while her daughter manages a fast-food restaurant.

Vitale was being held yesterday on $25,000 bail.