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12/10/2015 11:00 PMJust as an exhibit at the Susan Powell Gallery was finishing up during Ladies Night Out in Madison Thursday night, there was a big influx of visitors to bellaPerlina, a nearby jewelry store, at 673 Boston Post Road.
The store's owner, Andrea Panullo, was initially pleased but quickly became concerned when one of her co-workers noticed one shopper acting suspiciously, asking a lot of questions, asking for a glass of wine, and then abruptly walking out.
After an investigation, Jill Mongero, 56, of Branford was arrested and charged with four counts of larceny six. Police said online records show Mongero has two prior larceny convictions, including one related to an incident in Branford in 2013 and another in Fairfield in 2007. Police said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
"She was acting a little peculiar, I have to say," Panullo said Friday morning. Still, having never had a problem in her 13 years running the store, she was reluctant to believe that anything was really wrong. "It's a small store. I know the people who shop here. I know where everything is."
About ten minutes after the woman left, another worker at the store noticed a bracelet, worth $150, was missing. "I remember them telling us at the Chamber of Commerce meeting that if something is missing, call the police," Panullo said. Just as she made the discovery that jewelry was missing, Janet Connolly, the president of the chamber happened to walk in, and, after hearing that items were missing, encouraged Panullo to do just that, Panullo said.
Panullo called the police and she said they responded promptly. Store workers told police that the woman was acting strange, and stood out because of what she was wearing, including black and white cowboy boots. Panullo said she heard police quickly spotted the suspect at another store because of the cowboy boots.
"She said she had never been in here, and asked me to tell them that, and I felt terrible," Panullo said. Still, despite the woman's protests, a search of the her belongings showed that she not only had merchandise including jewelry, but also the displays themselves. "She was just sticking stuff in her pockets," Panullo said. "This was very hard for me. I don't like to accuse a customer."
Panullo said she was very pleased with the prompt response from the police department and that several police officers and Police Chief Jack Drumm responded to the scene. "They were great, they could not have been better," she said. "And it made all of us aware that we might need more of a police presence downtown going forward."