AndrewBlakeHazelwood, Mo. – A former police dispatcher who helped raised money for a police officer paralyzed in the line of duty was charged with stealing the money she spent on gambling.
April Briscuso, 40, was arrested in November but was charged Dec. 5 and bail was set at $75,000, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Former Officer Craig Tudor was paralyzed from the chest down in a car crash Aug. 25, 2016 while he was responding to a call more than a year ago.
Briscuso organized several fundraisers for Tudor from June to September and admitted to stealing at least $9,500, according to the St. Louis County Police. She told investigators that she took cash donations and went to a casino and lost it gambling.
Some of the fundraisers Briscuso organized included a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game, a dining out event and a painting night.
Officer Tudor and his wife, Christine, also told police they had not received proceeds from several events hosted in their name, according to court documents. They said the exception was checks made payable to Officer Tudor or his wife.
Police said that Briscuso told donors to make the checks payable to her even after the Tudor family told her to stop doing so, the newspaper reported.
After she was arrested, Briscuso told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she raised nearly $75,000 for the police officer. The Tudors said they have not received anywhere near that much money.
Briscuso resigned Nov. 30 from her $47,756-a-year position. By resigning, she will still be eligible for a pension. Briscuso worked as a dispatcher for 11 years.
An official GoFundMe was set up which actually benefits the officer’s family.
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