A New York City diner waitress stole nearly a half-million dollars from an 84-year-old widow who frequented the restaurant and counted the waitress as a friend, prosecutors say.
Alicia P. Legall, 46, of Flatlands, Brooklyn, befriended a regular customer at the local diner where she worked, and from 2012 through 2016, gained access to the woman's personal information, according to prosecutors.
"This defendant allegedly took advantage of an elderly and vulnerable widow," said Brooklyn Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. "She spent many years gaining the victim's trust only to betray it."
Prosecutors say the elderly woman gave Legall permission to use her credit cards for small purchases at local drugstores and supermarkets -- but Legall allegedly cashed more than 75 checks she wrote to herself or withdrew cash from the victim's bank account for a total of more than $200,000.
The waitress also rang up purchases on the victim's credit cards, including $73,000 in cash advances and $204,000 at Apple, JetBlue, Victoria's Secret, New York Racing Authority buffets and bars, Harrah's in Atlantic City, hotels and clubs in Miami and other parts of Florida, and at the Belmont Racetrack.
Legall also allegedly opened accounts in the victim's name on horse-betting websites.
Legall was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court Tuesday on grand larceny, forgery and identity theft charges. She was ordered held on $2.5 million bail.
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She's set to return to court on Dec. 6. She faces up to five to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Attorney information for the woman wasn't immediately available.
