The Free Library of Philadelphia is firing three employees accused of embezzling more than $9,000 in overdue book fines, and officials say they will adopt policies and procedures to prevent such theft in the future.
It wasn't an elaborate scheme, but rather lax accounting and oversight that made it all too easy for employees to skim off the top, city Inspector General Amy Kurland said Monday.
The three library assistants had sole responsibility for bank deposits and record-keeping at their respective branches. "Someone would come in and hand over $10 for an overdue book, and the [library assistant] could just put it in their pocket or enter it in the computer as 'forgiven,' " Kurland said.
