Former Center Street employee gets larceny charge reduced, must repay more than $24K

A former Center Street Smoke House employee who was caught doctoring transactions must repay more than $24,000 as part of a plea deal that reduced his charges from grand larceny, 3rd, to petit larceny.

Adam J.Hoag, 36, of 162 Ross St., Batavia, told Judge Robert Balbick last week that he could get the $24,459.59 in restitution from a trust account. The money will be held in escrow until his sentencing April 19.

Hoag was arrested in September after a manager discovered some suspicious register activity.

A more thorough audit, according to court records, found that Hoag, a waiter, had been voiding out items on tickets, claiming gift certificates that had not really been redeemed, and claiming coupon discounts that had not been turned in, starting in May 2010.

According to a police report, Hoag said he had forgotten to turn the gift cards in at the end of his shift and then later discarded them.