Crime and Court Roundup: Auditor pleads guilty to embezzlement in federal court

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A former bank auditor from suburban Milwaukee has agreed to plead guilty to a federal embezzlement charge. 50-year-old Denise Lewandowski of West Allis has admitted stealing 100-thousand dollars from her former employer, Securant Bank-and-Trust in Milwaukee. A plea hearing in the case is set for February eighth. Lewandowski was the bank’s internal auditor in 2011 when the chief operating officer noticed what he called an “odd debit entry.” Authorities said Lewandowski remained silent when she was first questioned about the matter. She was fired, and she gave up a 401-“K” account valued at 50-thousand-dollars plus unused vacation. Lewandowski later admitted the embezzlement to the F-B-I, saying she stole the money to pay for her personal financial problems.

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Milwaukee Police said an off-duty detective shot and wounded an armed teenager who tried to rob him. It happened just before six last night on Milwaukee’s north side. Police said a 17-year-old boy demanded the officer’s valuables – and the teen ran from the scene after the detective shot him. He walked to a nearby grocery store, where he called for an ambulance – and he was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The 53-year-old detective is a 23-year veteran of the Milwaukee police force. He now works for the department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau. The man has been put on administrative leave while the incident is being investigated.

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Two 17-year-old boys could be charged as early as today for a fire that heavily damaged a Milwaukee grocery store. The blaze happened late Thursday night at the El Rey store on the city’s south side. On Friday, police released a surveillance video that showed two people loitering outside the store just before the fire started. Those individuals were reported taken into custody. No one was hurt in the blaze. It caused around 300-thousand-dollars in damage, and store manager Nelson Lang says he and others are working as quickly as possible to get things fixed. They expect to re-open the store later this month.

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Fire officials in Manitowoc County are investigating a blaze that killed about 120 head of cattle. Valders Fire Chief Dan Esser said a dairy barn might have been burning for two hours or more before fire-fighters were called early Friday. Up to 15 cows died in the barn. The rest managed to escape – but they had to be euthanized because they suffered smoke inhalation. The barn had partially collapsed by the time fire-fighters arrived. Esser said the flames and strong winds made it hard to get the cattle out. He said he wasn’t sure how stable the barn was – and he did not want to risk injuries to the fire-fighters. None of them were hurt. Units from four fire departments responded.

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