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Police say nanny stole from client, 86

By SARAH MISHKIN
Published June 9, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Maria Blanco faces charges of grand theft, forgery and deposit fraud.

TAMPA - A "granny nanny" hired despite an arrest record swiped a check and used it to steal nearly $5,000 from an elderly man in her care, police said.

Maria Blanco, 44, of 2703 W Comanche Ave., Tampa, faces charges of grand theft, forgery and deposit fraud.

Blanco confessed to depositing the check but denied taking it from her client, Robert Gremald, 86, of St. Petersburg, said Sgt. Paul Mumford of the Tampa Police Department.

Gremald noticed in April that a check was missing from a checkbook in his Vinoy Place condominium. His bank told him the check for $4, 850 had been deposited. Blanco's bank later refunded him the money, police said.

"This gentleman was alert enough to recognize that something was amiss," Mumford said.

Blanco, employed by home health care company Granny Nannies, had been taking care of Gremald's wife, Dorothy, who died in March.

The state licenses such companies and requires them to submit new hires for background checks conducted by Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration.

Blanco had been arrested on charges of fraud, forgery and theft. In 2002, she pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of personal identification. In 2000, she was accused of opening cell phone, electricity and credit card accounts under the name of an acquaintance. The disposition of that case was unclear Friday.

An initial background check on Blanco found her arrests, but she asked the agency to review her case and clear her for employment, said Paul Siragusa, owner and manager of the Granny Nannies office in St. Petersburg.

The state agency did so.

Typically, the agency considers date of last arrest, severity of charges and the position sought when deciding whether to grant clearance to someone with a criminal history, according to a spokesman.

Siragusa said Granny Nannies' policy is to fire employees when background checks raise flags, but another of Blanco's clients asked him to keep her.

"The client sent us a letter saying she wanted her, she was in love with her," he said. "AHCA then sent us a letter stating it was okay to hire her."

Dorene Spencer, the victim's daughter, said many Granny Nannies had cared for her mother, and she did not remember Blanco specifically.

"I think the check went through 10 days after she died," she said. "I guess she figured it would be good timing because we were all upset."

The daughter said it was ridiculous that the state cleared Blanco to work with elderly people when she had past charges of forgery and theft.

Sarah Mishkin can be reached at smishkin@sptimes.com or 813 225-3110.

[Last modified June 8, 2007, 22:27:48]