WESTFIELD – A Springfield man will spend a year behind bars after cashing counterfeit payroll checks.
Easthampton Savings Bank, located at 85 Broad St., called police on June 29 to report that a number of counterfeit checks had been cashed at its branch, according to court records.
Donnell T. Cradle, 55, cashed a counterfeit check on June 26. He went into the bank and presented a payroll check drawn on Easthampton Savings Bank from R&H Roofing of Easthampton for $947.07 and cashed it, according to court records.
R & H Roofing, LLP is a locally owned licensed roofing company serving the New England area since 1987, according to its website.
Cradle presented a North Carolina driver’s license as ID to cash the check, according to Westfield Police Det. Anthony Tsatsos’ report.
The defendant also has a Massachusetts driver’s license, which was used to identify Cradle along with utilizing the bank security video.
According to Tsatsos, Cradle had three active WMS (Warrant Management System) warrants for the same offenses.
Two other men also went to the same branch of Easthampton Savings Bank during the same week with counterfeit payroll checks drawn on Easthampton Savings Bank from R&H Roofing.
Edward M. Gearing cashed a check for $899 on June 26, and Franklin Chalue cashed a check for $899.34 on June 29. By this time, the bank had caught on to the scheme.
Chalue also has active WMS warrants for the same offenses.
On July 13, police did not know how to locate Cradle and issued a warrant to bring him before the court.
Cradle pleaded guilty in Westfield District Court on November 5 to charges of uttering false checks and larceny over $250.
He received a one-year sentence, with credit for time served, in the Hampden County House of Correction.
Gearing and Chalue’s cases have not yet been resolved.
R&H Roofing did not reply to an emailed request for comment by press time.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
