DA: Office manager stole $300,000 to go on gambling trips

An office manager stole $300,000 from her employer, a Hicksville-based roofing company, using the money for gambling trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City and other personal expenses, Nassau County prosecutors said Friday.

Tracey Sportiello, 51, of Farmingdale, was arrested and charged Thursday with second- and third-degree grand larceny and nine counts of first-degree falsifying business records — all felonies, according to prosecutors.

If convicted, Sportiello faces up to 5 to 15 years in prison on the top count.

She was released to the custody of the Nassau County Probation Department and is due back in court on Sept. 29.

“For more than three years, this defendant allegedly cooked the books and betrayed the trust that her employer placed in her to line her own pockets,” Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement. “We will aggressively prosecute this case and seek full restitution for the victim.”

From about November 2012 to October 2015, Sportiello allegedly stole the cash by writing checks to herself and others.

Sportiello is accused of using the cash for gambling trips, including some in New York, as well as for other personal expenses.

During the investigation, Singas’ office, with the assistance of the state Department of Labor, also uncovered evidence that Sportiello illegally collected more than $10,000 in unemployment benefits while she was working as an office manager and bookkeeper for the roofing company, prosecutors said.

Sportiello’s attorney could not be reached for comment.