Monica Yant Kinney | Businesswoman goes public with grudge over theft
By Monica Yant Kinney
Inquirer Columnist
God, I hope I never make Deirdre Krasner mad.
You've heard about the fury of a woman scorned? That's Deirdre. She's a
picture of pique in a leopard-print sarong.
You may have seen her, cruising in her silver minivan decorated with
pictures of the scorner - a Haddonfield bookkeeper named Linda Cifone who
stole $36,956 from Deirdre's adult novelty business.
Or maybe you heard Deirdre at rallies she staged, complete with 50 strangers
she hired from a soup kitchen to carry signs about the crime for $10 an
hour.
Perhaps you noticed the posters - "Does (did) she work 4 U?" - along the
Admiral Wilson Boulevard?
Or the aptly named Web site www.lindastolemymoney.com.
I've met many crime victims in my day, but I've never seen one as upset as
Deirdre is about the fact that Cifone will almost certainly escape with a
slap on the wrist.
Deirdre prefers the Iraqi approach, in which thieves' hands are cut off.
Refusing to be deterred by democracy, Deirdre harnessed it.
She's spent $15,000 on a malicious multimedia "crusade/smear campaign" to
get even and get justice.
If Cifone doesn't do time, Deirdre wants to make sure she doesn't steal
another dime.
"She should never have a job in business again. Ever."
Cooking the books
Deirdre and her 78-year-old mother, Lillian, sell sexy lingerie, vibrators
and gag gifts at two stores - the Birds & the Bees (in Concordville) and
Playtime (in North Jersey).
Deirdre hired Cifone last year after a recommendation from her attorney.
Employee and employer got along well at first. They even socialized, taking
a trip to New York.
"I liked her," Deirdre said. "She seemed very bright, very helpful."
But something wasn't right. Deirdre couldn't ever get a straight answer
about her money.
Then, in March, she got a call from the bank about a strange signature on a
$3,112 check on her account.
"My own mother thought it might have been my error. She didn't want to
believe it could have been Linda."
It could, and it was. Between December and February, Cifone swiped 10 checks
worth nearly $37,000.
When Haddonfield police confronted her, Cifone confessed.
She's charged with felony theft and forgery. She applied for pretrial
intervention, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
If accepted - which, for a first offender in a nonviolent crime, is almost a
given - she'll get community service and an order to pay restitution, but
she won't see a day in jail.
Neither Cifone nor her attorney returned messages asking for comment.
Bill Shralow, a spokesman for the prosecutor, understands the root of
Deirdre's frustration:
"She feels she's been burned by someone she came to trust. Now she's made it
her mission to make sure everybody knows about the case."
When revenge is relief
The Krasners have had their share of unpleasant brushes with the law.
Deirdre's father, John Krasner, was the self-described "Prince of Porno" in
these parts in the 1970s.
In 1976, he was convicted of soliciting to have a former
partner-turned-rival killed.
In 1979, while free on appeal, John was murdered.
A few months later, his widow, Lillian, was kidnapped and held for $900,000
ransom.
Then, in 1983, John's killer got his death sentence vacated.
Given her history, Deirdre's not the average shrinking crime victim.
"They call this a nonviolent crime. Well, I think it was violent, against my
mother and myself," she says. "She stole from me. Why is that OK?"
Fellow drivers usually give her a thumbs-up, but some visitors to the Web
site tell Deirdre to get a life.
Deirdre says she'll soon take the crusade to the national media.
Her dream? To find enough other victims who'll prosecute so that Cifone
winds up in the clinker.
Until then, she's got the Embezzlermobile gassed up and road-ready.
"There's reality, and there's me driving around in my silly little van."
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Monica Yant Kinney writes Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at
856-779-3914 or myant@no-spam