Pizza Hut manangers released on bond

Staff Writer

The sign at Pizza Hut reads, “Closed due to relocation,” but with the pending trial of the manager and shift manager, one is left to speculate; what is really going on at Pizza Hut?

Initally, Pizza Hut closed to relocate the buisness to a better area. The district manager thought that the location was the reason the business was failing. There were no profits being made, so the store closed.

According to CID Commander Lt. Ken Partridge and Investigator Sidney Corley of the Thomaston Police Department, the District Manager requested that the buisness be under investigation due to missing inventory. The store manager, Shawn Breyer, of Columbus and, Tammy McGuire of Pike County, were manipulating the register to make everything appear balanced. When orders were placed for pizzas, only every third pizza would be rung up in the register. The other orders were kept as cash in hand. The problem with the scam is that the inventory didn’t match up with the number of pizzas sold. Also, some employees were being paid off the clock to make the labor costs seem justifiable.

The manager was put on suspension in July of last year, and returned to Columbus where he worked as a manager for a Sonic Drive-in. The shift manager was asked to turn in her keys. Five to six employees walked out after the managers were suspended.

The investigation proved that Breyer and McGuire were stealing money out of the safe on a daily basis. There is a confirmed amount of $30,000 that was taken during July 2007, but it is speculated that over $100,00 was taken. There is no substantialial evidence to prove the additional money was missing. Because the store closed, manyrecords were no longer available.

The two managers were arrested and charged on Friday, January 12, with theft by conversion. Breyer was being held with $50,000 bond and McGuire was held on $15,00 bond. A trial date has not been set.