The former office manager of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Garden City has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $230,000 from the restaurant during the nearly 12 years he was employed there, Nassau County prosecutors said.
Barry Pearlstein, 70, of Orlando, Fla., has been ordered to serve two consecutive nine-month sentences and repay $230,933.39 in restitution on felony charges of grand larceny and falsifying business records.
He is due back in court on March 19 for sentencing, according to the Nassau County district attorney’s office.
“Integrity is not a virtue of a bygone age; it remains the guiding principle of all hard-working people, business owners and employees alike,” acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement. “This defendant abused the trust of his employer and broke the law by taking advantage of his position to steal thousands of dollars from his employer and then lying to conceal his crime. My office will continue its efforts to make sure that this defendant is held accountable for his actions.”
Pearlstein was arrested on Dec. 1, 2014 following a joint investigation between the district attorney’s office and the Nassau County Police Department’s Crimes Against Property Squad.
Upon firing Pearlstein from the restaurant in June 2014, Ruth’s Chris management conducted an internal investigation that found he embezzled funds meant for deposit on 511 occasions and filed false records to conceal the transactions.
Management then contacted the district attorney’s office, then led by U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City).
Pearlstein was initially charged with a felony count of grand larceny and 10 counts of falsifying business records and faced up to 15 years in prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Sotirhos, of the office’s Economic Crimes Bureau.
Pealstein’s attorney, David Besso of Bay Shore, was unable to be reached for comment.
