# Lottery Addict Embezzles $2.3mil, Screams At Judge **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 27, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384 "2006-09-27T16:43:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/1 "2006-09-27T16:43:37Z")
> [@](#): > > LI theft sentencing: Lottery addict screams prison won’t help > > A sobbing lottery addict convicted of stealing $2.3 million from her employer to fund her habit screamed at the judge that prison won’t cure her. > > “Tell me how you’re helping me!” Annie Donnelly of Farmingville yelled at state Supreme Court Justice Robert Doyle during her sentencing Tuesday. > > Donnelly pleaded guilty last month to second-degree grand larceny in exchange for the sentence of four to 12 years in prison. > > The former bookkeeper for a doctors’ office admitted she stole the money. Prosecutors said she spent as much as $6,000 a day playing Lotto and scratch-off games… Er, lady, the point is to help **other** people. While you’re in prison, you won’t be able to steal their money any more. (Also, you won’t be able to buy more lottery tickets, so it **does** help you after all.) :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/2 "2006-09-27T17:06:30Z")
Prison is for _punishing_, not helping. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/3 "2006-09-27T17:07:34Z")
Don’t bookkeepers have to know math? How does such a person get addicted to the lottery of all things? And $2.3mil, isn’t that enough money to just keep as a decent lottery win? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/4 "2006-09-27T17:24:06Z")
How do you spend $6000 a day on the lottery? Not just in the “how can you get to the mental state where you can blow that much money on lottery tickets,” but “literally how can you spend $6000 on lottery tickets?” Do you go to your local 7-Eleven and ask for $3000 in scratch offs? Do they have the capacity to handle that kind of cash? Do you even use cash? Or do you do it with checks? Will they have $3000 worth of tickets behind the counter if they can handle the cash? Do you spend $100 here $100 there at 60 different places? Do you have enough time in a day to go to that many places and buy tickets? How does this work? $6000 on the ponies or at a casino or to a bookie seems very possible. But lotto? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/5 "2006-09-27T17:32:05Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] How do you spend $6000 a day on the lottery? Not just in the “how can you get to the mental state where you can blow that much money on lottery tickets,” but “literally how can you spend $6000 on lottery tickets?” Do you go to your local 7-Eleven and ask for $3000 in scratch offs? Do they have the capacity to handle that kind of cash? [/QUOTE] I used to work in a convenience store and we didn’t even have that many tickets onhand. I had one lady go through an entire roll of tickets (at that time - 1999 - they came in rolls of 300, I’m not sure about now) in a day, but that was it. She won $150 on one or something and bought the rest of the roll chasing that high. It never came. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/6 "2006-09-27T17:32:45Z")
Didnt she ever win? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/7 "2006-09-27T17:48:35Z")
I was reading this article on the way to work. Classic “blame everyone but myself” response. A criminal trial is not where she should be seeking help, and claiming to see a therapist after getting help is too little, too late. Knowing numbers (though not necessarily understanding odds and statistics) wouldn’t help her addiction. _Maybe_ she can get some therapy for her addiction in prison. However, she stole to fuel her addiction, and she deserves punishment. We can argue if 4-12 years is too little, too much, or just right. What can’t be argued is that she repeatedly and deliberately stole and regardless of addiction, that deserves punishment (she can argue that, but it will fall on ears as deaf as the court’s). ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/8 "2006-09-27T17:48:54Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Didnt she ever win? [/QUOTE] Yep…12 years. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/9 "2006-09-27T17:55:57Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] How do you spend $6000 a day on the lottery? Not just in the “how can you get to the mental state where you can blow that much money on lottery tickets,” but “literally how can you spend $6000 on lottery tickets?” Do you go to your local 7-Eleven and ask for $3000 in scratch offs? Do they have the capacity to handle that kind of cash? Do you even use cash? Or do you do it with checks? Will they have $3000 worth of tickets behind the counter if they can handle the cash? Do you spend $100 here $100 there at 60 different places? Do you have enough time in a day to go to that many places and buy tickets? How does this work? $6000 on the ponies or at a casino or to a bookie seems very possible. But lotto? [/QUOTE] I’ve seen scratchoffs as high as $10 each. CA also has 4 regular lottos (state lotto and mega millions that each draw twice a week), 2 daily drawings of pick 3, the daily derby, fantasy 5 that draws daily and a keno like game called hotspot that draws every 5 minutes. :eek: I realize the story is about someone in NY but yes, it’s doable to spend that kind of dough. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/10 "2006-09-27T17:59:02Z")
I saw a scratch-off vending machine once that had books of scratch-offs for $20. And I’ve seen someone buy $50 of regular tickets at a time. It happens. Still, it does seem physically improbable. Maybe she had enablers/accomplices to help her with all that scratching and number picking. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/11 "2006-09-27T18:24:01Z")
It’s not like seh couldn’t go from vendor to vendor. Every strip mall will have 1-3, and every main drag on Long Island is lined with strip mall after strip mall. Babylon is not out in the sticks. Plus, vendors getting a regular, high-spending customer could order appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/12 "2006-09-27T18:41:29Z")
> [@](#): > > “Tell me how you’re helping me!” Amazing. Talk about a sense of entitlement. Good thing I’m not a judge. I’d be all “Helping you? Helping _you_? How about _fuck you_, lady, do you understand _that?_” ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/13 "2006-09-27T18:41:40Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] go from vendor to vendor. Every strip mall will have 1-3, and every main drag on Long Island is lined with strip mall after strip mall [/QUOTE] At some point, doesn’t that become more trouble than a regular job? Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/14 "2006-09-27T18:44:52Z")
She had a regular job. Depending upon traffic, she could hit 6-9 shops in an hour. Sad thing is, she could hit a big winner, and it wouldn’t matter. As Deep Purple said (about a different subject), “It’s not the kill, it’s the thrill of the chase.” ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/15 "2006-09-27T18:45:19Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Didnt she ever win? [/QUOTE] I was wondering the same thing…if she spent $2.3 million, chances are she must have one once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/16 "2006-09-27T18:46:55Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Didnt she ever win? [/QUOTE] I seem to remember hearing the original story about this when she first got arrested and yes, she did win occasionally. Several thousand dollars, in fact. As others have stated above, winning only seemed to fuel the fire. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/17 "2006-09-27T18:47:39Z")
:smack: [del]one[/del] **won** ---
**Author:** ![Firebringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@Firebringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Firebringer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/18 "2006-09-27T19:38:50Z")
Guess she managed to win an all expenses trip with food and accomodation provided. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/19 "2006-09-27T19:44:38Z")
[QUOTE=Firebringer] Guess she managed to win an all expenses trip with food and accomodation provided. [/QUOTE] I hope she never scores a garden trowel while in prison. Someone with a scratch-off Jones that bad could definitely pull a ‘Shawshank’ style escape. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/20 "2006-09-27T19:54:01Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] How do you spend $6000 a day on the lottery? [/QUOTE] It’s easy if you buy “Quick Picks” in the regular lottery. I’ve seen people get a few hundred at a pop when the lottery gets big and it only takes a few minutes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384.md?page=2)