Hospital Crimes : Ex-Clerk Gets Jail Term in Credit Card Thefts

A Cadillac blindsided 84-year-old Ruth Mauch as she drove to a hair appointment in December. And a clerk blindsided her at the hospital.

Mauch was unconscious and clinging to life when paramedics rushed her to St. John’s Regional Medical Center on Dec. 18 after her car was hit on Oxnard Boulevard.

As doctors worked to save the widow, an emergency room clerk was busy stealing two of her credit cards, eventually racking up close to $1,700 on them.

On Thursday, Mauch, walking with the aid of a cane, appeared in Ventura County Superior Court as the clerk was sentenced for the crime.

Michelle Elaine Peralta, 26, of Oxnard was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 48 months’ probation after pleading guilty to four counts of theft for using stolen credit cards. She also has been fired from her job at the hospital, where she worked for nearly four years.

Prosecutors say Peralta rang up more than $10,000 worth of clothing and other merchandise with credit cards swiped from emergency-room patients during the past year and a half.

Outside court, Mauch said she didn’t much understand all the legal talk that took place in the courtroom. But what her many years of life have taught her, Mauch said, is that it is wrong to steal--especially from defenseless people like those wheeled into an emergency room.

“I was brought into the hospital unconscious after a very serious accident,” Mauch said. “They took me in through Emergency, and she’s the one who handles all your valuables.

“I was hit on Dec. 18, and on the 20th, she’s shopping,” said Mauch. “Who would think somebody is going to rob you in the hospital?”

Mauch, a retired clerk in the Los Angeles County assessor’s office, said Peralta charged $1,544 to her May Co. charge card. She charged a much smaller amount to Mauch’s Mervyn’s card, Mauch said, and pocketed $80 in cash that Mauch was carrying when admitted to the hospital.

“She took three 20s, two 10s and left me with $7,” Mauch said.

Peralta’s job duties required her to take an inventory of the personal belongings of patients who were unconscious when admitted to the emergency room. None of the alleged victims ever complained to them, hospital officials said.

An informant who does not work at the hospital found a number of stolen credit cards in February and alerted authorities, police say. Peralta later turned herself in, Oxnard police said.

Peralta originally was charged with 10 felony counts, but six charges were dismissed in the plea negotiation. Peralta’s attorney suggested in court Thursday that his client stole to deal with her personal problems.

That argument did not go over well with Mauch. “If anybody has emotional stress, it’s me. She didn’t know if I was going to live or die,” said Mauch, who suffered a broken collarbone, cracked ribs, a fractured leg and a concussion in the accident.

In asking for leniency, Deputy Public Defender William S. Markov told Judge Charles R. McGrath that Peralta has suffered two pregnancy miscarriages since October, 1992. Her 4-year-old son also was diagnosed with leukemia, he said.

Markov said Peralta is “a victim of her life.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary K. Barrett disagreed, saying Peralta deserved six months in jail.

Dismissing the notion that the tragedies Peralta faced caused her to steal on impulse, Barrett said the defendant’s actions were part of her lifestyle. “Based on the amount of sophistication and the amount of money in this case, I would suggest that 90 days (in jail) is not enough,” Barrett said.

McGrath gave Peralta until Sept. 7 to turn herself in to authorities. The extra time is for her to get psychological and emotional counseling, he said.