A Duluth man is in custody after he attempted to steal an ATM with a large amount of cash in it from the Fond du Lac Tribal Center last Thursday, Jan. 25.
Michael J. Waugh, 46, of 6202 Cody Street, Duluth, faces a felony charge of attempted theft after he wheeled the ATM out of the tribal center on a hand cart after making a delivery for a local business products company.
According to a press release from Fond du Lac Law Enforcement Director Wally Dupuis, an employee at the center noticed Waugh as he wheeled a cart with a heavy object on it out of the commons area at approximately 1:15 p.m. When the object toppled off the cart on the way to the delivery van, the tribal center employee went to offer assistance and noticed that object was an ATM machine.
Upon becoming suspicious, the employee notified Fond du Lac Police, who happened to be in the building already on unrelated business. According to the criminal complaint filed with Carlton County District Court, Waugh told authorities he was loading the ATM from the area in order to move it to another location. He then allegedly produced a falsified work order slip for "return to inventory" that his supervisor later said appeared to be filled out in Waugh's own handwriting.
Waugh's employer confirmed that the company does not deal in ATMs, nor do they transport them. A call to American Security Corporation, who has responsibility for the contents of ATM, also yielded no knowledge of an order to remove the machine or to place it in inventory. Representatives of that company later came to the scene to remove the cash from the machine and indicated that it didn't appear that the machine had been broken into.
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Waugh was further questioned by Fond du Lac Police Officer Dewey Dupuis, Fond du Lac Investigator Russ Rule and Cloquet Police Detective Jeff Palmer.
He is currently being lodged in the Carlton County Law Enforcement Center, where he is being held on $50,000 bond or $5,000 cash. Formal charges were filed against him in Carlton County District Court.
Waugh was slated to make his second court appearance on Wednesday for a Rule 8 arraignment.
"Because of the fast acting and quick thinking of the Fond du Lac Reservation employees," said Dupuis, "this theft was stopped."
The investigation into the incident is ongoing at this time.
Pine Journal Publisher/ reporter Wendy Johnson can be contacted at: wjohnson@pinejournal.com .
