Former bookkeeper indicted on theft charges
TRENTON >> Yolanda Torres, the one-time close friend and former campaign treasurer for councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson, was indicted last month on six criminal counts.
The former bookkeeper with a felonious past also faces a slew of charges across the bridge, in Bucks County, after she was arrested last year and accused of fleecing a Morrisville business owner out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Mercer County indictment, handed up Feb. 26, charges Torres with two third-degree counts of theft by deception, two third-degree counts of tampering with public records and two counts of fourth-degree forgery.
She was initially charged by criminal complaint Oct. 24.
The ex-campaign treasurer is accused of raiding between $500 and $75,000 from Caldwell Wilson’s reelection fund, along with the money from the councilwoman’s animal advocacy nonprofit, according to the criminal complaint.
Torres is also accused of doctoring one of CaldwellWilson’s campaign election report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
A detective wrote that the election report contained “false information misrepresenting the expenditures of the election account” that was intended to “deceive” election officials.
Caldwell-Wilson said she had to hire, and pay out of her own pocket, an auditor to reconcile her campaign election records.
She said this week she doesn’t anticipate recouping any of the funds that were stolen from her.
Torres had a bagged-filled past before she befriended and started working with Caldwell-Wilson.
Torres, a former president of Friends of Ewing Football and a board member at Lady Margaret Animal Foundation, an animal advocacy nonprofit founded by Caldwell-Wilson, admitted to a theft charge in 2011.
Torres’ shady past hasn’t boded well for Caldwell-Wilson, who has endured public attacks on her character because of the association with the convicted thief.
West Ward councilwoman Robin Vaughn alleged on social media that Caldwell-Wilson was under investigation.
The North Ward councilwoman slapped Vaughn with a cease-and-desist letter, calling on her to publicly apology and retract the alleged defamatory statement.
Caldwell-Wilson said this week that her colleague from the West Ward still hasn’t made good on the apology.
As for Torres, the criminal case against her in Bucks County is still pending.
She’s charged with stealing more than $430,000 from Roy Shu, the owner of Shu Dental Laboratory.
Shu told The Trentonian in a previous interview he was lulled into trusting Torres, who conned him into believing