Four employees of the Walmart in Aledo, Illinois face criminal charges after an internal investigation at the store.
A regional asset protection manager for Walmart notified police of their internal investigation Thursday, February 20, 2014, according to Aledo Police Chief J. Michael Sponsler.
Sponsler said Walmart’s internal investigation was conducted “over the past several months at the Aledo Walmart.”
The investigation resulted in four Walmart employees, with duties in the Aledo store’s pharmacy, being arrested and charged.
Tara Speck, 56, of Monmouth, Illinois; Robert Osborn, 45, of Rock Island, Illinois; Paul DeWilde, 76, of Silvis, Illinois and Laura Diehl, 52, of Aledo were each charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of forgery.
Because the investigation is ongoing, Sponsler did not yet release details of exactly what the workers did to prompt the investigation and arrests. Sponsler said additional charges may be filed.
State records show DeWilde and Osborn are licensed pharmacists, whose licenses are valid until March of 2016. Speck and Diehl are licensed pharmacy technicians. None of the four suspects has any history of disciplinary action from the state.
All four suspects were held in the Mercer County Jail, and they were each expected to appear in court to have bond set Friday, February 21.
