LIGONIER, Pa. — A woman accused of stealing from clients for more than 15 years is now facing criminal charges.
Jane Clark has operated Wallpapering by Jane in Ligonier for 30 years. According to police, she's accused of stealing jewelry from clients while she was in their homes.
“Sick, I cried. I was sick, I didn't sleep for two weeks, just thinking she was in my room going through all my things,” said Claudia Narcisi.
Narcisi needed a room painted in her Hempfield Township home. She called a well-known company, Wallpapering by Jane, in 2016.
“She has a very innocent look to her,” Narcisi said. “She came in, and the other thing that haunts me is when I first met her in 2016, (she said) ‘When I come and paint for you, you can leave.’"
Narcisi said some jewelry went missing, but she didn't suspect it was Jane, so she hired her again in September.
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“Between me walking into my basement and going up to get ready to leavem she had gone into my bedroom, opened up my jewelry drawer, took this and a couple other rings and a necklace and took it. Put it in her pocket,” Narcisi said.
Narcisi called police. As troopers started digging, they found a list of unsuspecting clients, all leading back to Jane Clark.
Channel 11 was there Friday as Clark was brought in in handcuffs, accused of stealing more than $32,000 worth of jewelry from as many as eight clients, all tracked down through an online pawn shop linked by Clark’s name.
One victim, a retired state trooper, had his state police badge, class ring from the academy and Marine Corps ring allegedly stolen.
Some of the pieces Narcisi owned dated back generations.
"I can't replace it,” she said. “Can't replace my grandmother’s jewelry.”
One theft dates back to 2002. Narcisi says it pains her to know Clark was still out doing business as usual for all that time.
“I wonder if it's a 75-year-old woman, all by herself, and (Clark's) taking her jewelry,” Narcisi said. “She's never going to think it was Jane.”