There is a bright side to the story of how Ken and Sandra Bulawa’s establishment lost more than $200,000 allegedly at the hands of their office manager. Really, there is.
At least now the couple know that business at their auto body repair shop in Elmhurst was chugging along at a much more vigorous clip than they had thought originally.
The rest of the story is pretty galling.
That’s because the former office manager, Nina G. Chavez, 40, of Addison, is charged with absconding with the money, but not to pay for her mother’s dentures or to keep a roof over her family.
Chavez allegedly used much of the money to party.
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A lawsuit filed this week in DuPage County Circuit Court accuses Chavez of charging nearly $5,000 for lodging, entertainment and accessories in Las Vegas; nearly $4,000 for Chicago Blackhawks tickets; more than $3,000 to jewelers in Addison and Hanover Park; a few hundred dollars to a limousine service and a handful of Chicago’s trendier restaurants and more refined hotels; hundreds for Vermont Teddy Bears and hundreds for lingerie at Victoria’s Secret and Frederick’s.
The credit card invoices, generic as they are, tell much more: $637 for toys; hundreds of dollars at casinos and Arlington International Racecourse. Food at Disney World, consumer electronics, sports clothes, lumber supplies for a deck on her home. Cash receipts indicate she may have purchased a used Porsche 911 with money from the body shop.
In total, the lawsuit alleges, Chavez used her company credit card and the business’ cash accounts to embezzle $208,000 from Auto Body of Elmhurst Carstar while working as office manager from Oct. 17, 1991, to Aug. 5, 1994. In that position, she was responsible for receiving payments and paying bills, said the Bulawas’ attorney, Brian J. McCollam.
The legal action asks the court to order Chavez to repay the amount she allegedly stole and to impose $200,000 in punitive damages against her.
Also, the Bulawas are collecting the last few receipts and submitting them to Elmhurst police for a possible criminal investigation.
“You look at what she did to the people who trusted her,” McCollam said. “I mean, Ken is a very straight person and never dreamed she would do this.”
Chavez declined to respond to phone messages left at her home. Her last formal communication with the Bulawas was on Aug. 5, when she penned a resignation letter after the couple confronted her with a company credit card bill that included unaccounted-for personal expenses.
“I’m sorry if you both have ill feelings towards me,” she wrote, asking the Bulawas to accept her last paycheck as the start of restitution. “I don’t know what else to say.”
Ken Bulawa, 44, has operated the business for 20 years, is a member of the local Rotary and Chamber of Commerce and sets up a booth at Elmfest, the town’s annual summer celebration. He said the business employs 13 people and generates about $1.2 million in sales every year.
The amount of business allegedly swallowed by Chavez will help him continue to keep his doors open, Bulawa said. He didn’t realize the shop was bringing in that much commerce.
“I can honestly tell you I was starting to wonder just what did I have to do to really make it big in this business,” Bulawa said. “It was a silent partner. That’s what it all boiled down to. It was a relief, in a way, but it also was a heartache.
“My problem was I trusted her.”
Bulawa recalled that when he uncovered the discrepancy, he was “very upset,” and now he said he’s skeptical that he will receive full restitution.
“What can you do?” he said. “People do crazy things.”