Wauwatosa police say tax return leads to stolen identity investigation

A case of stolen identity and a tip led to an investigation of Sbarro at Mayfair Mall, 2500 N. Mayfair Road.

According to the Wauwatosa police report:

A woman who had worked at Sbarro for one month in 2010 noticed a discrepancy in her taxes stopping her from filing. The IRS stated that her Social Security number was used to gain employment at Sbarro in 2012.

She thought it as odd because she was a stay-at-home mother for her 8-month-old all year.

She was told she needed to get a letter from Sbarro stating she wasn't employed in 2012 to properly file her taxes, but when she went down to the pizza shop, the manager wasn't being cooperative. She said he was "acting very weird and awkward," saying he didn't know anything about any letter.

She called the police and when telling them about the weird nature, she alluded that while she was working there in 2010 the general manager would hire undocumented workers under other people's Social Security numbers. She said those employees would be paid through the payroll system but the manager would cash their checks in the store.

When the officer went to the store at 8:06 p.m. May 3, the manager left. The employee said there "was an emergency" and the manager had to step out. Thinking that was suspicious, the officer asked if he could wait in the back room for the manager. He was told he couldn't. He stayed until 9 p.m., when the store closing but still didn't see a manager.

An employee called the general manager and handed the phone to the officer but a different manager's name showed up on the caller ID and the general manager wasn't able to give the officer the name of the manager on duty or when they would return.

The officer stayed until the store closed but was unable to speak with anyone.