Leominster hospital employee arrested for allegedly stealing $1,500 from secured safe

LEOMINSTER — On Tuesday, February 25, 2025, Officer Christian Schwartz of the Leominster Police Department was contacted by Joseph [last name redacted], the security manager at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Hospital, Leominster Campus, at 60 Hospital Road, regarding the theft of money by an employee.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Schwartz and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“Upon my arrival, I went to Joseph’s office, where he informed me that one of his employees had accessed their secured safe without prompt and taken $1,500 from a property bag that contained a total of $4,600,” Officer Schwartz said. “This property belonged to John [last name redacted]. Joseph and I then reviewed the camera footage together, which showed the events leading up to the theft.”

Officer Schwartz said the footage was dated Saturday, February 22, 2025, and begins at 8:19 a.m.

“In the video, Carlos Padilla, the suspected employee, is seen standing in the security room, not performing any task,” Officer Schwartz said. “He stretches his arms outward, then quickly approaches the property logbook, where he is partially seen rummaging through it. Notably, Joseph later informed me that the property log for that day went missing and could not be located. He believes that Carlos may have disposed of the log sheet.”

According to police, Carlos M. Padilla, 26, is a resident of 327 Hill Road, Apt. 2, Fitchburg, MA.

“At 8:19:47 a.m., Carlos swiftly moves to the wall hanger that holds the keys to the safe,” Officer Schwartz recounted. “Joseph mentioned that when he last spoke with Carlos, he claimed to have received a call from the in-office phone regarding a patient who was missing a cell phone; however, the office phone never received any such call.”

Officer Schwartz added, “At 8:20 a.m., while crouching over the safe door, Carlos is observed opening the door, with the set of keys he had taken, Joeseph advised me the safe is always locked. Just as he does this, another employee enters the room. Carlos quickly shuts the door and places the keys on the counter by the safe, standing casually. After the other employee leaves, Carlos appears to watch them through the one-way windows until 8:22 a.m. At 8:23 a.m., Carlos returns to the safe, where he pulls a bag out. His shoulders tense and then relax as it looks like he tears the bag open.”

Padilla’s right hand remains concealed by his side as he pushes it deep into his right-side pocket, which Officer Schwartz believes is where Carlos placed the missing cash, before returning the keys to the hook.

“Joseph had casually confronted Carlos about the incident before my arrival,” Officer Schwartz said. “Carlos claimed he had no knowledge of what happened to the money but insisted he was checking for a missing cell phone. However, none had called about a missing cell phone, and there were no reports of one being missing. Carlos also failed to check the lost and found section of the office.”

Officer Schwartz entered the security office where Padilla was located and asked the other staff members to leave the room before speaking with him.

“I pulled out the laminated Miranda rights card issued to me from my John Scheft book, read it to him, and he acknowledged his understanding and agreed to speak with me,” Officer Schwartz said. “When I asked Carlos about the events involving the money in the safe, he claimed he was unsure and was only checking for a missing cell phone. I pressed Carlos for more details about the missing cell phone, inquiring how he learned about it.”

Padilla told Officer Schwartz that the office phone rang and he answered it, claiming a nurse had informed him about the missing phone.

“However, Joseph and I knew that no call had come in,” Officer Schwartz said. “Joseph also informed me that the calls to that phone were forwarded to the floor security manager’s cellphone, which was not Carlos on that day. When I confronted Carlos about this contradiction, he changed his story, saying he spoke with a nurse on the floor to learn about the missing phone, but when I asked him to identify the nurse or provide any description, he could not give any details.”

Officer Schwartz then explained to Padilla what he observed on the security camera footage, describing his movements, hand placement, and behavior.

“He began to tear up, and when I directly asked him if he had taken $1,500 from the bag, he nodded affirmatively,” Officer Schwartz said. “I then asked him whether he still had the money, and he replied that he only had $1,000 left at his house. I advised him that he must return the money to the station as soon as possible and explained that he may be released after court and must immediately return the remaining amount. He understood.”

Officer Schwartz placed Padilla into handcuffs and then escorted him to his cruiser put him in the backseat and transported him to the Leominster Police Department where he was booked on the following charges:

• Larceny Over $1200
• Break into Depository

Padilla was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Feb. 25, 2025. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Hospital, Leominster Campus, and the victim.

Padilla’s next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for March 26, 2025.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from February, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.

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