A shameless care home boss who stole thousands of pounds meant for elderly residents was unmasked as a thief by junior staff after they had to use their own paltry pay packets to buy toiletries and clothing for victims. Greedy manager Joanne Whalen, 51, is feared to have pocketed up to £25,000 over a three year period at the expense of frail and confused older people - many of whom had dementia, Alzheimers and Parkinsons Disease.
The mother of three was only found out after a care assistant on the minimum wage confided in a director at the Firs Hall Care Home in Failsworth near Oldham. Along with fellow junior colleagues, she said she had been using their own money to buy bath products, clothing and cigarettes for the residents as they noticed they were going without.
It emerged one man paid £21,966 pounds in cash to Whalen, of Droylsden Road, Manchester, over the course of a year in the mistaken belief it was for his elderly father's care fees. He then received legal letters wrongly warning him he was in arrears and that bailiffs had been summoned to reclaim goods from his home.
