Syracuse Criminal Law Blog

Embezzlement is an interesting crime. It's one of the few that is committed more often by women than men and nationwide, it has been on the rise lately as bad economic conditions have led to pressing economic concerns that, in turn, drive people to steal from their employers.

Recently, the former Wolcott village clerk was arrested and accused of pocketing more than $65,000. The 35-year-old woman is facing a small mountain of felonies for her alleged white collar crime -- 106 counts of falsifying business records and grand larceny. She will appear in court June 7.

College often feels like a safe environment. That's good in one sense, because people should always feel safe and secure, but it does have a tendency to make college students a little naïve. Students are not always good about locking their dorm rooms, making them good candidates for theft, and do not always take common-sense precautions to protect themselves in other ways, such as walking home alone from bars or parties late at night,

That is not to say anyone ever asks to be the victim of an assault, robbery or other crime, because of course no one does. Instead, it should be seen as a reminder of why it is always a good idea to be safe rather than sorry, so to speak, and err on the side of caution when in doubt.

Let's say that you go to a friend's house for a get-together and, before you know it, the "get-together" has become a party and you have had too much to drink. It's not far-fetched at all; in fact, it's reality for many a Syracuse University student each year.

Now that this has happened and you weren't exactly prepared for it, what's the best way to get home?

First, whatever you do, don't drive. If you are questioning whether you are sober enough to drive, the answer is probably no. A DUI is expensive, troublesome and a big headache from start to finish. You want to do everything you can to avoid it. That being said, if you do your best but still end up on the wrong side of the law, don't despair. Sometimes a criminal defense attorney can help you iron things out and achieve a better outcome than you at first thought possible.

Every parent has safety concerns about his or her child. Wanting to make sure that your son or daughter is safe and healthy is part of being a good parent. But as your child grows up, it can be hard to know how much space to give him or her and went to give it.

Recently, it was announced that Rural/Metro ambulance corps in Syracuse will give out 500 drug tests to parents of teenagers this week. The kits are being distributed in advance of Friday, April 20, which is "420," a date on which many people use marijuana because "420" is street slang for the drug.