Peabody man pleads guilty in Saugus clothing store scheme

SALEM – A Peabody merchandiser who admitted his role in a scheme to steal more than $60,000 through fraudulent gift cards from a Saugus clothing store where he was working was placed on three years probation.Nicholas J. Titus Jr., 24, last known address of 34 Greenwood Road, Peabody, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Salem Superior Court to a charge of larceny over $250 by a continuous scheme before Judge John T. Lu.Lu agreed to adopt the recommended punishment offered by Assistant District Attorney A.J. Camelio and defense lawyer Elliot R. Levine.The charges arise out of a scheme to steal money from Casual Male XL, located at 87 Broadway in Saugus, between April 1, 2008 and May 20, 2009 where Titus and Louis Fagoli, his manager, both worked.The scheme involved manipulating the computer system and running transactions through the system involving gift cards that were fraudulently created and then cashing them in.Their scheme came to light when an undercover employee was placed at the store to investigate the misappropriations found during an audit.Through the internal investigation it was revealed that the two men took more than $60,000 during that time frame, Camelio said.In asking Lu to accept the plea concession, Camelio said that when police confronted Titus he admitted to his part in the theft, has been co-operative with authorities and testified in the prosecution of Fagoli.Fagoli, 44, of Derry, N.H., who authorities say was the mastermind of the scheme, was found guilty in July during a jury-waived trial for his role and is now serving 18 months in jail and then will be on probation for another three years.The two men were indicted by an Essex County grand jury in February of 2010.