A Bowling Green man considered a trusted employee of the business he stole from has been sentenced.

Bruce Vermett, 39, appeared Thursday in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.

He pleaded guilty in August to theft from a person in a protected class and telecommunication fraud. He faced up to a maximum 28.5 years in prison.

Vermett started working at Mr. Spots in 1998, when he was about 14 years old, said owner Ohio Sen. Theresa Gavarone.

“We watched Bruce grow up,” she said, and added she had his high school senior picture.

Vermett turned his face away rather than look at Gavarone as she read a prepared statement.

He was hired as a general manager in 2015.

“We trusted him,” Gavarone said.

Her husband, Jim, opened Mr. Spots in 1986 and named it after his cat.

“Mr. Spots is entrenched in this community,” she said, and has employed thousands of people in the last 37 years.

Vermett began acting strangely in recent years, was disrespectful and threatened to quit and walk off the job.

He refused to train a replacement, Gavarone said, even after he was given a $4,000 bonus to do so.

Vermett said it wasn’t about the money but took the bonus and still refused to train anybody, she said.

Ohio Sen. Theresa Gavarone, co-owner of Mr. Spots, speaks at the sentencing of Bruce Vermett, who was a long-time manager of the restaurant.

“Bruce set things up, so he was the only one with information needed to run the store,” Gavarone said.

He created his own email account for business correspondence and entered a merchant agreement listing himself as 50% owner. He concealed the account and when it was eventually discovered, he refused to provide the password, she said.

To this day, they still don’t have access to that account, she said.

“Bruce took advantage of our inability to be in the store every day,” Gavarone said.

The family accepted his resignation on Aug. 31, 2022.

Gavarone said she and her son Jimmy started going through everything to determine what happened with the business.

“I couldn’t believe what I was finding, and I kept digging and finding more,” she said.

Nearly $250,000 was gone “and frankly, I’m not sure we found everything,” she said.

An accountant found that Vermett was taking $750 in tips almost every week, which were siphoned out of the business’ bank account. The timing was upsetting as the tips started to be claimed when Jim was getting treatment for Parkinson’s Disease.

Three days after Jim’s surgery, Vermett took $2,500 for tips, Gavarone said.

Cash sales and cash deposits at the bank showed discrepancies along with unauthorized pay raises Vermett gave himself.

“I have been on an emotional rollercoaster … but this is a feeling of pure betrayal,” Gavarone said.

“He put our entire business at risk and took advantage of us when we were most vulnerable,” she said.

She asked for an order for Vermett to pay back every penny he stole but requested no jail time as long as he continued to pay restitution.

Restitution originally was set at $223,660.50.

“Wrong is wrong,” said defense attorney Stevin Groth.

He said his client confessed from the beginning and has accepted full responsibility.

Actions speak louder than words, and Vermett has mortgaged everything he has to make restitution, Groth said.

His client was in a position of trust, which he breached.

“It became easy for him to take money on a monthly basis … ultimately it became comfortable,” Groth said.

He asked that his client remain a member of the community in order to continue to pay restitution, he said.

“I’m not proud of myself, I’ll never forget it and I truly apologize to the Gavarones,” Vermett said. “I betrayed their trust, and it haunts me.”

He said he plans to pay back all he took.

“Obviously I will never do anything illegal ever again,” he said.

The amount of restitution in the plea agreement has been reduced by $50,000 due to an insurance payment, said Wood County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Gross.

“The victims suffered serious economic harm. Mr. Vermett held a position of trust with them,” Kuhlman said.

He said the charges, which were first- and second-degree felonies, come with the presumption of prison.

“I don’t think I’ve had a conviction in this court yet of a (first-degree felony) that didn’t result in prison,” he said.

What is saving you today is the victim’s willingness to work with you, he said to the defendant.

Vermett made a payment of $46,000 on Thursday and must make a minimum monthly payment of $250.

“Make sure on a daily and monthly basis … that you are making those payments. It’s the only thing that is keeping you out of prison,” Kuhlman said.

He imposed a sentence of five years of community control, including 180 days of GPS house arrest. Vermett will have work privileges and is to have no contact with the Gavarones or Mr. Spots.

The new restitution, minus the insurance payment, is $173,660.50.

Kuhlman reserved a minimum prison sentence of three to 11 years and a maximum of 16.5 years for the theft charge, and a minimum of two-eight years with a maximum of 12 years for the fraud charge.