Woman charged with taking church aid for tornado victims

PALMER, Mass. (RNS) A Massachusetts woman charged with larceny and fraud
denied Tuesday (June 7) that she stole donated items from a church that
were intended for victims of a devastating tornado.

Christine Lajewski, 47, of Ware, Mass., was charged with larceny
over $250 under false pretenses and fraud at her arraignment on Tuesday.
Police in Monson, where the June 1 tornado unleashed its lethal
fury, said Lajewski told volunteers at First Church of Monson that her
home and car were destroyed by the tornado in downtown Monson.

But Lajewski's court-appointed lawyer, Holly Battige, said Lajewski
told her she went to the church to volunteer, and to collect items for a
friend's sister from Monson.