Former employee charged with theft from Pep’s Pizza 
by Karyn Eckert
The Star News
January 28, 2010 —  A former salesman for Pep’s Pizza Inc. in Medford is accused of falsifying receipts and invoices to pocket nearly $9,000 from the company.
Ricky S. Zuelsdorff, 50, Medford, has been charged with theft in a business setting–$5,000 to $10,000, a class H felony. If convicted, he could spend up to six years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint filed Monday in Taylor County Circuit Court, Medford Police met with company officials in August. Zuelsdorff was responsible for selling and delivering products in the Medford area, northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. They said Zuelsdorff had been terminated in July 2009 for poor performance and after they became aware that he had been embezzling funds from the company.
Pep’s Pizza compiled records which showed a total of $8,950.59 taken between January 2008 and July 2009 from 17 businesses in Medford, Merrill, Tomahawk, Antigo, Birnamwood, Athens, Rib Lake, St. Germain, Florence, Eagle River and Phelps. In compiling the records, the company found not all clients kept their bills of sales, so Pep’s Pizza could not compare their receipts to those.
In October police interviewed Zuelsdorff who explained he would rip out the customer’s carbon copy of the invoice and fill it out in the correct amount. Later he would complete the original with a lesser amount and turn those into the company. Zuelsdorff said he began doing this in late 2007 or early 2008.
Zuelsdorff told police he did it because his father, who had just passed away, had been diagnosed with colon cancer and did not have enough money for the medications he needed. “He stated he tried to help his father out by covering these costs,” the detective said in his report. “He indicated if it wasn’t for the circumstances he was in he would not have found himself in this situation today.”
Zuelsdorff is scheduled to appear in court for an initial appearance on February 16.

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