NJ Girl Scout leader canned after cookie theft story crumbles

The claims of a Girl Scouts leader that a New Jersey mall crook swiped her troop’s cookie-sale cash crumbled under scrutiny, cops said Wednesday.

Troop 80062 leader Jessica Medina had told cops that on Jan. 18, she placed more than $1,100 in cash and checks from their sale of Do-Si-Dos and Thin Mints at the Woodbridge Center Mall into an envelope — and it was then swiped from their table, robbing the youngsters of funds for a trip to Savannah, Ga.

Medina pointed the finger at a handicapped man and an elderly woman as the thieves — while bringing her 5-year-old daughter out to be photographed tearfully clutching a box of shortbreads.

The story made national headlines and prompted kind-hearted New Yorkers to offer thousands in donations to the troop to make up for the pilfered cash — including from the hosts of TV’s “The Talk.”

But the Woodbridge Police Department on Wednesday said Medina’s tale turned out to be half-baked.

More